Chapter 2

2

The next day, I took a leave of absence from the hospital.

I spent the morning with a lawyer, drafting divorce papers.

Afterward, I met my best friend, Wade Reed, for a drink.

"Gabriel, are you really just going to give up like this?"

I downed my tea, the bitterness coating my tongue.

It matched my mood perfectly.

I had fought before. I had tried to save us.

But in the end, all my effort was for nothing.

When Seraphina returned to lead the Sterling Group after her recovery, I noticed her connection with Silas.

They were always together at clubs and events.

Even at her press conferences, Silas was the one by her side.

The tabloids called them the perfect match.

At first, Seraphina explained that Silas was the heir to the Vance fortune.

She claimed she needed his influence to secure her position as CEO.

That lie lasted until I saw them kissing passionately as they entered a hotel room.

I realized then that I was being played for a fool.

I waited for her outside that hotel, and we had a massive fight.

She just looked at me with disgust.

"If you were good enough for me, would I be with other men? Maybe you should look at yourself."

I took her words to heart.

I tried even harder, acting like a devoted servant.

I used all my savings to buy her gifts, just to see her smile.

But their affair didn't stop.

The more I argued, the more she grew tired of me.

"I let you live in a luxury penthouse. I gave you the best life money can buy. You can't have everything, Gabriel."

"Silas is my first love. He makes me feel young and happy again. Just enjoy the lifestyle I provide."

"I won't leave you for him, so stop overthinking it."

I had broken down in tears, my chest tight with pain.

"Seraphina, do you really think I've done all this for money? Don't I deserve even a little bit of your love?"

I spiraled into a deep depression and took a long leave from work.

I started drinking every day.

Seraphina didn't care. We only fought when she was home, so eventually, she stopped coming back.

For a month, I locked myself away.

The endless bottles of scotch eventually led to a severe stomach hemorrhage.

Wade was the one who found me.

He had called, and when I sounded wrong, he rushed over.

He found me curled on the floor, coughing up blood.

The long-term alcohol abuse had damaged my nerves.

My hands started to shake.

I realized I might never be able to hold a scalpel again.

The promotion I was supposed to get vanished.

I was stuck as a general surgeon, my career ruined.

I became a shell of a man, refusing to talk to anyone.

I hated going home because every corner of that house reminded me of the happiness we once had.

Wade forced me to see a psychiatrist.

I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression.

The tremors in my hands were a physical symptom of my mental breakdown.

Wade was heartbroken for me.

"You can't keep living like this," he said. "Either talk to Seraphina one last time or sign up for the disaster relief mission."

"Maybe seeing real tragedy will show you that this heartbreak is nothing compared to life and death."

I was torn between trying again or escaping to the disaster zone.

But after Seraphina's harsh words, I chose to leave.

Destiny, however, had other plans, and my departure was delayed.