Those words used to comfort me, but they were now a knife stabbing into the weakest part of my heart.

Jeffrey realized what he had said, regret flashing in his eyes.

"Still, you have to pay for trying to ruin Elaine's reputation!

"Come with me to apologize to Elaine and take her place as a volunteer doctor, and we'll forget this ever happened!"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I didn't do anything, so why should I say sorry?

"In three days, she won't be a part of my life anymore!"

Jeffrey was so worried about getting back to Elaine at the hospital that he did not really hear what I said.

He just snapped at me harshly before hurrying off to take care of her.

I stared at the tiger plushie on the table, felt a pang of sadness, and tossed it into the trash.

'Jeffrey, you'll get your wish for our lives soon enough!' I thought to myself.

...

The next morning, I found a gift box right outside my door.

I did not even need to open it to know it was Jeffrey's way of saying sorry.

After seven years of marriage, I knew him all too well.

I picked it up and threw it straight into the trash can.

When I looked up, I caught Jeffrey's eye.

He saw what I had done. He swallowed hard and gave me a sad smile.

I kept my cool, ignored him, and called a cab to the hospital to get my things from the office.

I wanted to surprise Jeffrey in response to his past stubbornness.

I kept my resignation as Chief and my new role with Doctors Without Borders a secret from everyone—except Elaine.

I figured that when Jeffrey realized I was gone in two days, he and Elaine would be thrilled to finally be together without me bothering them.

As I walked past the hospital garden, I saw a man and a woman.

Jeffrey was spending time with Elaine in the sunshine, helping her during her recovery.

He knelt in front of the bench, gently rubbing her calf.

He asked softly, "Does it hurt here? Looks like you might need more calcium.

"Don't push yourself too hard in Eastoria. I've asked a friend to look after you."

I could not stand watching them.

Elaine spotted me and quickly turned her gaze my way. Her smile was fake, like she was trying to start a fight, and she said in a sweet, fake voice, "A little higher… My thigh kinda hurts."

Jeffrey did not know what to do. He did not want anyone to misinterpret his actions.

While Jeffrey was still confused, Elaine grabbed his arm, bent down, and kissed him.

Elaine and I looked at each other for a moment.

Her eyes were saying she was sure she would get Jeffrey in the end.

However, I did not make a scene like I usually would.

I just looked away first, laughed quietly to myself, and walked off.

Jeffrey turned around quickly and caught sight of my stiff side profile walking away.

He ran after me, out of breath, and said, "Carol, don't get the wrong impression.

"There's nothing going on between her and me. I didn't think she'd just... kiss me."

I saw the nervous sweat on his forehead and smiled like I was not bothered.

"You don't have to explain anything to me."

Jeffrey looked worried. Even though I was acting calm like he wanted, he felt like he was missing something.

I did not wait for him to say more. I just turned and walked away fast.

I left Elaine's angry expression behind me.

...

The next day, before my flight, I received a call from a number I did not recognize.

Elaine's loud voice hurt my ears.

"You witch! Did you come over yesterday to show off, thinking Jeff cares about you? That's funny!

"Let me tell you this: Jeff only cares about me. He thinks of you as just a sister, so you’d better stay away from him."

I listened to her crazy voice and laughed a little, as if I knew something she did not.

"If you really think he only cares about you, why do you need to call and warn me to feel safe?" My words made Elaine so mad she snapped, "Well, we'll just have to see if he believes you or if he's going to stand by me, no matter what."

I was still trying to figure out what she meant when she quickly ended the call.

A second later, my phone buzzed with a video stream from the camera at my front door: Jeffrey had furiously kicked the door open and stormed into my house, a wooden stick in his hand, looking everywhere for me.

He was shouting my name through clenched teeth, going crazy and breaking my furniture.

"Carol Hoffman! Come out, you worthless witch! How dare you kidnap Elaine! Do you have any idea how much you've hurt her?

"I'm your senior, and I’m going to make sure you learn your lesson today!”

As he ranted, I finally understood what Elaine was hinting at.

I turned on the camera's speaker and argued back, "How can you be so sure I took her, and not that she made it all up?"

Jeffrey got even angrier and stared right at the camera. "Do you still want to argue? Elaine hates pain. Do you really think she'd inflict serious injuries on herself just to blame you? Who else would go after her if not you?"

He threw the stick, and it smashed the camera's screen to bits.

I stared at the cracks on my phone screen, feeling an icy fear slice through me.

If I had been at home, there was no telling if I would still be alive after that stick hit me.

I ignored Jeffrey's meltdown and turned off my phone.

Maybe he would regret his actions and forgive me in three days’ time at the goodbye ceremony, when he found out that Elaine was safe after all.

Jeffrey stared at the ruined house he had wrecked, a wave of regret washing over him.

However, his thoughts were cut short by a phone call. It was Elaine, the woman he could not stop thinking about.

On the day Elaine was meant to leave the hospital, there was a big send-off for the Doctors Without Borders volunteers. Jeffrey, who worked as an armed escort, got there early, scanning the crowd for Elaine. However, she was nowhere to be seen. Worried, he broke away from his post to ask the leader, "Isn't Dr. Brown from Cromwell General Hospital in the capital supposed to be here?"

The leader, puzzled, asked, "Who's Dr. Brown? She's not on our list."

Before Jeffrey could react, another leader recognized him and pulled him aside with a smile. "Dr. Brown's our new hospital chief. You're looking for Dr. Hoffman! She's been in Garvos for three days now. No need to worry."

Jeffrey was confused. "Dr. Hoffman? I thought Dr. Brown was going."

He should have been relieved, but instead, he felt a sharp ache in his heart.

"Dr. Hoffman took her place a while back. She wanted to surprise you, so we all kept it quiet. Didn't Dr. Brown tell you? She was in on it."

Suddenly, Jeffrey felt like he was being choked by a pair of invisible hands. A few short sentences had broken him completely.

Elaine, who had just become the new chief, ran toward Jeffrey. However, before she could reach him, someone pointed a gun right at her forehead. "You knew Carol was going to take your place. Why didn't you tell me?"