CHAPTER 3

Atarah Klyte

My heart pounded violently in my chest as I stared blankly into space. The face of the handsome doctor I had spent a reckless night with kept replaying in my mind.

Fate really had a twisted sense of humor.

Who would have thought that the man I had a one-night stand with was actually a doctor?

And worse—he turned out to be the same "Rare” everyone had been talking about, the newly deployed Doctor at the hospital where I worked.

Great.

He must never recognize me. I couldn't let that happen. The thought alone made my stomach twist in embarrassment.

Oh girl, the thought of me looking so desperate for him makes me want to disappear out of embarrassment.

Luckily, I still had two weeks left before I had to return to work. Two weeks of peace—two weeks where I could avoid seeing him.

But what would happen after that?

What was I supposed to do then?

Maybe I should just avoid him until he goes back to Paris. But is that even possible? The hospital may be big, but I’m scared that the more I try to stay away from him, the more fate will find ways to bring us closer.

"Ate Atarah..”

I snapped out of my thoughts when someone called my name.

Right. I came here for Chu Chu.

I pushed the thought of Rare out of my head. For now, Chu Chu needed my attention more than my foolish memories.

"Hija, are you alright? You look pale. You've been spacing out for a while now," Chu Chu's mother asked worriedly.

I forced a small smile and shrugged.

"I'm fine, Auntie. Right, Chu Chu? We're still fighters, aren't we? Go, go, fight, fight," I said gently as I looked at the little girl lying weakly on the hospital bed.

Her skin had grown pale, the dark circles beneath her eyes deepening. She had become painfully thin.

Even from her eyes alone, I could tell how exhausted she was.

"Ate... I can't anymore. I'm tired," Chu Chu whispered weakly.

My tears fell instantly.

All the thoughts that had been crowding my mind disappeared. The only thing that mattered now was the fragile life in front of me.

"Ate Ath... don't cry," she said softly. "I'm happy. Mom and Dad are happy too, right? I want to go and see Jesus now..”

Her mother forced a trembling smile.

"Y-yes, daughter. We're happy."

Her father simply nodded, his smile heavy with grief.

"See, Ate? Mom and Dad aren't crying. They're happy for me. Can I close my eyes now? I want to rest and play with the childrens in heaven..”

"No... no," I murmured, shaking my head.

But Chu Chu's mother gently held my shoulder. Her eyes were filled with silent acceptance.

‘It's alright, She's tired. We've already accepted it.’ her gaze seemed to say.

I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath before nodding.

"You can rest now, baby," I whispered.

"Yes... Thank you for everything, Ate Ath. Mom, Dad... I love you all."

Her voice faded little by little as her eyes slowly closed.

I checked her pulse.

It was growing weaker.

Chu Chu's mother suddenly broke down into loud sobs while her husband wrapped his arms around her.

Moments later, the doctor arrived—Dr. Aljen.

I stepped back and let her examine Chu Chu.

"Time of death... 2:37 PM."

My knees nearly gave out.

---

IT WAS already seven in the evening when I finally returned home.

I went back to the mansion, suddenly missing the comfort of my old room.

The moment I stepped inside, I saw Ate Akisha happily playing with her daughter, Akeila, in the living room.

I ignored them and headed straight upstairs, but she called after me.

"Ath? Why didn't you come home last night? Have you been crying?"

I glanced at her coldly.

"I stayed at my condo. And yes."

Without another word, I hurried upstairs. I didn't want to talk to her. If I stayed any longer, I might say something I would regret.

Inside my room, I locked the door and collapsed onto my bed, exhaustion finally weighing down my body.

---

I WAS babysitting Akeila while Mom, Dad, and Akisha's in-laws were busy preparing for my sister's birthday celebration.

The party was still weeks away, but everyone was already frantic with preparations. It was going to be a grand event, especially since they were planning another big announcement.

Even if they hadn't said it yet, I already knew what it was.

Akisha was probably pregnant again.

I had seen her vomiting earlier—classic morning sickness.

Lucky her. She already had two children.

Meanwhile, me?

Still nothing.

It had been a week since that one reckless night, but my pregnancy tests were still negative.

Of course they were. It had only been a week.

Maybe in two or three more weeks there would be a result.

The thought made me grin excitedly.

If I got pregnant, my parents would finally stop pressuring me about having a baby.

I would have one of my own.

I wouldn't feel jealous anymore.

While changing Akeila's diaper in Akisha's room, I accidentally dropped something and bent down to pick it up.

That was when I noticed a matte black box hidden beneath the bed.

Curious, I pulled it out.

Inside were colorful letters—love letters, judging by the handwriting.

I skimmed through them and realized they were from Akisha's admirers throughout her school years.

Then I found photographs.

Pictures of her with her ex-boyfriends.

I chuckled.

Imagine if Charl saw these.

But then I froze.

One photo caught my attention.

Akisha stood smiling, a young man hugging her from behind.

My breath caught.

The man was Rare.

I stared at the photo, convinced my eyes were deceiving me.

Maybe it was just someone who looked like him.

But when I turned the picture over, my stomach dropped.

“I love you, Baby. I love you, Rare.”

*Rare — my first love.*

My jaw nearly hit the floor.

So it was really him.

The same Rare I had slept with.

Fate, why were you playing games with me like this?

I didn't even know Rare.

Every boyfriend my sister had ever dated—I knew them.

And I was sure her first love was Kuya Luke.

So how could it be Rare?

Looking closely at the photo, I noticed the Eiffel Tower behind them.

Paris.

They looked young—maybe thirteen or fourteen years old.

Then I remembered.

Akisha had once spent a vacation in Paris with our grandmother when she was thirteen.

"What the hell..."

My legs felt weak.

How could something like this happen?

---

TIME passed quickly. Soon enough, my vacation ended, and it was time to return to work.

In all my years as a nurse, this was the first time I felt reluctant to step into the hospital.

The hospital had always been my second home.

But now?

Now it felt like a battlefield.

Because somewhere inside those halls...

Rare was there.

The moment I learned that he was my sister’s ex-boyfriend, I wanted even more to disappear and never show myself to him again. Everything became so chaotic

Later that evening, while getting a blood from a little girl named Esang, I was trying to calm her down.

"Be brave, okay?" I told her softly. "We're just removing the bad things in your body so you can get better."

After the procedure, the little girl smiled weakly.

"I want a doll," she said.

"Then I'll buy you one. And a dollhouse too."

Just as I finished, someone knocked on the door.

Esang's mother opened it.

"Oh, Doctor. Good evening."

I turned slightly—then froze.

The voice that answered was painfully familiar.

"Yeah, I just wanted to check on Esang. Her surgery is coming up.”

My heart nearly stopped.

It was him.

Rare.

Oh no.

What was I supposed to do now?