Chapter 2

Nicole 

He bent down and picked up my phone, his eyes landed on the screen for a split second. My heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, I rushed forward and snatched the phone out of his hand before he had the chance to read any of my messages.

"Thank you," I said coldly, tightening my grip around the phone.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. We simply stared at each other.

"I can't believe you are standing here in front of me," David finally said, still looking at me in disbelief. I slowly looked him up and down, he looked different.

His body was much broader than I remembered, as though he had spent countless hours in the gym over the past few years. He looked more mature, more confident, and even more handsome than before.

David had always been an incredibly attractive man. That was one of the reasons I had stayed hopelessly attached to him for so long, despite the way he treated me. His coldness never stopped me from loving him. 

Looking at him now, I couldn't help but notice how much Jayden looked like him. They shared the same eyes, the same jawline, and the same facial features. Jayden was almost a perfect copy of his father.

"You look… breathtaking..." he said before clearing his throat, as though he regretted letting those words slip out. 

"You look different and you look good." I held his gaze without the slightest emotion.

"Let's just say the past five years have treated me very well. They have been peaceful and fulfilling."

For a brief moment, something flickered across his face, his eyes trembled slightly, almost as if my words had hurt him. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, a familiar voice interrupted him from behind.

"David , I have been looking everywhere for—" The voice stopped abruptly.

I looked past David, Tamara stood frozen a few feet away, staring at me as though she had seen a ghost. The color drained from her face, and horror slowly filled her eyes, a small smirk spread across my lips.

"You..." Tamara said, her eyes widening in disbelief. "I thought you had left New York for good. What are you doing back here?"

Before I could answer, she quickly walked over to David and slipped her arm through his. Then, almost as if she wanted to remind me of everything I had lost, she deliberately raised her left hand for me to see the wedding ring on her finger.

"It doesn't really matter why you are here," she said with a smug smile. "David and I are married now, and we will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary soon. You should come over. It will give you the chance to meet our daughter."

I felt my jaw tighten, every word she spoke was like rubbing salt into an old wound. Still, I refused to let her see that she had gotten under my skin. "I'm happy for you," I replied calmly. The words tasted bitter the moment they left my mouth.

It looked like Tamara was still winning. Every battle I had ever fought with her ended the same way. She always came out on top. Ever since we were children, she had been jealous of me for reasons I never understood.

Our mothers had been close friends, but Tamara and I could never stand each other. We argued over everything, and somehow she always found a way to make my life miserable. 

After my mother died of cancer, my father married Tamara's mother. I fought against it with everything I had, I cried, screamed, and threw endless tantrums because I refused to accept another woman as my mother. Instead of comforting me, my father gave me the biggest shock of my life.

The woman I had called Mom wasn't my biological mother, neither of them was my biological parent. They had adopted me after my birth mother abandoned me, and they had promised each other they would never tell me the truth.

Learning that shattered me, as the years passed, things only became worse. Even though Tamara wasn't my father's biological daughter either, he always treated her better than he treated me. No matter what happened, she came first, I was always second.

"Wait..." Tamara said with a laugh, as though she had just remembered something amusing. "Do Mom and Dad even know you are back?" She laughed again, shaking her head. "It took you this long to realize that without David, you will never amount to anything." She looked me up and down with open mockery. "All those years you spent studying medicine were completely wasted. You still couldn't make anything of your life."

Her words were meant to humiliate me, years ago, they would have succeeded. But not anymore.

Just then, David 's siblings walked over to where we were standing. One of them frowned the moment they saw me. "Wait... isn't that Hayley? What's she doing here?" one of them asked.

Tamara let out a mocking laugh before answering. "Well, my guess is she's here because she's sick. Or maybe she works here as a janitor or something even worse. I guess she couldn't make anything worthwhile out of that medical degree."

I didn't even bother reacting. At that moment, my phone vibrated again inside my hand. It was probably the hospital director calling to find out where I was. I was supposed to be in the lobby to meet the patient's family before the surgery.

Ignoring Tamara's taunts, I took a step forward, intending to walk past them. Before I could get away, Tamara moved directly into my path, blocking me. "Where do you think you are going?" she demanded. 

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Can you stop, Tamara?" David said, I slowly turned my head to look at him. It was the first time in my life David had ever spoken up for me.

For years, he had stood by and watched while my parents, Tamara, his siblings, and especially his mother humiliated me over and over again. He never defended me. He either looked the other way or quietly walked off as though none of it concerned him. So what has changed?

"You don't have to defend me," I said, meeting his eyes with a cold stare. "I can defend myself." The expression on David's face immediately changed, he looked stunned. So did everyone else standing there, their shock was obvious. The old Hayley would never have spoken to David in that tone.

I had spent years loving him, admiring him, and desperately trying to earn his affection. Seeing me treat him like a complete stranger was the last thing any of them expected.

"Look at the slut you were trying to defend," Tamara sneered.

She took a step toward me and shoved me hard before I had the chance to react. I stumbled backward, nearly losing my balance. For a second, I thought I was going to hit the floor. Luckily, I managed to steady myself before I fell.

Anger exploded inside me. Without thinking, I took a step toward her, ready to slap her so hard she would never forget it. Before I could lift my hand, the hospital director suddenly appeared. He hurried over to us, clearly unaware of what had just happened.Turning to David, he smiled politely. "I see you have already met our prestigious surgeon," he said. "I actually managed to persuade her to perform your daughter's surgery."