After My Boyfriend and Best Friend Betrayed Me, Regret Haunted Them Nightly Chapter 02
At midnight, I woke up with a start, instinctively pushing the spot beside me. “Get me a glass of water.”
My hand hit empty air.
The living room was pitch–black, silent save for the ticking of the clock.
I stood quietly for a long moment until the doorbell rang. Nobody was outside, just an insulated bag sitting by the door.
A note was stuck on top in familiar handwriting.
[I bet you skipped dinner again. No matter what, don’t punish your own body.]
I gave it a cold glance and shut the door.
I turned on the kitchen light, quietly boiling water to cook some pasta.
In the past, whenever I came home late from work,
Paige would shuffle into the kitchen, nagging while whipping up a bowl of pasta for me.
Sitting on the carpet, I just felt utterly exhausted.
Maybe I put too much salt in the pasta. Otherwise, why did the whole bowl taste so salty and bitter?
The next day, I pulled myself together and went back to work at the hospital.
The elevator doors opened, and I bumped right into
Preston, hands in his pockets, affection fondly written. across his face as he patted Paige’s head.
Their smiles froze instantly.
I walked past them without looking left or right.
Behind me, several nurses whispered, asking Paige if
she had finally won over Dr. Holt.
Preston gave me a complicated look. “You just got back and haven’t rested. I can cover your night shift.”
I stepped around him coldly. “No need.”
Preston was born into a family of prominent doctors, a natural golden boy.
And I was the only person in twenty years who had ever snatched the top academic spot from his hands.
That midsummer, Preston had stood under the campus tree, flashing a brilliant grin.
“Julissa, right? You’re good, but I’m not bad either. I’m taking first place back next time.”
We competed like that for years until we both joined his family’s hospital after graduation.
To avoid gossip, everyone knew us as lifelong rivals.
No one knew that Dr. Palmer and Dr. Holt, who were always locking horns, had been together for years–or that we had abruptly broken up last night.
No one except Paige. She was a nurse. After her return,
I spent months comforting her, refusing to let her wallow in self–pity at home.
For the first time in years, I asked Preston for a favor
to get her a job at the hospital. Which, in hindsight, only kept throwing them together.
During lunch, Paige and Preston sat together.
As I walked past, she whispered my name. My footsteps paused for a split second, but I kept walking.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paige hanging her
head while Preston ruffled her hair, whispering words of comfort.
Before leaving, Paige gently placed a caramel candy on the edge of my desk.
I looked up, my hand tightening on my fork.
My childhood was filled with my parents‘ arguments; having enough to eat was already a luxury.
The only sweetness in my memories came from Paige,
who used to laugh and forcefully share her caramel candies with me.
Later, when I developed stomach issues and low blood sugar, she always kept a pack in her bag.
Before moving away, she had solemnly told Preston,
“Don’t forget she only likes the original flavor.”
Back then, Preston had looked at me with clear, tender eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”
Now I watched the two of them walk away side by side.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I picked up my tray and left without looking back.
The caramel candy lay quietly at the corner of the table, untouched.
Giving up a piece of candy wasn’t hard at all.