Jealousy Unspoken

"Lucas, right?" Victor said, looking at me.

"It's nice seeing you again," I said with a small smile.

He smiled back. "I was hoping I would run into you again."

A brief silence passed between us before he spoke.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

I blinked, caught off guard.

"A date?"

"Yeah," he said, letting out a small laugh. "I mean, we could just spend some time together and get to know each other better."

I looked away for a moment.

A date with a guy?

With someone like me?

The thought felt unfamiliar.

But something inside me had changed since that momentwith Raihan. The confusion, the emotions, and everything I tried to ignore were starting to become impossible to push away.

“Of co—”

The words had barely escaped my lips when a deliberate cough sounded from beside me, cutting through the moment before I could complete my sentence.

I almost completely forgot that Raihan was standing right beside me.

The instant I turned my attention toward him, I was met with a dangerously intense gaze. His eyes briefly shifted toward Victor, studying him with unmistakable displeasure and silent hostility.

I immediately cleared my throat, attempting to dissolve the sudden tension hanging between us.

"This is my..." I paused, momentarily searching for the right words. "My roommate. His name is Raihan," I finally introduced.

Victor, unaware of the tension, extended his hand politely for a handshake.

Raihan stared at his offered hand for a brief moment before letting out a dismissive scoff.

Without saying a word, he turned away and walked off, leaving behind an atmosphere filled with awkwardness and unspoken emotions.

"Is he alright?" Victor asked, his expression filled with concern.

I glanced in the direction Raihan had disappeared.

"He's... complicated," I replied, trying to hide my frustration.

After a brief pause, I muttered, "He’s probably just mentally unstable."

"Hmm..." I murmured softly.

"Are you working here?" I asked, my eyes briefly settling on the doctor’s coat and stethoscope around his neck.

"Yes," he replied. "I was recently transferred to this hospital."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I was actually on my way here when I unexpectedly ran into you."

His expression shifted into curiosity as he looked at me.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"My friend was admitted here," I said quietly.

“Perhaps fate has a way of bringing us together again,” he said, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

I simply returned the gesture, unable to hide my own smile.

“I’ll give you a call so we can arrange our date,” he added.

Before I could respond, a sudden wave of urgency erupted within the hospital corridors.

A patient was hurriedly brought into the emergency department, surrounded by medical staff.

Victor’s expression immediately transformed.

The warmth in his eyes was replaced by the focused determination of a doctor responding to a crisis.

Without another word or a proper goodbye, he rushed toward the emergency room.

I almost completely forgot the purpose behind my visit to the hospital.

My eyes wandered around the corridor, searching for Raihan, but he was nowhere to be found.

With no other choice, I quietly made my way toward Drey’s ward.

As I walked through the silent hallway, a multitude of unanswered questions continued to occupy my thoughts, leaving me trapped between confusion, curiosity, and uncertainty.

What exactly am I getting myself into?

What if he ends up hurting Victor?

First, it was Drey... and now it’s Victor.

Why am I even allowing myself to worry about this?

I have no real connection with Raihan.

Whatever happened between us that night was nothing more than a mistake—an unexpected moment that should have never carried any deeper meaning.

"Cutie," Drey called out from the hospital bed, a playful expression appearing on his face.

"You didn't even bother calling to check on me," he said, feigning disappointment. "I guess you really didn't miss me after all."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, my voice barely above a murmur. "I've been drowning in so much lately that I lost track of everything."

I lowered my gaze, a heavy wave of guilt crashing over me.

"And I'm truly sorry for what happened. If I had been more careful, maybe you wouldn't have ended up in this situation."

"Stop," Drey interrupted gently.

His expression softened as he looked at me.

"Don't carry a burden that was never yours to bear. It wasn't your fault."

His words were meant to comfort me, but the guilt still lingered like a shadow I couldn't shake.

If I hadn’t moved closer to him that night, none of this would have happened, I blamed myself silently.

"Hey, it's fine."

You know I wouldn't blame you for that.

It suddenly hit me.

“Wait… I just remembered Raihan came here,” I told Drey. “He said he wanted to apologize, but I couldn’t find him afterward. He just vanished without a trace.”

“Raihan was here?” Drey asked, disbelief flashing across his face.

“He wouldn’t dare,” he muttered. “If he actually came here, I would have made sure he regretted it.”

Drey shook his head slightly.

“Raihan would never apologize, no matter the circumstances,” he said firmly.

I stared at Drey, utterly bewildered by his reaction.

Are they truly sworn enemies?

What could have possibly happened between them to create this level of resentment?

“Did you happen to cross paths with Noah and Ethan on your way here?” Drey asked.

“They were just here a little while ago. You must have missed them by a hair’s breadth.”

I shook my head.

“No, I didn’t run into them,” I replied.

What was supposed to be a brief visit somehow stretched into nearly twenty minutes.

Before I realized it, we were talking about everything under the sun—laughing, teasing each other, and revisiting old memories as though we were trying to make up for lost time.

Eventually, Drey glanced at me and grinned.

“I’ll be discharged tomorrow morning.”

Relief instantly washed over me.

It felt as though a mountain had been lifted from my shoulders.

At least that was one less storm cloud looming over my head.

“It’s getting rather late. I should probably head back now,” I said, getting to my feet.

A faint smile appeared on Drey’s face.

“I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to come and visit me,” he said.

I stepped out of Drey’s ward with a tiny spark of hope flickering within me.

Perhaps I would cross paths with Victor one more time before leaving.

I lingered around the hospital corridors, my eyes instinctively searching every corner for a familiar face.

He was probably busy attending to patients.

Trying not to dwell on it, I made my way outside and hailed a taxi.

As the vehicle pulled away from the hospital, my mind wandered back to Victor, his smile replaying in my thoughts like a broken record.