Chapter 2

Camilla's frosty gaze landed on Jeremy.

"Care to explain yourself?" she questioned.

Jeremy merely glanced at the monitor. Zachary's heart rate had already settled back into a steady rhythm. While he didn't care all that much about Zachary, he was still Zachary's doctor.

He rose to his feet and walked right past Camilla while saying, "Yeah. I did it."

A hostile air emanated from Camilla, like the prelude to a storm. Jeremy had just walked through the doorway when she called out, "Stop right there!"

His footsteps paused. He assumed she was about to defend Zachary again without actually bothering to get to the bottom of things first. But to his surprise, she didn't pursue the matter.

"I'm taking Zachary to the beach. I won't be coming home tonight."

Recalling the text he received, Jeremy nodded. "I know. I saw the message."

The calm look on his face made Camilla's chest tighten. Her eyes darkened with even more emotion.

"I'll be staying in the same room as him tonight. Are you… okay with that?" she asked.

Jeremy was momentarily taken aback.

How long had it been since Camilla had last asked for his opinion?

He finally looked at her properly. She used to have brown wavy hair, but now it was straight and black. She was wearing a simple cream-colored T-shirt with a white maxi skirt.

Straight black hair, long, flowy skirts, and youthful-looking outfits were all Zachary's favorites. It had been his 21st wish.

Jeremy's gaze drifted to the bag hanging from her shoulder. Her phone was inside there somewhere. The password was Zachary's birthday, and the lock screen was an old photo of the two of them together, taken who knew when. That had been Zachary's 30th wish.

Even though Camilla was his wife, everything about her and every aspect of her life were filled with traces of another man.

How could Jeremy be okay with that? But even if he weren't, would Camilla stop? After countless arguments, he'd long since realized that it was meaningless to protest.

Jeremy withdrew his gaze and continued walking off, but not before saying, "I've got nothing to worry about. I know you know your boundaries."

Camilla froze.

"I… know my boundaries?"

She repeated the words he'd just said. They sounded awfully familiar to her because she used to say it all the time. This time, he'd thrown them back at her, and it made her feel like she'd swallowed a fly.

"Camilla, are you two fighting because of me again?" Zachary's voice broke the silence.

Camilla snapped out of her thoughts and sat down on the chair by the bed, her expression neutral. Instead of responding, she gently moved the overbed table into position and opened up one of the insulated lunchboxes, placing it on top of the table.

"You must be hungry. Have your dinner first."

Looking at the carefully prepared meal, Zachary immediately recognized the food had come from his favorite restaurant. Business there was always booming. Even takeout had to be reserved two days in advance.

"Thanks for taking the effort, Camilla." He picked up the cutlery before noticing there was another lunchbox. "There's another one. Aren't you eating?"

Camilla glanced at the other lunchbox and said nothing. She'd brought it for Jeremy. While she knew he'd been forced to put up with some grievances lately, it wasn't like she'd done it on purpose. Was she supposed to ignore Zachary when he was sick?

Why was a grown man like Jeremy being so petty about such unimportant things? Didn't he realize how overly sensitive and dramatic he was being?

Still, she knew she'd neglected Jeremy way too much. That was why she'd specifically prepared some food for him today—but nothing too elaborate, of course. She didn't want to seem like she was humbling herself and trying to appease him or anything.

However, even when she'd taken the initiative to speak to him, he'd responded with nothing but thinly veiled sarcasm. That only made her feel even more disgruntled.

When Zachary received no answer from Camilla, he moved to open the second lunchbox for her. "You just assumed the reins at the company. I'm sure you must be running yourself ragged. Eat with me."

Camilla's brows lifted. She was about to stop him, but he'd already opened the lid. The food was a sorry mess, and the salad on the side looked limp and wilted.

Zachary was stunned. "What's this…"

Camilla calmly took the lunchbox and snapped the lid back on.

"It's leftovers from yesterday's dinner," she said while glancing at the door, her tone clipped. "I brought it for Jeremy. Leftovers are all he deserves to eat."

…

Jeremy went to see the hospital's vice president, Albert Landry. Standing in Albert's office, he handed over the resignation letter he'd prepared long ago.

"As I mentioned yesterday, Dr. Landry, I want to resign from the hospital," he stated.

Albert was nearing his 50s. Though streaks of gray had already appeared in his hair, he remained energetic. He had served as the hospital's vice president for almost a decade.

Taking the resignation letter, he looked at Jeremy.

"I'll be honest with you, Jeremy. I think you might've offended someone you shouldn't have. I don't know who it is, but word's come down that no hospital is allowed to hire you. If you leave this hospital, you might not find another job."

Jeremy shrugged. "There's no point in staying here anyway. I might be doing the work of a doctor, but I'm earning less than a nurse's salary."

Albert was amused. Laughing, he remarked, "Was that jab meant for me?"

But after saying that, he shook his head. "There's nothing I can do about it, Jeremy. Why don't you tell me who you offended? I'll see if I have the means to help you smooth things out a bit. I think quite highly of you, you know."

Jeremy fell silent. The Sloans made his life difficult solely because they thought he wasn't worthy of Camilla. His mother-in-law, Harriet Eastwood, and his sister-in-law, Charlotte Sloan, were constantly picking on him in his personal life. Meanwhile, his father-in-law, Ralph Sloan, suppressed his career.

This had been going on for years now.

Nevertheless, Jeremy was still taken aback by the present situation. He'd been married to Camilla for three years now. This whole time, he'd patiently put up with all of their mistreatment and conceded to their every demand. Who would've thought that, even to this day, the Sloans still looked down on him?

All along, he'd tolerated everything because he loved Camilla. But now, she was no longer treating him the way she used to, so there was no reason for him to stick around and invite more humiliation.

Just yesterday, Jeremy had already made up his mind about what to do. The text about the hotel reservation he'd received today had simply been the final straw, further solidifying his decision.

He was done trying to stay with Camilla and win over her family.

"Thank you for wanting to help, Dr. Landry, but it won't be necessary," Jeremy said.

Albert sighed. He picked up his pen and signed a form to indicate he'd received the resignation letter.

"Alright then. You can officially leave the hospital after five days. I'll write you a letter of recommendation. Take it to an old friend of mine and ask him for a job. I'm pretty sure he'll agree to it on my account."

Jeremy was startled. For the first time in a long while, he broke into a genuine smile. He really did need that letter of recommendation.

"Thank you, Dr. Landry. For the next five days, I'll take care of my last two patients to the best of my abilities and complete my final shifts properly."

Albert patted him on the shoulder. "It's fine. Just do as you normally would."

After leaving Albert's office, Jeremy headed off to continue his rounds. He was walking past the nurses' station when a young woman in a nurse's uniform stood in his way. Her delicate features shared a resemblance to Camilla's.

It was Charlotte, Jeremy's sister-in-law. She was about to graduate and was only interning as a nurse at the hospital.

The Sloans publicly claimed to uphold strict family values. Even Charlotte had to start from the bottom. But unlike how they dealt with Jeremy, they made no attempt to hide the fact that Charlotte was one of the future heiresses of Sloan Group. On the contrary, they acted as if they wanted the whole wide world to know about it.

As a result, despite only being an intern nurse, the entire staff at the hospital bent over backward to suck up to Charlotte. No one dared to get her to do any real work.

Charlotte's head was tilted upward as she eyed Jeremy, the sweet and endearing smile she usually gave others replaced with an arrogant and contemptuous expression.

The well-honed ability to shift one's attitude at the drop of a hat seemed to be an inherited trait among the Sloan family.

For the past two years, despite being embroiled in a cold war with Camilla, Jeremy had remained amiable and attentive toward the rest of her family. But since he'd already made his decision, there was no need for him to keep putting up with such disrespect for the sake of harmony.

"Do you need something?" he asked coolly, much to Charlotte's shock.

In the past, he had always gone the extra mile to please her. Why had his attitude changed so abruptly?

Furious, she planted both hands on her hips and snapped, "What's with your attitude? You think I'd even bother to talk to you if Camilla hadn't asked me to bring you your dinner? Don't make it seem like I want to have anything to do with you!"

Jeremy frowned. Had Camilla brought him dinner?

He was reminded of the two lunchboxes he'd seen back in Zachary's hospital room earlier.

"Take it and go! Don't tell anyone you know me!" Charlotte snatched the lunchbox off the counter and practically threw it at him before carrying on with her rant. "What a waste of my time. I still have my thesis to finish!"

Jeremy caught the lunchbox, but the lid popped open due to the forceful throw. The food looked worse than the cheapest takeout from the lowest-rated restaurant. It was just a bunch of wilted greens and a few charred pieces of braised beef. To make matters worse, the food seemed to have gone bad and smelled sour.

Charlotte saw the food and doubled over laughing. "Hahaha! I was wondering why Camilla suddenly decided to be nice to you, but it's only some lousy leftovers!"

With a wry smile tugging at his lips, Jeremy put the lid back on and dumped the lunchbox back onto the counter.

Charlotte immediately scowled. "Hey! Camilla was kind enough to bring you dinner, so what's your problem? You should be counting your blessings! People would kill to get even just the crumbs off the Sloan family's table. Don't be such an ingrate!"

The nasty words rolled right off her tongue.

Jeremy simply brushed her off. "Feed it to the dog who's dying for those crumbs then."