Chapter 5: Jealousy and Hope

After finishing my IV, I wandered in the ward corridor and saw a familiar figure at the nurses’ station.

Jessica Wallace.

The nurse greeted her with a smile, clearly familiar. "Miss Wallace, here to see Dr. Lewis again?"

"I just happened to be passing by and brought him some fruit. Is he here?"

I glanced down and saw cantaloupe and strawberries in Jessica’s bag. Cantaloupe was Mark’s favorite fruit—Jessica was really attentive.

Seeing this, I felt a pang of jealousy.

Her perfume—a sugary, expensive scent—lingered in the hallway long after she passed. The fluorescent lights caught Jessica’s glossy hair as she walked, and I suddenly remembered every school dance, every pep rally, where she always seemed to float above the crowd. She was the girl people wrote about in yearbooks. And me? I was just the cautionary tale.

"He’s in the OR. You probably won’t be able to see him for a while."

"Oh, that’s fine. I’ll wait in his lounge."

Jessica wore a light purple chiffon dress and heels, gracefully walking toward Mark’s lounge.

It seemed Jessica and Mark had a special relationship; she could enter his lounge as she pleased.

Back in the room, I suddenly remembered I’d left one of Mason’s bottles in Mark’s lounge that night. If Jessica saw it, she might get suspicious.

Thinking of this, I hurried back, just in time to overhear the nurses gossiping.

"Hey, did you hear? Dr. Lewis and Miss Wallace are getting engaged."

"No, I hadn’t heard. You’re really well-informed."

"My mom happens to know Dr. Lewis’s aunt. I heard it from her."

"Is my favorite doctor really getting married so young?"

Boom.

My heart felt like it had been struck by lightning.

They’re getting engaged.

A nurse noticed me standing there and asked, "Hey, do you need something?"

I shook my head and returned to the room, feeling lost.

I didn’t expect that Mark would still end up with Jessica.

Well, they’re childhood sweethearts with a sweet love story. And I’m just the villain in their romance, the woman who ruins the main couple’s relationship.

I sank onto my hospital bed, staring at the popcorn ceiling. My phone buzzed, but I let it go to voicemail. There was an ache in my chest I couldn’t shake—a mix of jealousy, regret, and something that felt suspiciously like hope slipping away.

I pressed my forehead to the cold window, watching the rain streak down. Maybe the world had moved on without me. Maybe it was time I did too.