Chapter 3

With my divorce appointment drawing closer, I went to the hospital for an endoscopy. I'd scheduled the procedure two months earlier, and Victoria had promised to accompany me.

Before we left, she slipped a piece of candy into my bag.

"Your blood sugar might drop after the procedure, so have this as soon as you wake up."

She remembered that I was afraid of pain, and she hadn't forgotten that my hands would start trembling if I went too long without eating.

When we arrived at the hospital, she even unbuckled my seat belt for me.

"Don't be scared. I'll be right here with you," she assured me.

It had been a long time since she'd been this attentive, and for a moment, I almost believed her again. After all, I was about to undergo a medical procedure, and I wanted someone beside me.

But just as I was about to have her sign the anesthesia consent form, Gavin called.

Apparently, he'd run into his ex-wife outside the courthouse, and she was refusing to let him leave. I could hear people arguing in the background, and Victoria immediately went pale.

She sprang to her feet. "I need to go over there."

I instinctively grabbed her sleeve. "My procedure's in ten minutes."

She lowered her voice, sounding irritated. "Lucas, he could be in serious trouble!"

"And I need a family member to sign my consent form," I added.

By then, the nurse was already urging us to hurry.

"Lucas Townsend, you're next."

I pushed the form toward Victoria and said, "Just sign this before you leave."

She picked up the pen, but before she could put it to paper, Gavin started urging her to hurry over the phone.

Her expression darkened, and she immediately set the pen down. "Lucas, you've always been perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. Gavin doesn't have anyone with him right now."

I stared at her for several seconds before asking, "And who's here for me?"

For once, she had no answer.

I took back the consent form and said, "Just go."

Victoria leaned in and gave me a hug. "Trust me. I'll be back before you know it."

I remained perfectly still.

In the end, the nurse had to find someone to accompany me through the procedure.

Before administering the anesthesia, the doctor asked whether I had any family with me. I fought back my tears and told him I didn't.

When I woke up, the harsh lights of the recovery room made my eyes sting. Everyone around me had someone helping them, while I had to brace myself against the edge of the bed and sit up alone.

I reached into my bag and took out the piece of candy Victoria had given me. The wrapper had grown warm from my body heat and stuck to my fingertips.

Even after putting the candy in my mouth, I couldn't taste any sweetness.

Victoria finally showed up at 4:00 pm, looking disheveled. Her clothes were wrinkled, and there was an injury near her temple.

"His ex-wife wouldn't leave him alone. She got some people to come over and cause a scene, so I had to help him deal with it."

She looked at me and asked, "How did your procedure go?"

"It was chronic gastritis."

She immediately sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. At least it's nothing serious."

"I called you three times before they put me under," I told her.

Her fingers stiffened slightly. "Things were so chaotic over there that I didn't hear my phone."

"The woman who accompanied me made the third call," I continued. "She was worried I might have an allergic reaction to the anesthesia, so she wanted to know whether any of my family members were coming."

Victoria's expression shifted. "Did you have an allergic reaction?"

"No."

"Then why didn't you tell me that could happen?"

I suddenly laughed. "I told you when my procedure was scheduled, and I told you about the risks of anesthesia, too. You just assumed I'd be fine."

After we got home, Victoria seemed determined to make it up to me. She kept herself busy around the house and even prepared a stew that was supposed to be gentle on my stomach.

But she'd barely set the dish down when Gavin sent her a photo showing a small scrape on his face.

Victoria looked at me and said, "Gavin might need to stay with us for the next few days."

"He can stay at a hotel," I retorted.

"Why waste money on that?"

"What about me?"

"Lucas, this isn't the time to make everything a competition between you and him," said Victoria.

So, in her eyes, my medical procedure, the fear I'd felt, and those three unanswered phone calls were nothing more than an attempt to compete with Gavin for her attention.

I set down my spoon and said, "Fine."

She looked surprised. "Does that mean you're okay with him staying here?"

"Yeah," I replied.

There were only nine days left until my divorce appointment, anyway.

Soon enough, she wouldn't need my permission for anything.