Chapter 3

"Dad, Mom, looks like it's true. Nobody likes me, and even Lena blames me for taking what's hers. What's the point of living, then? I want to die!"

With that, Candace darted into the stairwell and made a mad dash for the roof of the hospital.

That sent my parents and Peter into a panic. They hurriedly chased after Candace, but I called out to stop Peter.

"You're going too? Even though you clearly know that Candace is just pretending to have depression?"

Peter paused in his tracks, his eyes flashing with surprise. However, he regained his composure quickly.

"You don't understand. Candace has been through so much and suffered terribly. Even though the results say that she's normal, I know that she's genuinely sick. What you did today could ruin all the progress we've made. Selena Zinch, you've never been a good older sister."

Then, he rushed off as well, not even sparing me another glance.

His words pinned me to the spot.

I had no idea how much time had passed before two nurses making their rounds came out of Candace's room.

"She's back again. It's been years. Doesn't she get tired of keeping up this act?"

"If you ask me, Dr. Lipton should just marry her already. Otherwise, why would he risk his hard-earned reputation and disregard so many other specialists' objections to diagnose her with depression?"

"Shh! Keep it down. We wouldn't want others to hear you. It would be bad if this reaches Lena's ears."

The two nurses hastily scurried off after that.

At that moment, two notifications popped up on my phone.

"Dr. Peter Lipton rejected the certification for Selena Zinch's diagnosis of moderate depression."

"Dr. Aaron Liese approved the certification for Selena Zinch's diagnosis of moderate depression."

After reading those two messages, I tossed that bunch of hair straight into the nearby trash bin.

…

Once I had tended to my injury, I headed for the nurses' station.

Staring at the volunteer application that had been on my desk for the past week, I signed it without any further hesitation.

When I handed it in, everyone tried to talk me out of it.

"Lena, why are you suddenly willing to go?"

"You had so many good opportunities in the past, yet you never once went because you said that your parents wouldn't be able to bear letting you go."

"That's right. And what about Dr. Lipton? Would he agree to this? Aren't you two getting married in six months?"

The questions slammed into me like physical blows and threatened to drown me.

Just then, I received a message from Peter.

"Lena, your parents have gone home to make some nourishing soup for Candace, so I'm going to stay here and keep her company. If you have nothing going on, switch to the night shift and come up here to be with her too."

Digging my nails deep into my palms, I forced a smile onto my face.

"It's not like we're in any hurry to get married. The wedding can wait. Besides, this is a great opportunity. If I give it up again, I won't get another chance."

With that, I handed the application to the head nurse, Janice Bolton.

"Janice, I'm sorry for letting so many opportunities slip by before."

Janice studied me briefly before nodding.

"Go ahead and start handing off your duties, since you leave tomorrow. You have to check in the day after tomorrow, so you should still make it in time. Though it'll be difficult and dangerous for you, I know that this might be a sort of release for you instead."

Understanding shone in her eyes, along with a hint of sympathy and heartache.

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest and shot her a smile.

"I know. Thanks, Janice."

Half an hour later, my phone began to buzz madly with a series of messages.

"Lena, have you found someone to swap shifts with you yet?"

"Hurry up and get up here. I need to go to work."

"You know Candace doesn't like strangers touching her."

"Get up here, now!"

I didn't bother replying, though I did set it so that only messages from him would be muted.

By 5:00 pm, I had handed off most of my duties.

Janice had helpfully switched my shift so that I could go home and pack.

However, just as I reached the front doors of the hospital, Peter appeared.

He walked toward me with a smile, then informed me, "Lena, I've talked it over with your parents. From now on, you won't need to swap shifts so that you can keep Candace company."

Taking my bag from me, he then held my hand just like he had many times before.

"Babe, you've been way too exhausted lately, and your job doesn't have any career advancement prospects. So we've decided that you should just quit and focus on taking care of Candace. Compared to hiring an outsider, your parents and I would all feel more at ease if you were the one looking after her."

Pain from the injury on the back of my hand stabbed through me, and I flung his hand away from me.

"No."