Catherine reached out and squeezed my hand tightly.

I shook my head at her. “It’s okay. I’m not afraid of the pain.”

In reality, it hurt like hell. But what was this physical agony compared to the heartache Ryan had caused?

Once we were alone, Catherine tried to comfort me. “Those two lowlifes were made for each other! Don’t waste your energy on them!”

“Oh, and guess what? That idiot Tyler is still messaging me, saying he’s preparing a surprise! I’m so allergic to nuts I go into anaphylactic shock, and I’ve told him a million times! And we already broke up, is he brain-dead or something?”

I laughed. “He just doesn’t care. He was never that into you. If he put half the effort he puts into Halle into your relationship, things would be different.”

Catherine sighed in agreement. “Whatever, let’s not talk about that loser.”

She pulled out her tablet to show me a video. “Hey, I’ve been following this super popular TikToker. He does man-on-the-street interviews at high-end events and gives out these quirky gifts. It’s hilarious!”

She quickly found the creator’s page and clicked on the latest live video.

We both stared, stunned. The person being interviewed was her incredibly busy ex-boyfriend—Tyler.

The location was an art gallery opening.

The TikToker asked, “This is a Tiffany bracelet. Before we give it away, is there anything you’d like to say to the camera?”

Tyler took the little blue box, a charming smile plastered on his face. “I hope the person who gets this gift is the sweetest girl in the world. And I really hope that person is you, Halle!”

He made a heart shape with his hands for the camera. I wanted to scroll away, but Catherine held my hand down.

She immediately started typing furiously in the comments: [You know Halle likes Tiffany but you can’t remember your girlfriend of three years is fatally allergic to nuts?!]

Her comment was instantly buried in a flood of others. I patted her hand. “We’re better off without them. Our lives will only get better.”

Catherine nodded firmly, but the damage was done. That TikToker had millions of followers, and the comment section exploded.

“Isn’t that the rich kid from the Brooks family? His family are executives at Microsoft!”

“The girl Tyler is wishing for must have saved the galaxy in a past life!”

“Mr. Brooks, your loyal simp is here! When will you notice me?”

Everyone was fawning over him. Just like that, Tyler went viral.

People even started getting jealous of Halle.

A short while later, Halle posted a picture on her Instagram Story with the caption: [I finally got my Tiffany! Happiness is getting what your heart desires!]

In the photo, the exquisite bracelet was on her slender wrist. And right beside her was Tyler.

Catherine stared at the screen and sneered. “What a hopeless simp.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

She was right. Tyler and Ryan both orbited Halle like satellites, but who the real winner was, it was hard to say.

Maybe neither of them.

I didn’t care anymore.

Since Ryan had already chosen Halle as his “fiancée,” I figured our story was over. My plan was to pack up and leave as soon as I was discharged.

Ryan had given me some expensive jewelry and designer bags, but I had no interest in them. I wasn’t the kind of woman to leech off an ex.

Forty-eight hours later, I was moved to a regular ward. My attending physician, Dr. Evans, came by on his rounds and told me, “You’re incredibly lucky. One of the glass shards was just millimeters from your carotid artery. Any closer, and not even God could have saved you.”

“Rest up now. Don’t get worked up; it’s bad for your recovery.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

The moment Dr. Evans left, Ryan called.

I looked at the screen. It was his office number, one I had forgotten to block.

I had no choice but to answer.

“You see? If it weren’t for Halle, my engagement party would have been a joke! Now that you’ve had your little tantrum, it’s time for you to come back!”

His words were so absurd I could almost laugh. “Ryan, I can’t go back.”

“What the hell do you want?!” Ryan’s voice shot up an octave. “I’ve already explained to everyone and admitted that you are my one and only fiancée!”

“If you dare pull another stunt, we are completely finished!”

“Ryan, have you ever believed a single word I’ve said? I was in a car crash. I almost died. I’m still lying in a hospital bed. If you’d bother to lift one of your precious fingers, you could find my name in the news.”

Ryan sneered. “You’re mad because I was with Halle at the clinic, right? So now you’re making up this story to get back at me?”

“Why don’t you tell me which hospital you’re in, which doctor is treating you, what your diagnosis is? Emma, don’t forget, I’m a doctor. You can’t fool me.”

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “I’m at Harborview Medical Center. Surgical ward, bed 24. Come over right now. My attending physician is here too.”

“Fine. You just wait. I’m on my way!”

Ryan was a top cardiac surgeon at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He had connections throughout the city’s medical system. It was impossible for him not to know his own fiancée had been in such a serious accident.

But he had been too busy with his engagement party, too focused on Halle, to even realize I was right under his nose.

Half an hour later, Ryan appeared, with Halle clinging intimately to his arm.

Their arrival in the hallway caused a small stir.

I was leaning back with my eyes closed when I heard the nurses’ exaggerated fawning.

“Dr. Mitchell brought his fiancée for a little PDA!”

“Dr. Mitchell, you two are going to be the death of us single people!”

“Wow, his fiancée is even prettier in person! Dr. Mitchell has great taste.”

I opened my eyes, listening to the commotion with a cold smirk. I was willing to bet they had no idea this so-called “fiancée” was just a temporary stand-in.

But what did it matter? I had already broken up with Ryan. I didn’t want that title anymore.

They weren’t wrong, though. Ryan and Halle were now publicly engaged. What was there for me to deny?

Ryan’s response to the crowd was tinged with a distant arrogance, but Halle was beaming, clearly soaking in the praise. I could hear the poorly hidden pride in her modest voice.

“Thank you all for taking such good care of Ryan. I’ve ordered Starbucks for everyone, it’ll be delivered soon!”

“Mrs. Mitchell isn’t just beautiful, she’s so kind!”

The compliments made Halle even more giddy. When she appeared at my doorway, arm-in-arm with Ryan, her face was a mask of victory, her eyes filled with blatant provocation.

When Ryan saw me, he froze for a split second.

He hadn’t expected me to actually be here.

But when his eyes scanned the room and landed on the fact that I was in a private suite with the best view, his expression darkened.

“Do you have any idea how tight hospital beds are? You staged an injury just to throw a tantrum at me, probably committing insurance fraud in the process?”

“Throw a tantrum at you?”

I looked up at him, my eyes dripping with scorn. “Who do you think you are? The center of the universe? Honestly, you’re not that important.”

“Emma!”

“I can hear you, no need to shout. We’re done, Ryan. She’s your fiancée now. Did you two come here specifically to flaunt it in my face?”

“Fine, I’ll play along. Then I wish you two scumbags a lifetime of misery together. Here’s to you, may you rot in hell. I’ll even swallow the key.”

Ryan’s face turned a deep shade of crimson. “How dare you insult us?”

“Apologize to me!”

I met his gaze without flinching. “Apologize? Maybe in your next life.”

Ryan was thoroughly enraged. Halle quickly grabbed his arm, trying to soothe him. “Ryan, don’t! Miss Rodriguez is just upset, she needs her rest. Let’s not argue with her.”

“I think she’s doing this on purpose! Who’s your doctor? Who’s helping you stage this pathetic little drama?”

I stared at him, my face blank. “Are you done with your meltdown, Ryan? You’re not my doctor, so stop meddling. We’ve broken up, yet you keep harassing me. Sleeping with me while thinking about her… don’t you feel disgusting?”

Ryan raised his hand to slap me.

But I dodged it and simultaneously slammed the call button.

He stared at me, shocked. Before he could react, I raised my own hand and, with all my strength, gave him a resounding slap across the face.