Light Fades on a Lost Love

Those words struck me like lightning, and I stood frozen to the spot.Just then, Ethan Stone's driver came breathlessly running over. "I have type O blood, Dr. Reid! I can donate!"My eyes were bloodshot as I forced back my shudders and entered the operating room.After three hours of surgery, the boy finally pulled through. Huge beads of sweat dripped down my forehead as I peeled off my gloves.The moment I stepped out of the operating room, Ethan grabbed my shoulders and asked, "How's the boy?" My bloodshot eyes startled him a little as I gave a weak nod, feeling utterly drained of every ounce of strength. Seeing me head out, Ethan quickly followed and draped his coat over my shoulders. "Your shift's over, right? Let me take you home."He opened the front passenger door like he always did, but I walked past him and slid into the back seat instead.The moment I sat down, exhaustion hit me so hard I could barely keep my eyes open. Somehow, out of the corner of my eye, I spott

According to my colleague, Ethan had carefully picked out every single fishbone for Chloe. But in all the time I'd known him, he never ate fish because he couldn't be bothered with the bones.Whenever I cooked fish, he never lifted a finger to help. Instead, he'd puzzledly ask, "Why bother with such a tedious dish?"I glanced at the lunchbox and coolly said, "I'm not hungry, so take it and leave."Ethan's smile froze, and a slightly irritated look flashed in his eyes as he snapped, "What are you upset about now? I went out of my way to cook for you, and you wouldn't even try it."Pressing my lips together, I helplessly replied, "I texted you half an hour ago and asked if you wanted to have lunch together, but you never replied."At that, his annoyance vanished and was replaced by guilt. He'd been ignoring my messages ever since Peanut was admitted. He used to text back in seconds, even in meetings. But now, he'd glance at his phone before putting it away without a word."I'll pic

For the first time in a while, my world finally fell quiet.I sat there, staring at the ring on my finger, and was thrown into memories of the past.Back when the pandemic broke out, I volunteered to help in another state.Everyone said there was a nine-in-ten chance I wouldn't come back, so I kept it a secret, but Ethan found out anyway.He came alone and walked straight into the quarantine zone, ignoring every warning. I watched as he pushed through the crowd and dropped to his knees. "Megan, if you can make it back, I'll give you a wedding. And if you don't… this counts, too. I'll follow you to all ends of the earth and beyond."People called him a lovestruck fool, but he didn't care and stayed to volunteer right beside me.He used to say, "Wherever you are, that's where I'll be. Through fire, blood, and hell itself."When it was finally over, and we won the pandemic, he threw me the grandest wedding I'd ever dreamed of.At the wedding, the calm, stoic man everyone knew cr

Puzzled, I turned and frowned when I saw it was Ethan.He caught the displeasure in my expression and let out a cold laugh. "Disappointed to see me, huh? If I'd shown up any later, would you two have been kissing already?"His sudden jealousy ignited my anger as I snapped, "What does it matter to you?"But he ignored me and turned to look at Calvin. "All these years, and you're still lurking around? It seems like you haven't had enough of following her around in college, so you're still tailing her now, huh?"At that, that strange familiarity about Calvin finally clicked.Back in college, there was always this guy following me around. He never said much and would leave a bottle of water during my PE class, slip me a sandwich when I skipped breakfast, or fill my notebooks with notes when I dozed off in class.He was almost non-existent, yet present in every corner of my life until Ethan and I got together. That was when he vanished without a word.Looking at the two of them now,

I reached out to stop Layla, murmuring, "She's the woman Ethan cheated on me with, and that kid's theirs."Speaking of the devil, Ethan pushed through the door and entered.When our eyes met, a flicker of delight crossed his face. He strode over to our table and exclaimed, "What a surprise, Megan! Are you having lunch here, too? Did you get the flowers I sent? Do you like them?"He was so focused on me that he didn't notice Chloe glaring daggers behind him, looking like she could kill me on the spot.I subtly shifted away and coldly said, "Don't send me flowers again."Ethan froze, visibly thrown off. "Why not? Don't you like them? Shall I send you a different type of flower? Or I could buy one of every flower and make you a huge bouquet. How does that sound?"I let out a weary sigh, feeling my frustration simmering up. "Are you really this clueless, or are you just putting on an act? It's not about the flowers, Ethan. I don't like you, so I hate whatever you give me."Also, you