My BFF Betrayed Me with My Boyfriend! Now Neither of Them Will Leave Me Alone! Chapter 02
At midnight, I woke with a start and instinctively reached for the water.
“Water.”
My hand met only cold, empty sheets.
The living room was pitch-black, and the ticking clock was the only sound in the apartment.
I stood there in the dark for what felt like forever, until the doorbell rang.
No one was outside.
Only an insulated delivery bag sat quietly by the door.
A note was stuck to it in Evan’s handwriting.
“I bet you skipped another meal. No matter what happens, don’t be angry with yourself.”
I stared at it for a moment, then closed the door.
I switched on the kitchen light, boiled some water, and quietly made a bowl of pasta.
Whenever I came home late from work, Karen used to shuffle into the kitchen in her slippers, nagging me as she boiled water and made me a hot bowl of pasta.
Now, sitting alone on the rug, I realized just how tired I was.
Maybe I had added too much salt.
Otherwise, why did every bite taste so bitter and salty?
The next morning, I pulled myself together and went back to work at the hospital.
The elevator doors had barely opened when I saw Evan standing there with his hands in his pockets, patting Karen on the head with a fond look in his eyes.
They both froze when they saw me.
I walked straight past them.
Behind me, several young nurses were whispering about whether Karen was dating Dr. Buckley.
Karen answered awkwardly.
Evan looked at me with concern.
“You just got back and haven’t had a chance to rest. I can cover your night shift.”
I stepped around him.
“No need.”
Evan Buckley came from a long line of doctors and had been the golden boy his entire life.
As for me, I had once beaten him for the top spot in our class.
I was the only person who had ever defeated him.
That summer, Evan had stood beneath the old oak tree at our medical school, wearing an arrogant grin that showed off his perfect white teeth.
“Athena, right? You’re good, but you’re not better than me. Just wait. I’ll take first place back.”
That rivalry continued for years, until we finished our residencies and joined Buckley Memorial Hospital together.
To keep people from judging us, we openly competed with each other at work.
No one knew that Dr. Ellis and Dr. Buckley, the 2 doctors who were always trying to outdo each other, were actually a couple.
And no one knew that we had broken up overnight.
No one except Karen.
She was a nurse.
After she moved in with us, I spent months helping her recover from everything she had been through.
I couldn’t stand watching her sit at home miserable every day, so for the first time in all the years I had known Evan, I asked him for a favor and had him help her get a job at the hospital.
I supposed I had handed them both quite a gift.
At lunch, Karen and Evan sat together.
As I passed them, she whispered my name.
I hesitated, but I didn’t stop.
From the corner of my eye, I saw how miserable Karen looked.
Evan stroked her hair, apparently murmuring something to comfort her.
Before I walked away, Karen gently placed a caramel chew on the corner of my table.
I looked at it, my fork freezing in my hand.
My parents had spent my entire childhood fighting.
Back then, having enough food to fill my stomach had already been a luxury.
One of the few sweet memories I had was of Karen smiling as she shared her caramel chews with me.
Years later, after I developed stomach problems and started suffering from low blood sugar, she always carried a bag of them in her purse.
Before she got married and moved to Montana, she had even given Evan a serious warning.
“She only likes the original flavor. Don’t forget.”
At the time, Evan had looked at me with those clear eyes of his.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her.”
Now, I watched the 2 of them leave together.
With a bitter smile, I picked up my tray and walked away without looking back.
The caramel chew remained untouched on the corner of the table.
It was only 1 piece of candy.
Giving it up couldn’t be that hard.