Chapter 2The Intern's Betrayal

She grew more agitated as she spoke, her voice rising. “It was me! I was the one who had to go to each of them, explaining, suppressing the story, telling them it was all just a misunderstanding!”

“Do you have any idea how much effort that took? And you?”

“You come back with this sour face and now you’re threatening me with divorce?”

“Ethan, do you have a conscience?!”

Her voice was shrill, each word a knife twisting in my gut.

But all I could think about was last month, when my stomach ulcer flared up and I was lying alone in a hospital bed on an IV drip. I called her over a dozen times, but she never picked up.

I found out later she’d taken Jackson to an industry gala that night, a radiant smile on her face the whole time. My missed calls were brushed aside with a simple, “I didn’t hear it.”

And before that, when my dad had a sudden stroke and I spent the entire night waiting outside the operating room, all she did was send a single text: “Something urgent came up at work, can’t get away. Take care of yourself.”

I later heard from a colleague what her “urgent business” was.

She was helping Jackson work late, and then she personally drove him home.

The memories flooded back, a bitter tide rising in my throat. My eyes burned, hot and unwelcome. I clenched my jaw, refusing to show any weakness in front of her.

But just then, Jackson dropped to his knees with a thud.

Tears streamed down his face, hitting the floor with audible plinks. His voice was a wreck. “It’s all my fault. Mr. Reilly, Kendra, please stop fighting.”

“I’ll… I’ll just jump off the balcony right now. You two can just be happy together, okay?”

With that, he scrambled to his feet and made a dash for the balcony, acting as if he was about to end it all.

Kendra screamed, lunging to grab him. “Jackson! What are you doing?! Don’t do something stupid!”

He struggled against her, his cries heartbroken. “Let me go, Kendra! My being alive only makes you two fight! It’ll be better when I’m dead!”

She held him tight, roaring at me over her shoulder, “Ethan! Are you satisfied now?! You won’t be happy until you’ve driven an innocent person to their death?!”

I stood frozen, watching their tangled struggle. The whole scene was utterly ridiculous.

“Go ahead and jump, Jackson. But drop the act. If you had any real guts, you wouldn't have reported me in the first place.”

Jackson’s sobs stopped abruptly. He froze mid-struggle.

Kendra stared at me in disbelief, her voice trembling. “Ethan, are you even human?!”

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and turned towards the entryway, tossing a final, cold sentence over my shoulder.

“The divorce papers will be drawn up. Sign them or don’t. It’s up to you.”

The night air was a biting wind against my skin. I stumbled through the doors of a bar, plunging into the noise and chaos.

The lights were blinding, the music deafening, but none of it could drown out the roaring in my own head.

“Whiskey. Neat,” I rasped, slamming my hand on the bar. My voice was unrecognizable.

The bartender shot me a look but didn’t ask questions, just slid a glass over.

I tilted my head back, the fiery liquid searing my throat, but it couldn't numb the dull ache in my chest.

One glass after another, until my vision blurred and the world began to spin.

“Why? Why would she do this to me?”

I slumped over the bar, my fingers gripping the glass so tightly my knuckles turned white. Kendra’s face, Jackson’s tears, the image of them tangled together—it all swam before my eyes.

I slammed my fist on the table, startling the person next to me.

“Wasn’t I good enough to her?! I would have given her my goddamn life!”