You Gain One, You Lose One

I was about to knock on the door but stopped mid-motion when I recognized the voice as Adrian's.

Katelyn was sobbing. "But this is a life we're talking about. I can't bear to let him go."

Adrian's voice was filled with unprecedented anger. "Why do you insist on having a child with him? Why does he get to, while I—"

"Adrian!" Katelyn interrupted him. Then, she asked in a quivering voice, "Have you lost your mind?"

I curled my hand, still posed to knock, into a fist.

In the three years I had been with Adrian, no matter how much I cried or argued with him over Katelyn, he had never been this angry.

Everyone said Adrian was calm and collected, never one to lose his temper. As it turned out, it was just because he hadn't met someone who could truly stir his emotions.

A soft whine came from Adrian. "Sorry, I was too impulsive. Just pretend I didn't say anything."

When the room fell silent, I knocked on the door.

"Dr. Randall, are you here? I have a medical case that needs your attention."

After a few seconds, he replied, "Come in."

I pushed the door open.

Katelyn was sitting on the bed, looking like there had never been a fight. She smiled at me and said, "Oh, Dr. Gilmore, you're here so early! Have you had breakfast? I have some freeze-dried strawberries."

She handed me a big packet of freeze-dried strawberries from the bedside table as she spoke.

I stood frozen, momentarily forgetting to take it. I shifted my gaze to the bedside table.

In addition to the freeze-dried strawberries, there were chocolates, fruit roll-ups, candies, and caramel frappuccino. They were all the treats Adrian always picked out for me.

I heard myself ask in disbelief, "Are these all the things you like to eat?"

"Yes! I've loved sweets since I was young. Adrian had always bought me these delicious snacks."

I felt my breath hitch when I saw her smile blissfully at me.

Adrian might be cold, but he still showed me care occasionally. One of those thoughtful gestures was the little snacks he often brought me. He never asked me what I liked to eat, and I had always just eaten whatever he brought.

But the truth was, I didn't actually like sweets. It turned out that all the treats he brought me were the ones that Katelyn, his childhood sweetheart, enjoyed.

After she went abroad, he had nowhere to place that love of his. So he found someone else to absorb all that misdirected affection.

I took a deep breath and smiled. "Sorry, but I don't like sweets."

After that, I turned and handed the medical case file to Adrian. "Sorry to trouble you, Dr. Randall."

Then, I turned and walked back to my office.

I knocked over a glass in a daze, and only then did I snap out of it. Just as I was about to reach for the broom, a hand caught mine from behind.

"Dr. Randall?" I froze. Then, recalling that we couldn't be affectionate in public, I instinctively tried to pull my hand away.

But this time, he held my hand tighter of his own free will. He leaned down, his beautiful almond eyes searching my face for something.

"You didn't cry, did you?" he asked.

I pushed him away a little and picked up the broom. "Stop messing around, Dr. Randall. We're at work."

Sighing, he took the broom from my hand and quietly swept up all the shattered pieces on the floor.

"I saw that you liked Katelyn's post on Instagram." He emptied every last broken shard into the trash can. After that, he double-bagged it and tied the knot tight. "I know you're angry."

I laughed. "You're hilarious, Dr. Randall."

He turned back, his brows furrowing. He swept his gaze across my face a few times but found no cracks. With a helpless sigh, he sat across from me.

"Your methods of tormenting me are becoming more and more creative."

"I'm not tormenting you. I'm genuinely not angry."

"Wendy, stop messing around."

"Dr. Randall." I stood up and offered him a faint smile. "I need to do my rounds. We can't afford to get distracted during work hours. Wasn't that what you said before?"