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After Ninety-nine Times
After Ninety-nine Times
Автор: Anonymous

Chapter 1

Aвтор: Anonymous
The courthouse steps were warm from how long I’d been sitting there.

For what felt like the hundredth time, I lit up my phone screen and stared at the last message Annie Sanders had sent three hours ago.

“A medical emergency just came in. Give me a few minutes.”

However, those “few minutes” had turned into hours.

Finally, that familiar white SUV pulled up. I stood up so fast I nearly tripped over myself.

Then, I froze. Sitting in the passenger seat was Joseph Quinn, the same intern who’d haunted our relationship like a shadow I couldn’t shake.

Annie rolled down the window, her voice carrying the same urgency I’d come to know too well.

“Get in! Joseph’s having heart palpitations. We have to get him to the hospital now!”

Right on cue, Joseph let out a pained groan, curling up in his seat.

I turned my eyes to him and noticed something. His hair had clearly been styled, and beneath his white coat, I could see a neatly pressed shirt collar. His skin even looked healthier than mine.

Was that what a medical emergency looked like? Did she forget I was a doctor too?

I took a deep breath before asking, “Annie, do you remember what today is? We were supposed to get our marriage registered.”

She slapped the steering wheel in frustration. “I know! But he’s in critical condition right now. Can we not argue about this now?”

Joseph lifted his head weakly, putting on that fake, selfless act of his. “I’ll be fine, Dr. Sanders. You two should get your paperwork done. I… I’ll take a cab back.”

As he reached for his seatbelt, he turned just slightly, and that was when I saw the smug, satisfied smile he flashed at me. In that moment, I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, to Annie, all this made me look unreasonable again.

She raised her voice and kept his hand on the seatbelt. “Are you serious, Finn? Look at him! We can get married any day. What if something happens to him? This is a matter of life and death! Stop being so selfish!”

Selfish?

The three of us were doctors. His poor acting was practically an insult to our profession.

“He was joking around at the nurses' station during his rounds this morning, and now he’s suddenly headed for the ICU?”

“Enough!” Annie shoved the door open. “He has tachycardia and shortness of breath. He could go into–”

“Into what? Respiratory arrest?” I cut her off. “Do you need me to recite the symptoms of cardiac failure for you? Because he sure doesn’t have them.”

Joseph flinched. His little performance cracked right there. However, Annie didn’t even notice. She thought I was just being heartless.

“You’re being so immature! What do you even have against Joseph?” she questioned emotionally.

What did I have against him?

She was always bending over backward for him and pushing me aside. Every time I tried to fight for our relationship, it somehow became me being unreasonable.

I gave a soft, bitter laugh and slowly slipped our documents back into my pocket.

“This makes ninety-nine.”

“What?”

“This is the ninety-ninth time we’ve tried to get our marriage registered.” I turned toward the subway entrance. “And the ninety-ninth time you’ve left me hanging because of him.”

I heard her heels stop on the pavement, then suddenly start running after me.

“The first time, you bailed on our trip because he was on the night shift and scared of the dark. You took a red-eye flight just to be with him.

“The second time, we were practically at the door of the courthouse. You heard he fainted from overwork and left me standing in the snow alone for an entire day.”

I looked into Annie’s eyes, pulling my hand away from hers.

“And now, today, that makes ninety-nine. Do you even remember what today is, Annie? It’s our seventh anniversary.”

A flicker of panic flashed across her face. She tried to explain, but right then, Joseph groaned again inside the car.

She turned to look, and just like that, the panic was replaced by concern for someone else.

“I get that you’re upset,” she said, “but Joseph needs me right now. I can’t delay his treatment just because we’re getting married. Take a cab, okay? I need to take him to the hospital.”

I nodded silently, and as I watched them drive off, the reality of the past seven years finally sank in like a knife to the gut.

She would always choose the one who needed her most, and that person was never going to be me.
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  • After Ninety-nine Times   Chapter 9

    She suddenly grabbed my hand. Her grip was surprisingly strong. However, I peeled her fingers off mine, one by one, just like the way she had once walked away from me without hesitation, all for Joseph.“We’re over,” I said quietly. “Let go. At least save yourself some dignity.”Her crying drew the attention of nearby diners, and a waiter approached, hesitating. “Sir, do you need help?”I shook my head, stood up, and walked out. Behind me, Annie tried to follow, but her foot caught on the leg of the chair, and she fell hard onto the floor. Still, I didn’t turn around.Outside, the night air brushed against my face before my phone buzzed again, her name lighting up on the screen. I simply blocked the number, hailed a cab, and climbed in. In the rearview mirror, I saw her stumble out of the restaurant, chasing after me, looking so small under the streetlights.I watched her for a moment. Then I turned my head away. From that moment on, whatever happened to her—good or bad—had noth

  • After Ninety-nine Times   Chapter 8

    I thought meeting Annie would just be a minor blip in my life, but her persistence went far beyond anything I could’ve imagined.Ever since that embarrassing scene at the medical conference, my phone hadn’t stopped blowing up. At first, it was just apologies. Then came the long, drawn-out texts filled with nostalgia, and now, it had escalated into full-on harassment.“Dr. Hardy, someone dropped off flowers for you again.” Nurse Lisa poked her head into the office, a teasing smile on her face. “Nine hundred and ninety-nine roses. It’s quite a sight.”I didn’t even look up. “The usual. Split them among the staff.”That was the third time that week. It was obvious Annie was trying to recreate the early days of our relationship.Back then, it was flowers, gifts, and her waiting downstairs for hours just to see me. However, that was then. Now, those same gestures didn’t touch me. They just wore me down.Nurse Lisa hesitated for a moment. “She’s out at the front desk again. She said sh

  • After Ninety-nine Times   Chapter 7

    Life in Seaview turned out to be smoother than I expected.The colleagues at the hospital were warm and welcoming, and the work environment was laid-back and supportive. I quickly adjusted to the new pace and even started enjoying the city’s unique blend of energy and calm.Three months later, I was chosen to represent our hospital at a national cardiothoracic surgery conference. The event was held at the Seaview International Convention Center, drawing top specialists from across the country.I was in the middle of a conversation with a few peers, discussing the latest surgical procedures, when a sudden commotion broke out behind me.“Finn!”That familiar voice made every muscle in my body tense. I turned around and saw Annie standing just a few feet away, pale as a ghost.She had lost a lot of weight. Her white coat, which used to fit perfectly, now hung loosely on her frail frame. The dark circles under her eyes and the redness in them made it obvious that she hadn’t been slee

  • After Ninety-nine Times   Chapter 6

    Thankfully, things had been light at work recently, so the handover went unusually smoothly.In my office, I filed the last few patient reports. Seven years’ worth of surgical records were now neatly packed into cardboard boxes. Soon, they’d belong to someone else.Suddenly, the door slammed open. Annie stood there, eyes locked onto me. She wasn’t wearing makeup today, and dark circles hung under her eyes. Her lips were pale from biting them too hard.“I… I haven’t agreed to your resignation,” she said.I didn’t even look up. I kept organizing the files as I replied flatly, “Department transfers don’t require multiple approvals. It was the head office’s decision.”“Finn!” She slammed her palm down on the desk, hard enough to make the pens in the holder rattle and jump.However, her anger faded almost instantly. Her fingers rubbed nervously along the edge of the desk.“How long are you going to keep doing this?”Finally, I looked up at her, calm and distant. “I’m wrapping up my

  • After Ninety-nine Times   Chapter 5

    However, in the days that followed, Annie only pushed me further by provoking me.Every morning during rounds, she would just happen to show up with Josephs, who—always in the same cobalt-blue dress shirt—would make a point of adjusting Annie’s white coat collar right in front of me.And she? She’d flash him a sweet, exaggerated smile, her voice loud enough for the entire hallway to hear. “You're so thoughtful!”The nurses at the station were all whispering. Some even looked at me with sympathy. However, most were just waiting for the drama to explode.One afternoon in the cafeteria, Joseph went out of his way to stop me. “Dr. Quinn said she's taking me to that sushi place tonight, the one you love so much.” He gave me a smug little wink. “That’s the same place you two had your first date, right?”I brushed past him without so much as a glance, but the worst of it came Wednesday, during the early morning staff meeting.Annie showed up ten minutes late, breathless, and alongsi

  • After Ninety-nine Times   Chapter 4

    After what happened with Joseph, things between Annie and me turned into a silent, drawn-out cold war. However, that worked in my favor as it gave me the space I needed to start packing.Without a second thought, I tossed my favorite mug into the trash. It was the one we bought on our first date. It was a white ceramic, with two cartoon cats snuggled together printed on the side.We’d had it for seven years, and the glaze at the bottom had started to chip, just like our relationship—worn down and cracked in places.I packed and tossed things as I went, loading every souvenir of “us” into boxes headed straight for the dumpster. The bedroom was quickly buried in cardboard as I sorted through my stuff piece by piece, separating what was mine from what was hers.At the back of the closet, I found the first gift Annie ever gave me. It was a dark gray scarf, awkwardly stitched with uneven rows. She’d spent a whole month secretly learning to knit just to make it for me.I stared at it fo

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