Chapter 3

Mom raised me on her own after the divorce. I had been sickly since I was young, so for my sake, Mom, a highly skilled surgeon, took a position as an assistant in the pediatric department.

Wyatt lived next door and had always looked out for me. Once, I suddenly came down with a high fever while Mom was working the night shift, and Wyatt insisted on taking care of me all night, refusing to leave no matter what anyone said.

He even turned down offers from two of the top universities in the country to pursue medicine, becoming Mom's hand-picked protege. He had even promised me back then, "I want to take care of you for the rest of my life, Gloria!"

When did things start to change?

It must have started around the time Mom adopted my roommate, Wanda. She was fair and beautiful, looking so frail that she seemed like she could fall over at any moment. But she always forced herself to appear strong and said through gritted teeth, "I'm fine!"

Mom initially said, "Wanda has no parents and is in poor health, so you should take extra care of her, Gloria."

She later held Wanda in her arms, scowling deeply at me. "Wanda is so mature and resilient. Why can't you learn to be independent instead of acting like a frail princess over every tiny thing, Gloria?"

Upon seeing how upset I was, Wyatt grew to dislike Wanda even more. "That roommate of yours is such a fake! She's always acting so innocent in front of your mother!"

Wyatt's attention gradually shifted to Wanda. "Wanda has been through so much, yet she is still so resilient. You can't help but feel for her… You should just step back and let her have this, Gloria…"

On the day Wyatt and I were supposed to register our marriage, Wanda made a fuss about wanting to buy us a cake that had gone viral online to celebrate the occasion.

Wyatt went along with it without a second thought. He took a detour for her and even ran a red light to save time, causing the car to collide with a dump truck.

Just before the impact, Wyatt yanked the steering wheel, turning the car onto its side. He and Wanda were mostly unharmed, but the back seat where I was sitting was completely crushed beneath the truck's massive front end.

That was how one of the glass shards from the crash cut into my flesh and lodged itself in my body. Had the glass lodged itself in my heart? Otherwise, why was the pain so severe that it felt like my heart was about to stop beating?

I could taste blood rising in my throat as a searing pain radiated through my abdomen.

In that instant, my overwhelming instinct to survive kept me conscious and clear-headed. I refused to die just like that.

I reached out and gripped the edge of the nurses' station, slowly pulling myself up. "P-Please arrange a transfer to another hospital for me…"

The nurse glanced up at me impatiently. "We can't process a transfer without a doctor's formal diagnosis! That's the protocol!"

I forced down the metallic taste of blood in my mouth and said, "P-Please call an ambulance for me… I-I want to go to another hospital…"

"You can certainly do that." The nurse finally stood up, rapped her knuckles impatiently against the card reader on the counter, and said, "The dispatch fee is 85 dollars. You have to pay first before we make the call."

I was at a loss. I didn't have a single cent to my name. Mom suddenly demanded that I emulate Wanda's frugal and modest lifestyle ever since she moved in with us.

Wanda's monthly allowance was 1,400 dollars, while I had to submit a written request for every penny I spent.

Just the day before, I had handed Mom a request for cab fare to get to City Hall to register my marriage.

She had barely glanced at it before tossing it right back at me. "It's just a short distance. Why spend money on a cab? Wanda used to walk 18 miles to school every day and never once complained about it!"

That was why Wyatt had come to pick me up.

I realized I had lost my phone in the accident, which meant I couldn't even make the payment in the first place.

The nurse scoffed after noticing my silence. "You'd better go back and wait for your turn. Dr. Johnson already said that she'd treat you after seeing all the other patients, right? She had made it crystal clear. We follow protocol to the letter here, and no one gets special treatment!"

My legs were shaking so badly that my knees buckled and I fell forward, but someone grabbed me and held me up.

Maeve's eyes were bloodshot, her face brimming with concern. "I'll pay for the ambulance!"

The nurse across from us grew anxious. "Why are you sticking your neck out for her, Maeve? Do you want to end up washing bedsheets like Dr. Lister, too?"

Maeve pulled me tighter against her for support. "I got into medicine to save lives—not to stand around while someone's in pain!"

She supported me as we slowly made our way out, but Mom's voice suddenly came from behind us. "Where are you going, Gloria? Wanda has lost a lot of blood, so go donate some to her!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "It's just a two-inch cut—"

Mom's tone left no room for argument. "Wanda is anemic, so every single drop of blood counts! You grew up with a doctor for a mother! You, of all people, should know that better than anyone, Gloria!"

I drew a ragged breath, my voice coming out raspy and completely unrecognizable. "D-Did you even read the medical report I left in the drawer of your desk, Mom?"