Chapter 3
The call connected, and Edward's cold voice came through immediately. "Hello?"
My stomach twisted, but I forced myself to speak. "Hi, is this Edward?"
Silence stretched on the other end, and then he finally answered. "Well, Racher, you finally decided to call me?"
His tone turned sharp. "Didn't you leave? So why are you coming to me now?"
Tears threatened to spill, but I held them back. "Can you please help me? I'm sick, and if I don't get back to Calkins for surgery soon, I'm going to die. Can you just tell Charles that you don't care about me anymore—"
"You think you're someone special?" Edward cut me off, his words fast and icy. "That I still care about you?"
He let out a bitter laugh. "Listen, Rachel. The day you decided to leave Calkins, you died in my heart."
Tears finally broke free and slid down my cheeks, and I couldn't stop them anymore.
I should've known all along. He never had feelings for me, not even once, and I'd been stupid to hope for something that was never there.
My breathing turned shallow and quick, and the phone slipped from my trembling fingers and fell onto the bed.
Oliver grabbed it before it could hit the floor and snapped into the speaker, "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you people? Do you not understand basic language?"
He continued, "Rachel's really sick right now, so why does everyone keep making things worse for her?"
"Who are you?" Edward's voice came through the phone, cold and distant. "Are you dating Rachel now?"
Edward's breathing grew heavier, and I could hear the tension crackling through the line.
Oliver let out a harsh laugh and shot back, "Together? Are you kidding me? I'm her doctor, you idiot.
"She's dying, and you're worried about who she's with? Give me a break," he continued, his frustration boiling over.
"Let me tell you something. If she actually dies here, it'll be because of people like you," Oliver said, and his words cut through the air like knives.
"If you don't have feelings for her, just tell Charles that and let him know Jasmine needs to come back to Calkins for treatment. Charles thinks she's coming back to wreck your wedding with Lily, so he won't let her leave, and she can't get the medical care she needs."
Oliver's voice cracked slightly at the end. "She's really dying. Do you understand that?"
Edward's breathing became even more labored, and the silence stretched out between them.
Then I heard Lily's voice cutting through the background noise, sweet and insistent.
"Charles, who are you talking to?" she asked, and I could picture her standing there, perfect and composed.
"The officiant's calling for us, and it's time for us to go up," she continued, her tone light but firm.
"Our parents are waiting in the audience with all the guests, so can you please hang up and deal with this later? We can't keep everyone waiting."
The realization hit me like a physical blow—Edward and Lily were getting married right now, at this very moment.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it, and the sound felt hollow in the quiet room.
Charles had done everything in his power to keep me from ruining their wedding.
But I ruined it anyway.
What terrible timing.
Given this intimate moment between them, I doubted Edward would bother explaining anything to Charles on my behalf.
I took the phone back from Oliver and ended the call.
There was no point in humiliating myself any further.
I was dying anyway.
I refused to lose my dignity, too.