Chapter 2

At midnight, I jolted awake and instinctively reached toward the other side of the bed.

“Can you get me some water?”

My hand met nothing but empty sheets.

The apartment was pitch-black, the steady ticking of the clock the only sound.

I stood there quietly for a long time.

Then the doorbell rang.

No one was outside. An insulated food-delivery bag sat alone by the door.

A note had been taped to the top in familiar handwriting.

'I figured you probably skipped dinner again. Whatever happens, please take care of yourself.'

I gave it a cold glance and shut the door.

Then I turned on the kitchen light, boiled some water, and made myself a bowl of noodles.

Whenever I used to come home late from work, Maya would shuffle into the kitchen in her slippers, nagging me as she boiled water and made me a bowl of hot noodle soup.

Now I sat alone on the rug, feeling more exhausted than I could remember.

Maybe I’d added too much salt.

Otherwise, why did the noodles taste so bitter?

Why were they so salty?

The next morning, I pulled myself together and returned to the hospital.

The elevator doors opened, revealing Ryan with his hands in his pockets. He gave Maya’s head a firm but affectionate pat.

The smiles on both their faces froze when they saw me.

I walked straight past them without so much as a glance.

Behind me, several young nurses began whispering excitedly, asking Maya whether she’d finally won Dr. Spencer over.

Her answer sounded strained.

Ryan looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“You just got back and probably haven’t had enough rest. I can cover your night shift.”

I stepped around him without stopping.

“No need.”

Ryan came from a family of prominent doctors and had been exceptional for as long as anyone could remember.

In all our years of school, I was the only person who had ever knocked him out of the top spot.

That summer, he’d stood beneath an old tree on campus and flashed me a bright smile.

“Sophie, right? You’re good, but so am I. I’ll beat you on the next exam.”

We competed for years.

After graduation, we both joined the hospital his family had founded.

To avoid gossip, we let everyone believe we were bitter rivals.

No one knew that Dr. Hayes and Dr. Spencer, who constantly tried to outdo each other, had been together for years.

Or that we’d ended everything overnight.

No one except Maya.

She was a nurse.

After I brought her home, I spent months helping her recover.

I couldn’t stand watching her sit around feeling sorry for herself, so for the first time in all the years I’d known Ryan, I asked him for a favor and had him arrange a position for her at the hospital.

I’d handed them the perfect excuse to see each other every day.

At lunch, Maya and Ryan sat together.

As I passed, she softly called my name.

My steps faltered for only a second before I kept walking.

From the corner of my eye, I saw her lower her head miserably.

Ryan reached over and stroked her hair, murmuring something to comfort her.

Before leaving, Maya placed a piece of vanilla milk candy on the corner of my table.

I glanced at it.

My hand tightened around my fork.

I’d spent my childhood listening to my parents fight. Having enough food to fill my stomach had already felt like a luxury.

The sweetest memory from those years was Maya laughing as she pressed half her candy into my hand.

Later, when I developed stomach problems and started having bouts of low blood sugar, she always carried a bag of them with her.

Before moving away to get married, she’d even given Ryan solemn instructions.

“She only likes the original flavor. Make sure you remember.”

Ryan had looked at me with such warmth and tenderness.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

Now I looked up at the two of them walking away side by side.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

I picked up my tray and left without looking back.

The candy remained untouched on the corner of the table.

It was only one piece of candy.

Giving it up couldn’t be that hard.