Chapter 3

It turned out that Nadine and Dylan had been fooling around behind my back more than I even realized.

In truth, she and I had already argued over Dylan once. There was that one time she got drunk, and he carried her home.

I was furious, of course. The next day, she brushed it off, saying, "Why are you always so paranoid? Dylan's just a resident at my hospital.

"He only just graduated. He carried me because I'm the senior doctor assigned to him—that's all. He's not like you. He doesn't overthink everything."

She always compared me to him. To her, Dylan was perfect. And me? I could never get anything right. Whatever I did was always wrong.

I stopped listening to the gossiping nurses and turned to leave.

This would have been the last time I'd ever see Nadine. After today, we'd have nothing to do with each other.

I walked toward the office, reaching for the door knob, then froze.

Laughter spilled from inside. "Stop tickling me! That really tickles!"

"Nadine, were you always that ticklish? You didn't seem to mind last night when I had you naked on top of me."

"You're awful! I was too busy enjoying myself, alright?"

Through the small crack in the door, I saw that Nadine and Dylan were the only ones in the room.

Nadine was perched on Dylan's lap, and her face was glowing with laughter. It had been so long since she'd smiled at me like that. And now that I finally saw it again, I felt nothing but disgust.

I'd already suspected they'd crossed the line, but hearing it for myself still made my stomach churn. I looked down at the breakfast in my hands. Suddenly, I had no intention of delivering it.

I turned to leave—but my keys slipped from my fingers and clattered to the ground.

"Who's there?" Nadine's voice rang out.

She looked through the door crack, and her eyes locked with mine. Panic washed over her face. In a heartbeat, she scrambled off Dylan's lap.

"Zayn, wait. Let me explain!" She rushed out and grabbed my arm, dragging me into the office.

The sharp scent of wine hung in the air. I glanced over and saw a half-empty bottle and two wine glasses still on her desk.

Really? Drinking and getting cozy on the clock?

"It's not what it looks like. Dylan and I were just messing around. You know how young he is. He doesn't understand boundaries. Things just got a little out of hand."

Nadine kept talking, trying to justify everything.

Dylan jumped in too, as if they'd rehearsed this. "Yeah, Zayn. Don't get the wrong idea. There's really nothing going on between us. We're just playing around, like usual. It's harmless banter, you see.

I turned to look at him. So he was admitting that this wasn't a one-time thing. They were usually that close.

Was he trying to provoke me? If so, he was wasting his time. I wasn't holding onto Nadine anymore. Not even a little.

"I see. I'm not mad." I looked straight at Nadine, calm and collected as ever.

She was caught off guard by my indifference, and disbelief flickered across her face.

Even Dylan looked confused.

"You're… not mad?" She looked at me, puzzled.

"What would I be mad about? You explained everything, didn't you?"

Nadine let out a breath of relief. "That's good. I'll come by tonight. Make sure there's dinner for me."

That was a habit of hers. Every time she felt guilty about something, she'd show up and share a meal with me, as if it would erase her guilt.

Just then, I caught sight of it. Dylan's eyes were flashing with frustration. However, he covered it up quickly with a grin.

"Zayn, I heard it was your birthday yesterday. It didn't feel nice spending it alone, right? How about having dinner at my place tonight? I've even got a gift for you."

As he spoke, he kept sneaking glances at Nadine to catch her reaction.

As expected, she played along perfectly. "Dylan, you're so sweet. You even got him a gift?"