Chapter 3

What I didn't expect was that after that day, Scott became even bolder in how he doted on Piper.

He began bringing her in and out of the office openly, indulging her every whim without hesitation.

I warned him more than once to keep a professional distance, but he would only brush me off with perfunctory reassurances. He accused me of lacking compassion, of turning my back on someone in need.

Before long, the hospital was abuzz with rumors. They said Scott had fallen for someone new. Some even romanticized it, calling their bond a love born from surviving hardship together.

Before I had the chance to confront him, Piper came to find me.

At the time, I was working a free clinic in a disaster zone. Gone was her usual delicate, soft-spoken demeanor. In its place was smug arrogance.

"Dr. Armstrong," she said, chin held high, "Scott loves me. I suggest you back off before things get ugly. He told me that he only came to this godforsaken place because you pressured him into it. If it were up to him, he never would've become a field doctor.

"Save yourself the humiliation and break up with him. Do you really want to be the pathetic one clinging to a man who's already moved on?"

My hand trembled as I snapped open an ampoule. The jagged edge sliced deep into my skin. Blood poured down my wrist.

She smiled faintly, eyes gleaming with triumph. "Still not giving up, Dr. Armstrong? No matter. You'll know soon enough who Scott chooses."

She leaned in closer. I instinctively stepped back, but she suddenly grabbed my wrist.

The broken glass tore a long gash down my arm, but before I could cry out in pain, she shrieked and flung herself backward.

We both stumbled to the ground, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Moments later, Scott arrived in a panic and scooped Piper into his arms without a second thought.

"Piper, are you okay?"

Then he turned to glare at me, his eyes full of anger. "Is it so hard for you to accept her presence?"

Piper clung to him, her voice trembling with practiced vulnerability. "I just wanted to help Dr. Armstrong… but she called me a homewrecker… Dr. Maynard, maybe it's best if you stop taking care of me…"

Her words immediately ignited Scott's temper. "Just look at yourself! Do you think someone like you deserves to be a doctor? I've told you—again and again—that I'm only worried about her. Why can't you let it go? She's all alone in a foreign country. Can't you show some basic decency and stop nitpicking every little thing?"

I stared at him in stunned silence, unable to believe what I was hearing.

Was this really the man I'd loved for eight years? The one who now stood there defending a woman he'd only known for a few weeks?

The injustice boiled over inside me, and I finally snapped. "She provoked me first! Are you my boyfriend or hers? She even hurt—"

"Enough!"

Before I could finish, he cut me off sharply.

His voice was cold, full of impatience. "How many times do I have to explain? There's nothing between Piper and me! Why can't you stop being so paranoid? I gave up everything to follow you here. What more do you want from me?"

His words hit like ice water.

As I watched him walk away, still carrying Piper in his arms, I felt something inside me crumble.

For the first time, I realized just how little my eight years had meant.

I removed the makeshift ring from my finger and tossed it into the drawer.

From that day on, Scott never sought me out again. Even though we still lived under the same roof, he went out of his way to avoid me.

Our colleagues began to distance themselves as well. Behind my back, they whispered that I was the real third party, because I was the one who wasn't loved.

I didn't get angry. I buried myself in work instead. I believed that someday, the truth would come to light.

Until that day, war broke out in this country, and the rebel forces surrounded the hospital.

Due to a tampered batch of medication, many of the rebels died.

Someone accused me of being a spy and poisoning them on purpose.