Chapter 3

3、

After submitting my formal resignation, I started packing.

Looking around the apartment I had shared with Gemma for three years, a pang of sadness hit me. I'm only human.

Gemma was my first love.

After we got together, she was my entire world.

That was until I accidentally found a hidden album on her phone full of intimate photos with Xander.

When I confronted her with the photos, she exploded in rage.

She accused me of violating her privacy and claimed I didn't trust her.

We didn't speak for an entire month because of that.

In the end, I was the one who bowed my head and apologized just to get her to talk to me again.

But from that day on, she stopped hiding her feelings for Xander.

When I was sick, she'd leave me alone with a high fever just because he called.

On my birthday, she let me wait alone in a restaurant until it closed because she was out watching the stars with him.

She even handed over my research results to him, time and time again, to build his career.

It wasn't that I didn't fight back.

But every time, she'd just say: "If you're not happy, then leave."

I could have overlooked everything else.

But the AS spinal repair research was my life's work.

It wasn't just about my career; it was for the thousands of patients suffering from the condition.

This time, I wasn't backing down.

I didn't have much, so the packing went quickly.

Just as I was about to wheel my suitcase out, the front door swung open.

It was Gemma and Xander.

Xander acted surprised, his voice dripping with fake concern. "Silas, you're really going through with this study abroad thing?"

Gemma rolled her eyes hard. "Silas, give it up. This act is getting old."

"With your family background, you really expect us to believe you're going to Harvard? You probably can't even afford the plane ticket!"

"While there's still time to fix this, come back to the hospital with Xander. Don't worry, he's not petty like you. He'll put in a good word for you."

Xander smirked. "Yeah, Silas. The chief said if you apologize to me in front of the whole staff, he'll let it go."

"Once I'm Dr. Langdon's student, I might even mention your name to him."

I laughed, truly amused.

"Xander, where do you get the nerve to ask for an apology?"

"Help me with Dr. Langdon? I think you're just terrified that I'm actually leaving you to figure it out yourself."

Gemma flared up like a protective mother hen, glaring at me.

"Xander's father is the head of a major hospital. To me, he's a thousand times better than you'll ever be. You aren't even fit to carry his shoes."

"Do what Xander says, or I will never, ever forgive you!"

My first love, the woman I had cherished for three years, finally said what was really in her heart.

Gemma was right about one thing: my family wasn't wealthy like Xander's.

But what she didn't know was that I was the only surgeon in the world who could successfully perform this specific spinal repair.

Patients were lining up for me, with some offering millions for a single consultation.

Xander and his small-town hospital-head father weren't even qualified to bring me a glass of water.

I had planned to tell her everything and propose to her after this project was finished.

Now, I realized she didn't deserve it.

In that moment, every ounce of love I had for Gemma evaporated.

I looked at her with cold, dead eyes. "Is that so? Good riddance."

"I hope you're still this smug in the near future."

I grabbed my suitcase and pushed past them, officially saying goodbye to three wasted years.