Chapter 3
1511words
Emily Wright was leading a department meeting when her phone began vibrating frantically in her pocket. Her hometown neighbor was calling. Her heart skipped a beat as dread washed over her.
When she answered, the neighbor's panicked voice came through: "Emily! Come home now! Your mother collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. The doctors found cancer! She needs immediate surgery! It's critical!"
In that moment, Emily's world went silent before crumbling entirely. Maintaining composure through sheer will, she delegated her work responsibilities and immediately requested emergency leave to rush home.
At the hospital—stark white walls and the sharp smell of disinfectant. The words "malignant tumor" on the diagnosis burned her eyes like a hot iron, making it nearly impossible to hold the flimsy paper. She refused to cry in front of her mother, shouldering everything alone—navigating complex hospital bureaucracy, consulting specialists from the city, securing funds for the expensive surgery and treatments. After several days, she'd grown gaunt, with dark circles so deep they couldn't be hidden, her mental state hanging by a thread.
The night before surgery, her mother lay on the hospital bed, pale-faced, weakly gripping her hand. Her voice was thin as gossamer: "Emily, don't be afraid. Mom will be fine. Where's Victor? He'll come tomorrow, right? With him here to support you, I can rest easier..."
Emily Wright gazed into her mother's eyes—trying to appear calm but unable to hide their worry and hope. Emily's throat constricted painfully. She nodded firmly and forced out the words: "Yes, he... he'll definitely be here tomorrow."
She stumbled into the empty stairwell and collapsed against the cold wall, shoulders shaking violently. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Victor Fuller, detailing her mother's critical condition, the high-risk surgery, and her own terror and helplessness. Setting aside all pride and dignity, she wrote in a pleading tone: "Victor, my mother's surgery is tomorrow. I'm terrified and I need you. Please, you have to be there with me, okay?"
Victor Fuller replied quickly, his words seemingly heartfelt: "Emily, don't worry, I'll absolutely be there for your mother's surgery. I'll come right after I wrap up this urgent project meeting. Wait for me, everything will be okay."
Seeing the words "absolutely be there," Emily Wright felt like she'd grasped a lifeline in stormy seas. The knot in her throat loosened slightly. She reassured herself that this time was different—this was life and death. He would recognize what truly mattered; he wouldn't...
Outside the operating room. In the sterile hallway, Emily sat alone on a cold metal bench, eyes fixed on the glowing red "Surgery in Progress" sign above the sealed doors. Time stretched endlessly.
She checked her phone obsessively, letting the screen go dark before lighting it up again, over and over. No messages from Victor Fuller. No sign of him. Her texts asking "Where are you?" and "Is the meeting over?" vanished like stones dropped into a bottomless well.
One hour into surgery, no Victor.
Two hours, still absent.
Three hours, four hours...
She called repeatedly, progressing from no answer to the cold automated message: "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable."
Panic and despair coiled around her heart like icy vines, tightening with each passing minute, nearly suffocating her. Her mother fought for life inside while her boyfriend of five years had vanished during the darkest moment of her life—when she needed him most! Terrible scenarios raced through her mind: Had something happened to him? Was his phone dead? Or...
Just as she was about to break down, her phone lit up with a social media notification. She tapped it instinctively and saw Lily Woods' freshly posted update.
A perfectly composed photo with soft lighting caught her eye: an exclusive high-end restaurant notorious for its waiting list, crystal chandeliers casting prismatic light over exquisite French cuisine and decanted wine. In the center, Lily Woods raised her glass, eyes gleaming with undisguised triumph. And across from her, a man in a bespoke suit with an unmistakable profile, cutting into his steak—Victor Fuller!
The caption read: "For life's important moments, grateful to have you by my side~ Finally got my dream job offer! When it really matters, Vic is always there for me!"
*BOOM*
—— Cut scene ——
Just as she was about to break down, her phone lit up with a social media notification. She tapped it instinctively and saw Lily Woods' freshly posted update.
Emily Wright's mind went blank. Thunder exploded in her ears, a deafening buzz drowning out all external sounds.
She stared at the photograph, eyes wide with disbelief, as if trying to burn a hole through the screen.
Her mother's life hung by a thread in surgery!
She'd been waiting in agony for seven hours!
And he—her boyfriend of five years whom she'd trusted completely—had once again abandoned her during her darkest hour to celebrate some trivial "job offer" with another woman! He hadn't even bothered with a flimsy excuse or token explanation!
Cold despair, like frost radiating from the operating room doors, permeated her entire being. So this was how it felt when the heart broke completely—pain so intense it became numbing, so severe she couldn't even feel her heartbeat anymore.
She slumped against the cold wall, body trembling uncontrollably, yet somehow unable to shed a single tear.
After what felt like eternity, the operating room light finally went dark. The doors swung open, and the surgeon emerged in green scrubs, removing his mask with an expression of fatigue but cautious optimism: "The surgery was successful. We removed the entire tumor. With proper follow-up treatment, the prognosis looks good."
Emily Wright's legs buckled, and she slid down the wall to the floor. Forcing her drained body to move, she bowed deeply to the doctor, her voice a ragged whisper: "Thank you... thank you, doctor... thank you..."
After settling her mother in the recovery ward, tucking the blanket around her, adjusting the IV drip, and confirming the stable vitals on the monitor, Emily felt utterly hollow—as if her soul had detached from her physical body.
She walked silently to the end of the hallway where a small window revealed the dark night sky dotted with distant lights. With eerie calmness, she took out her phone and dialed Victor Fuller.
After settling her mother in the recovery ward, tucking the blanket around her, adjusting the IV drip, and confirming the stable vitals on the monitor, Emily felt utterly hollow—as if her soul had detached from her physical body.
This time, he answered immediately.
"Emily? Just finished work—my phone died and I only just found my charger. How was your mother's surgery? Everything go okay?" Victor Fuller's tone was casual, rehearsed.
Emily Wright didn't answer his question. Instead, she spoke with ice-cold precision, each word crystal clear:
"Victor Fuller, we're done."
Silence hung for several seconds, followed by Victor Fuller's surprised voice: "Emily? What are you upset about now? I'm exhausted from that project meeting..."
"I'm not upset." Emily cut him off, her voice devoid of emotion, smooth as a frozen lake. "I'm simply informing you that I'm done waiting, and I don't need you anymore."
"Just because I couldn't make it today? I told you I had an important project meeting, and my phone died—" he scrambled to explain.
"Busy celebrating Lily Woods' job offer?" Emily Wright laughed hollowly. "Victor Fuller, my mother had cancer surgery today, fighting for her life. I waited for you outside the operating room for seven hours, only to see you toasting champagne with Lily Woods, celebrating her 'important life moment.'"
Victor fell silent, only his panicked breathing audible through the receiver.
"Victor Fuller, I'm done." Emily Wright's voice carried bone-deep weariness. "For five years, I've waited for you to fulfill your promises, to put me first, to offer me a real future. But now I see clearly. In your heart, Lily Woods will always be your priority—the one who needs protection and attention. And I'm just the 'understanding' girlfriend who 'shouldn't cause trouble'—forever second place, always dispensable."
"It's not like that! Emily, listen to me—it's not what you think!" Victor Fuller's voice finally cracked with genuine panic.
"Save it." Emily Wright took a deep breath. "Victor Fuller, I don't want you anymore."
With that, she hung up decisively, giving him no chance to respond. Her fingers moved methodically across her phone, blocking and deleting every trace of Victor Fuller—phone, social media, messaging apps, payment connections—everything. Her movements were fluid, unhesitating, final.
When finished, she leaned back against the cold wall, tilting her head to stare at the harsh fluorescent lights overhead. Tears finally streamed down her face—not tears of grief or regret, but of release. A farewell to the woman who had waited patiently for five years, to the love where she was always an afterthought, to the relationship built on lies, excuses, and self-deception. A farewell to Victor Fuller, whom she had loved deeply but who had never deserved her heart.
