Chapter 2

2.

Whether Kinsley was truly hurt or not, she ended up being admitted to the room right next to mine.

Peyton was constantly walking past my door, carrying bags of expensive supplements and containers of homemade broth to keep her company.

Yet not once did he step into the room of his actual girlfriend.

A few times, I caught him lingering outside my doorway, hesitating with his hand on the handle.

Before he could push it open, a voice from the next room would call his name, and he would turn away without looking back.

On the day of my discharge, I bumped into Kinsley, who was also leaving the hospital.

The difference was that Peyton had his arm wrapped around her waist with a gentle smile, while I stood completely alone.

Perhaps feeling a twinge of guilt for neglecting me during my stay, Peyton let go of Kinsley and stepped toward me.

He asked with apparent concern, “Are you fully recovered now?”

I did not look at him, offering only a flat nod.

My coldness caught him off guard.

He stepped closer, gently pulling back my sleeve to inspect my scars, his voice softening with pity.

“Does it hurt? I am so sorry, Darcy. I did not handle things well last time and left you all alone. Once we get home, I will make it up to you, I promise.”

His voice carried a tender warmth I had not heard in years. He wrapped his arm around my waist in a placating manner.

“How about I drive you home first before I head into the office?”

Looking down at his arm, a wave of nausea rose in my throat.

Just five minutes ago, that exact arm had been wrapped around Kinsley’s shoulders, and now he was trying to hold me.

I pulled away, stepping back to put distance between us.

“No need. I will take an Uber.”

Peyton’s brows knitted together at my rejection.

Before I could walk away, I failed to notice a hospital gurney being pushed rapidly toward me from behind.

Peyton’s eyes widened, but in the next second, he lunged straight toward Kinsley, shielding her tightly in his arms.

The speeding gurney barreled into my blind spot, and the panicked orderly knocked me violently to the hard floor.

My raw wounds tore open instantly, fresh blood soaking through the back of my shirt. I reached out a trembling hand toward Peyton.

“Peyton... please... help me call my doctor...”

Peyton frantically released Kinsley and took a large stride toward me.

Suddenly, Kinsley burst into tears, clutching her belly and screaming his name.

“Mr. Shaw, my stomach hurts so much! The scare must have triggered something! Is the baby in danger?”

Without a second thought, Peyton spun around and swept Kinsley into his arms, tossing a rushed line over his shoulder.

“Darcy, just hold on for a moment! Let me take Kinsley to get checked out first, and then I will call a doctor for you!”

Shivering from unbearable agony, I dragged myself up from the floor and pressed the call button for help on my own.

This was the same man who, just minutes ago, promised to make everything up to me.

Once again, he abandoned me and chose Kinsley.

This time, I was not going to stand there like a fool waiting for him.

Because he had never once returned for me.

When we first started dating in college, Peyton was never like this.

He was the campus heartthrob, constantly approached by girls asking for his number.

Every single time, he turned them down firmly, making it clear that he already had a girlfriend.

He always remembered my favorite chicken soup, bringing hot thermoses to my bedside whenever I caught a cold.

Back then, Peyton had infinite patience with me and never raised his voice over minor mistakes.

I still remembered the year I answered a job offer call on his behalf from his dream company.

I was so swamped with my graduation thesis that I forgot to pass on the message, causing him to miss out on the position.

I had prepared a mountain of apologies and plans to make it up to him.

The moment I said sorry, Peyton had pulled me into a warm embrace, comforting me softly.

“There is nothing to be sorry for. That firm was out of state, and I did not really want to leave anyway. I want to stay in town with you, and once our careers are settled, we will get married, okay?”

His words touched me deeply, and to protect our relationship, I turned down a lucrative offer from a multinational firm.

During the early stages of his startup, he treated me just as devotedly.

Everyone around us envied our bond.

Only I knew when Peyton began to change.

It all started when that new secretary, Kinsley Ward, entered his life.

He began picking fights over trivial matters, losing his temper at me over nothing.

I foolishly believed that as long as I held on, his heart would remain with me.

When I brought up marriage, he brushed it off by claiming work was too hectic, eventually slamming doors and storming out in frustration.

Gradually, I became his second choice. Whenever Kinsley was involved, he would hesitate for a second, cast me aside, and choose her.