Chapter 3

That afternoon, Maya was completely distracted.

Her gaze kept drifting toward the doctors’ office, though I couldn’t tell who she was looking for.

During rounds, I checked the IV hanging beside one of the patients and frowned.

“Maya Winters.”

She snapped back to attention.

“Dr. Hay... Dr. Hayes.”

I closed the patient’s door behind me, my voice turning cold.

“What happened with the dosage for the patient in Bed 11? Is this your first day on the job? Who’s going to take responsibility if something happens?”

Maya hurriedly checked the chart.

All the color drained from her face.

“Dr. Hayes, I’m so sorry.”

I took a slow breath.

“I’m not the one you owe an apology to. The patient is.”

Then I turned to the head nurse.

“Please don’t assign Maya to any of my shifts again. Thank you.”

Her eyes reddened instantly.

She bit her lip, struggling to hold back her tears.

Ryan hurried over after hearing the commotion.

He checked the dosage, then frowned.

“It was a minor mistake. Was there really any need to get this angry?”

He gave Maya a reassuring pat on the back.

I looked up at the familiar face before me and was suddenly struck by the absurdity of it all.

“Ryan Spencer.

“Medical professionals can’t afford to be careless. Every mistake, no matter how small, could cost someone their life.

“Who was it who taught me that?”

His expression changed.

For once, he had nothing to say.

Ryan was the hospital owner’s son. He’d grown up surrounded by praise and privilege.

Back in school, he was always secretly competing with me, and I’d never once backed down.

Then one day, he’d smiled and explained himself.

“My family has always been incredibly demanding. Don’t assume I’m some spoiled rich kid who coasts through life.

“Sophie, we want the same things. I worked my way here too.

“Could you stop hating me so much?”

I had truly believed we were the same kind of person.

The hallway lights shone down on the medical chart in my hands, making the white paper almost painfully bright.

Disappointment filled me.

Slowly, I shook my head.

Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but Maya suddenly covered her mouth and ran away in tears.

He gave me a long, troubled look before hurrying after her.

From the rooftop, the city lights stretched out beneath the night sky.

I stood alone in the cool breeze, trying to clear my head.

The door suddenly swung open.

Maya stepped outside, her eyes red.

“Ryan said you come up here whenever you’re upset.”

I froze.

Whenever I encountered a difficult patient or a complicated case, I used to come here to unwind.

It had been Ryan’s and my secret.

In front of everyone else, we were fierce rivals.

But up here, away from everyone else, we had simply been a couple in love.

Maya stepped closer.

“Sophie, I’m sorry. I know those words aren’t enough.

“But I really couldn’t help how I felt.”

Her voice broke.

“You’re so capable. You can get anything you want. You have your career, your talent, and everyone’s respect.

“But I’m different. I’m just an ordinary person.

“I only wanted someone by my side.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“Out of everyone in the world, why did it have to be Ryan?”

Her expression changed.

After a long silence, she seemed to force herself to speak.

“You can hate me or blame me. I don’t regret it.

“You’ve helped me a lot, but I don’t owe you anything.

“After this, we’re even.”

I nearly laughed myself to tears.

After Maya left, Ryan stood quietly a few feet away from me.

He lit a cigarette.

“We were together for years, Sophie, but you were always the calm one.

“You never said you needed me. You never said you missed me or that you were scared.

“You never needed my family’s connections or anything I could give you.

“Whenever I bought you a gift, you always made sure to give me something of equal value in return.

“For a while, I wondered whether you even cared about me that much.”

But when he spoke of Maya, his gaze softened.

“She’s different.

“When she looks at me, I’m her whole world.”

I fell silent.

After a while, I gave him a self-mocking smile but said nothing.

Maya had always been the kind of person who made love her entire world.

She had been willing to leave everything behind and move across the country for it.

I was different.

Love was only one part of my life.

Maybe it made up ten percent of everything I was.

But within that ten percent, Ryan had been one hundred percent.

He simply hadn’t understood.

I turned and walked away.

The night wind swept across the rooftop and pushed the door shut behind me.

I would never come back here again.