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Home / Romance Short Story / I Won't Settle for Less Anymore / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of I Won't Settle for Less Anymore: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

16 Chapters

Chapter 1

I quietly saved the screenshot, then turned off my phone.From that moment on, I stopped paying attention to Ethan Blake.Instead, I focused on noon tomorrow—the moment medical students across the country would log into the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) system.Three days later, Mark Powell, one of Ethan's colleagues and a resident doctor at Redwood General Hospital, messaged me."Leah, Ethan's been waiting for you to reach out. The day after tomorrow is his celebration for being promoted to attending physician. Come by. You two can make up."As I stared at the message, a mocking smile tugged at my lips.Make up?Why must I always be the one to give in?I replied with only one line, "Sorry, I can't make it."And I truly couldn't.The day after tomorrow, I was going to be on a flight to Fedria. Northview University's affiliate hospital, Northview Memorial Hospital, was waiting for me to report for its residency program.As Ethan wished, we would never see each oth

Chapter 2

Just now, as I watched Ethan criticize me impatiently while smiling down at a text from Victoria, something inside me went cold.Suddenly, none of it felt worth it anymore.I didn't feel an urge to apologize. I just sat there in stony silence.Ethan waited for a moment. When it became clear that I wasn't going to admit fault, he clicked his tongue in annoyance, grabbed his phone, and walked out of the hospital cafeteria.I sat alone, staring blankly at my laptop screen. I had no idea how long I'd been frozen there when my phone buzzed. I'd received a voice message.After some hesitation, I tapped to play it.Victoria's sweet voice filled my ears. "Ethan, is Leah mad because of my mistake? Why don't you call her and ask her to come over? I'll apologize to her in person."Ethan's impatient voice cut in. "No need! Let her sulk if she wants to. I'm not her babysitter. I don't have to keep coddling her.""Oh, Ethan, don't say that. Women need to be coddled. If you talk like that, yo

Chapter 3

That night, Ethan didn't come back to our apartment in BackBay.I didn't call him endlessly or demand to know where he was like I would have done before.I just sat on the bed, listening to that recording over and over.Every time I played it, my heart broke a little more.After Mom died of cancer, I thought I'd found a new anchor—Ethan. He was the youngest candidate for attending physician at Redwood General Hospital and a star lecturer at Hawford Medical School.It had been four years. Four years of supporting each other through everything.Ethan had genuinely cared for me. During clinical rotations, whenever senior doctors made things difficult, he was always the first to stand up for me.He remembered what kind of coffee I liked on night shifts, and he would order takeout for me after I pulled 36-hour shifts.We were inseparable, like two halves of a whole.Because of that, people envied us, calling us the "power couple of medicine".After four years of being so close, I'

Chapter 4

Victoria asked to meet me at the rooftop garden of Redwood General Hospital. It was a staff lounge area—open and airy, with a sweeping view of the Estain skyline.She looked fragile, almost pitiful, as she explained that the data loss had been an accident."Leah, I swear I didn't mean to. I just wanted to check on your research progress so I could help you request more funding from the board. I must have pressed the wrong key by mistake…"As she spoke, her eyes reddened, tears pooling in them. "I know you and Ethan have been together since you were in the med school. How could I possibly have those kinds of intentions? Please, don't make this a big deal. My dad just had heart surgery. He can't handle any stress right now…"Her tears finally fell.I relented and reached out to hold her. "Victoria, don't cry. I get it. It could've been an accident—"The moment I reached out, she suddenly grabbed my hand, pulled hard, and threw herself backward."Ah!"Her scream drew the attenti

Chapter 5

My lab key went "missing", and I lost a critical experimental window because of it.When the security footage was reviewed, Victoria just so happened to have captured someone lingering near my locker, subtly implying I'd misplaced it myself.The night prior to my presentation at an important academic conference, my laptop suddenly crashed. Every single PowerPoint file was corrupted.Victoria generously offered to lend me her laptop.The next day, I discovered she'd already forwarded my research highlights to her best friend.I was no match for someone as calculating as Victoria. Her schemes were meticulous, with layer upon layer.No matter how I tried to explain, Ethan always chose to believe her.One day, I found out Victoria had stolen the only necklace Mom left me. It was a cheap silver chain. Victoria had thrown it into a biohazard waste bin at the hospital.It was the last gift Mom bought for me as a Nurses' Day present with her final paycheck. It was the only thing I had

Chapter 6

The next morning, I scrolled through Instagram and saw Victoria's story."Had to take care of a certain doctor who drank too much last night. I'm exhausted!"The picture showed her in her BeaconHill mansion bedroom, with Ethan in just a white T-shirt, sleeping on her bed.He'd actually gone to Victoria's house and stayed the night. He'd even slept in her bed.It hurt. I felt like my heart was being cut with a dull knife. But it was better than before. Maybe it was because my heart was already hollow that it stopped hurting as much.I got up, washed up, changed my clothes, and headed out to the store to buy some storage boxes and tape.As I carried my bags inside, I opened the door and immediately heard Victoria's soft laughter.In the living room, Victoria and Ethan were sitting side by side on the couch, both holding a tablet, looking at something.At the sound of the door, they turned to look.Ethan glanced at me, then quickly looked away with complete indifference. The way

Chapter 7

I didn't go back downstairs. I stayed quietly in my room, packing up everything Ethan had given me over the past four years. I placed them all into a box.Medical textbooks, a stethoscope, a watch, the lab coat with my name stitched on the tag…Every piece carried a memory. Every piece once made me believe we would last forever.How ridiculous.At dinnertime, my roommate, Emma Whitley, came upstairs to call me.Victoria still hadn't left and was busy in the kitchen.When she passed by me carrying a bowl of steaming clam chowder, I instinctively stood up and stepped aside.It was a reflex I'd developed after being set up by Victoria again and again.But this time, she'd already predicted my move. The moment I stood, I collided straight into her."Ah!" Victoria screamed.Most of the scalding soup spilled onto her, though some splashed onto my arm as well.She burst into tears. Her voice was full of pain and grievance as she said, "Leah, I was just bringing you some soup. How c

Chapter 8

I opened Ethan's Instagram profile and saw the post right away. "Thinking about ending my relationship. 100 likes and it's over."It already had 99 likes.Scrolling back, I saw that he'd posted the same kind of thing several times before. It was always the same rule. 100 likes meant a breakup.Every time he did this in the past, I panicked. I would cry and call him right away, begging him not to leave me. I would apologize without dignity, take all the blame, and plead for forgiveness.Each time, I was no better than a dog wagging its tail for mercy.And each time, after I apologized, Ethan would archive the post and say coldly, "Fine. I'll let it go this time." Every time, I swore it would be the last.But every time, I gave in again.This time, though, after seeing the post, I didn't spiral into a panic or call Ethan and beg for a reconciliation like I used to.I stared at the photo instead.It was taken at a popular rooftop bar in Estain. City lights glittered under the n

Chapter 9

Ethan's POVAfter uploading that breakup post, Ethan waited for Leah to call and beg for forgiveness. That was how it always went.He would post on Instagram, and when the likes crept close to 100, she would panic and call him in tears.She would say, "I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please don't break up with me."Every time, Ethan enjoyed that feeling of being needed. Leah couldn't leave him, and that certainty gave him a deep sense of satisfaction.But this time, his phone never rang.Ethan wondered if Leah hadn't seen that post.Annoyed, he opened Instagram, only to see the likes had already hit 100. And the last like was from Leah herself.He couldn't believe it.Anger surged through Ethan. He felt like he was about to explode.Just then, Victoria's soft voice drifted over. "Oh no, Leah must be really mad. She actually liked your post?"A few friends immediately pulled up the post.There were exactly 100 likes, and the last one was from Leah.They exchanged awkward looks and

Chapter 10

Ethan's POVAs soon as Ethan landed, he received a call from Mark, saying that Leah was at the airport to pick him up.The gloom on Ethan's face vanished instantly.She had come after all. She really couldn't leave him.Ethan turned to Victoria, who was walking closely beside him. "Take a different exit. Don't come out with me. I don't want Leah to misunderstand."A shadow of malice flickered in Victoria's eyes, but she nodded obediently.Ethan then called Mark again, telling him to prepare a bouquet of roses to give to Leah.It had been days since they'd last spoken. All this time, Ethan had been waiting for Leah to call first, but she never did.That wasn't normal. A vague sense of unease had crept into his chest. That was why he deliberately took intimate photos with Victoria and had her post them on Instagram. He wanted Leah to see them, get jealous, and call him.But after Victoria posted the photo at the private flight club, Leah, who'd never reacted to anything before

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