After My Boyfriend and Best Friend Betrayed Me, Regret Haunted Them Nightly Chapter 03
That afternoon, Paige kept glancing toward the doctors‘ office, distracted and restless–though it
wasn’t clear who she was looking for.
Checking on patients, I frowned at an IV drip line.
“Paige.”
She snapped back to reality. “Juli… Dr. Palmer.”
I shut the door, my voice turning completely cold. “What’s going on with room eleven’s dosage? Is this your first day on the job? What if something happens to the patient because of this?”
Panicking, Paige checked the chart and went deathly pale. “Dr. Palmer, I’m… I’m so sorry…”
I took a deep breath. “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to the patient.”
Turning to the head nurse, I said, “Don’t assign Paige to my shifts anymore. Thanks.”
Her eyes turned red, and she bit her lip hard to stop tears from falling.
Preston rushed over at the sound of the commotion.
After checking the dosage, he frowned. “It was one
little slip. Don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.”
He patted Paige’s back reassuringly. Looking up at his familiar face, I only felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity.
“Preston, medical workers cannot afford sloppy
mistakes; behind every oversight is a human life. Who said that?”
Preston’s face changed, choked on his own words.
As the hospital owner’s son, Preston grew up showered with attention.
Back in school, he constantly competed with me, but I never backed down.
Until he had smiled and explained, “My family holds high standards. Don’t think I’m some useless rich kid. Julissa, we share the exact same dreams and ambitions. I worked my way up step by step, too. Could you stop hating me so much?”
I genuinely believed we were the same kind of people.
The hallway light hit the medical charts, glaringly white.
Filling with disappointment, I slowly shook my head.
Preston opened his mouth to speak, but Paige covered her face and ran off crying.
He shot me a deep, troubled look before turning to chase after her.
The rooftop offered a clear view of the city lights. I stood there silently, letting the evening breeze cool me down.
The door suddenly burst open. Paige walked in with
red eyes. “Preston said… whenever you’re upset, you come up here…”
I froze. I used to come here to unwind after dealing with difficult cases.
This place was supposed to be a secret between Preston and me.
We’d clash in front of everyone, then steal moments of reckless intimacy in the hidden corners of the rooftop.
Paige stepped closer. “Julissa, I’m sorry. But I really… couldn’t help my feelings.”
Her voice cracked with tears. “You’re so capable. You get everything you want–the job, the skills, everyone’s respect. But I’m different. I’m just an ordinary person, and I just want someone to be there for me…”
let out a scoff. “Out of all the people in the world, it had to be Preston?”
Her expression shifted, and she gritted her teeth after a long pause.
“Julissa, hate me or blame me, I don’t regret it. You
helped me a lot, but I don’t owe you anything. We’re even.”
I almost laughed through my tears. After Paige left, Preston stood silent a step away.
He lit a cigarette. “Julissa, after all these years
together, you were always the calm one. You never said you needed me, missed me, or felt scared.”
“You didn’t want any of my resources, my connections. Every gift I gave you, you matched with one of equal
value.”
“I used to think I didn’t really matter to you.”
Then his gaze softened. “But Paige’s different. I’m her whole world.”
I was quiet for a long moment. In the end, I just gave a bitter smile and said nothing.
Paige was a hopeless romantic; love was her entire
world, which was why she gave up everything to chase it.
I was different. Love was just a part of my life–maybe only ten percent.
But within that ten percent, Preston occupied one hundred percent of it.
Too bad he never understood.
I turned to leave as the evening breeze slammed the rooftop door shut.
I wouldn’t be coming back here again.