After My Boyfriend and Best Friend Betrayed Me, Regret Haunted Them Nightly Chapter 04
After the bitter parting on the rooftop, Paige and Preston publicly announced they were together.
They bought afternoon tea for the entire department.
Unaware of the drama, the nurses smiled and called out to me. “Dr. Palmer, we saved an iced Americano for you.”
Preston frowned, blurting out instinctively, “She has a sensitive stomach. The ginger tea is hers.”
Paige’s smile froze, and the room fell silent for a second.
I raised my own cup with a smile. “Water’s fine for me.”
I got off the night shift that day and had just parked the car when a chill ran through me.
Something had felt off for days–like I was being watched.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped out toward my building, only for a dark shadow to loom over me.
My heart skipped a beat. It was Paige’s ex–husband, Timothy Thorpe.
Holding a baseball bat, he glared at me with pure malice. “Julissa. Long time no see.”
My heart sank. I tried to run, but he blocked my path.
“You were so tough when you brought that guy to my place to beat me up. Where’s all that fight now?”
“Oh, I forgot. Your man was stolen by Paige.”
“That little bitch is untouchable now that she’s got her rich boy. But I still need to take it out on someone. Dr. Palmer, you’re just unlucky. You went to war for Paige, and she turned around and stabbed you in the back.”
Timothy let out a scoff, his grip tightening around the baseball bat.
Taking a deep breath, I slipped a hand into my pocket and speed–dialed my emergency contact blindly.
My fingers trembled slightly, but I forced myself to project calm, trying to reason with him.
“What do you want? Money, or something else? We can talk.”
Timothy’s face contorted as he spat on the ground. “I don’t want anything. I just want you to pay.”
The baseball bat swung toward me, and I sprinted off with a sharp gasp. “Timothy, calm down! Assault has real consequences.”
Timothy chased close behind. “My woman left me made me a laughingstock to everyone. I don’t give a damn about consequences anymore.”
He cornered me in the dead–end alley. I was trembling all over.
“Please don’t hurt my hands. I have surgery tomorrow.”
“The patient is a little girl who’s been sick for a long
time. If the surgery succeeds, she lives…”
“Timothy, I’m begging you…”
Before I could finish, the baseball bat tore through the air, striking my arm directly.
I clearly heard the sickening crunch of bone shattering.
Right before losing consciousness, I glanced at my shattered phone on the pavement. The screen showed the emergency call had gone through.
He hadn’t picked up.
When I opened my eyes again, white hospital walls and the sharp smell of disinfectant met my gaze.
Paige dropped to her knees, eyes swollen from crying.. “I’m so sorry, Julissa. I’m so sorry…”
Preston’s eyes were bloodshot. He slammed a fist into the wall, choked for words. “I didn’t know… he… that call…”
I simply closed my eyes. “Give me the exam results.”
Preston handed it over with hesitation.
As a trained physician, one glance was enough to tell me how severe the damage was.
But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony tearing through my chest.
Trembling violently, I looked at the visiting coworkers, as well as the devastated faces of Paige and Preston.
“Please leave me alone.”
The hospital room door clicked shut, sealing in the muffled, agonizing sounds of my weeping.
Preston and Paige stood guard outside my room every day, but I refused to see them.
Preston spoke through the door, his voice thick with grief.
“Julissa, it doesn’t matter if your hand is injured. I can talk to my dad about transferring you to administration, or would you like to teach at the university? Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen.”
Ignoring him, I stared at my bandaged hand, typing out a reply to an email from Germany with trembling fingers.
[I’ve made up my mind.]