Book1Chapter5
I used to desperately want him to acknowledge me publicly, but he always found
excuses to avoid it.
But everyone at his company knew Vanessa. Once, I urgently went to find him, only to see a group of people teasing him and Vanessa, calling her “sister–in–law” affectionately.
Vanessa blushed shyly, standing by his side, and they really did look like a couple.
Ethan just smiled and didn’t explain.
That day, I didn’t know how I left the building. When I got home and confronted Ethan, he said it was just a joke that he didn’t take seriously, and that I was overreacting. He even made me video chat with Vanessa to prove it.
Vanessa laughed at me during the call, using the same old excuse: “If I wanted to be with E, it would’ve happened a long time ago.”
At that time, I doubted myself, thinking I wasn’t good enough compared to
Vanessa, which is why Ethan never paid attention to me.
山
But after that accident, looking back at those moments, I realized how shameless they were, and how foolish I had been.
They had been hiding behind the guise of friendship while engaging in ambiguous behavior, yet expected me to be the perfect, understanding partner, what a joke.
The next day, Ethan still called, asking if I would come. When I refused again, his pretense fell apart:
“Do whatever you want, Claire. I’m giving you a chance to be acknowledged publicly. If you don’t appreciate it, don’t come crying to me later.”
Book1Chapter5
Hearing his grandiose tone, I quietly hung up the phone.
If this had happened in the past, his words would have thrilled me, and I wouldn’t have slept all night from excitement. But now, all I could think about was healing and preparing for the meaningful work with my mentor, helping more people.
To better engage in the project, I packed my things and moved into the hospital
dormitory.
I didn’t take much with me because the house I shared with Ethan was mine. Ethan had bought a house, but it was Vanessa who lived there.
While
He had said, “You have your own house, but Vanessa has it tough; she doesn’t even have a place to stay.” With that one sentence, Ethan moved into my house, Vanessa enjoyed the one he bought.
On my way to the dormitory, I received a call from Vanessa.
“Claire, you lost. I heard Ethan is going to publicly announce his partner tonight. Guess who’s wearing that dress?” Her voice was dripping with triumph. I calmly responded, “Aren’t you supposed to be an independent woman? Why do you rely so much on a man?”
She was taken aback by my words, then scoffed, “You and I are nothing alike. Look at everything you’ve done, yet I can still get what I want with just a flick of my finger. Claire, you’ll always be a loser compared to me.”
I glanced at the photos she sent, showing her at an event, wearing the dress Ethan had bought for me, standing beside my boyfriend.
Suddenly, I felt she was right. When it came to competing with Vanessa, I had always lost.
But I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction: “Then why hasn’t he given you the title of ‘Mrs. E‘?”
Houk1 Chapters
As soon as I said that, she hung up the phone.
In the end, Ethan didn’t love her enough. If he did, he wouldn’t keep her as a
mistress, would he?
After settling into the dormitory, it was already evening.
I mostly worked day shifts, so I spent my evenings studying. To avoid unnecessary trouble, my mentor and I would meet at crowded cafes to discuss our plans.
When my mentor saw me, he smiled: “You’ve really changed. There’s a spark in your eyes, and you’re no longer timid.”
“Maybe that’s what it means to move on,” I sighed.
Before bed, I received another call from Ethan: “Where are you? Why aren’t you home? I wanted to announce you tonight, but you weren’t there, so I postponed it. How about tomorrow? I’ll introduce you then.”
“I’m staying at the dormitory now, Ethan. The hospital is really busy, and I need to be close by. You can handle everything on your own.”
He paused, “When you’re done, let me know, and I’ll come to pick you up.”
“Alright. Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Okay, I’m hanging up now.” I didn’t want to waste any more time with him.
A while later, Ethan called me again, but I declined the call.
He kept trying, so I turned off my phone.
When I finally finished my work and went to lunch with my colleagues, I saw Ethan waiting at the entrance. He didn’t look well–his shirt was wrinkled, and he
Book1 Chapters
hadn’t shaved.
Ethan immediately spotted me: “Claire, can we talk?”
My colleagues whispered among themselves, so I led him to a nearby café. Once we were seated, he said, “You’re so busy now that you don’t even have time to return my calls. Not a single one.”
I had forgotten that I had turned off my phone.
“I’ve transferred to the emergency department. I’m on call, so I can’t always answer the phone. I hope you understand.” I cut him off.
I had originally planned to go into emergency medicine, but Ethan had always kept me under tight control. Because I couldn’t respond to his messages immediately, he would subject me to silent treatment every night.
He would repeatedly ask, “Do you want me to leave you? You can’t even take my calls seriously–how can you care for patients? How can you handle emergencies with your poor skills?”
At that time, I saw his pained expression and gave in.
For a long time, I doubted myself, even thinking I wasn’t suited for the profession. But one day, a child came to the front desk with a bean stuck in his throat, barely breathing, his face turning purple.
I immediately called for help while trying to save him. If I had hesitated even for a moment, he could have suffocated.
I quickly grabbed a pair of forceps. I remember the chief of the department who was mentoring me said, “It’s a good thing you were there–your technique is as good as ever.”
At that moment, I suddenly realized that some skills are ingrained in you. I have the ability to inspire confidence.
Book1 Chapters
I thought I had become better. But that night, when I told Ethan about it, he just sneered and said two words: “Lucky guess,
I can still remember the look of disdain on his face.
After that incident, I started studying more, attending every available training session. But back then, it was all just an effort to make Ethan see me the way he
saw Vanessa.
Now, as I looked at Ethan sitting across from me, I no longer cared if he saw me or
not.
Ethan looked at me with frustration: “The emergency department is too demanding. Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Of course. Every doctor fears not being able to save a life. That’s the heart of a
healer.”
He starred at me for a moment, then suddenly said, “Claire, you’ve changed. You’ve changed so much that I feel like I’m losing you. Our anniversary is the day after tomorrow. Can we have dinner together?”
“No,” I refused.
Ethan’s expression darkened the moment I rejected him.
Before he could say anything, I added: “Let’s break up, Ethan.”
Ethan shot up from his seat: “Are you still hung up on what happened with Vanessa? She came over to take care of me these past few days, but I didn’t let her stay. And about the house–I know you care about it a lot, so I had her move out. I was planning to propose to you, Claire. I know I’ve ignored you too much in the past, but no woman could tolerate her boyfriend crossing the line with someone else. It won’t happen again.”
I looked at Ethan, who was panicking, trying to explain; “So you know that your
Book Chapters
relationship with Vanessa was crossing the line? Hiding behind the guise of
friendship while engaging in ambiguous behavior. Ethan, what reason do I have to stay with you?”
Ethan’s face turned pale, and he couldn’t say anything.
I continued: “Take your things out of my house. I’m planning to sell it.”
“Sell it? Where will you live?”
“I’ll find a place. It’s none of your business anymore.”
Ethan tried to say something, but I had already walked out the door.
My time was precious. I didn’t want to waste any more energy dealing with his
regrets.
