Chapter 3

Nicholas turned to see Jessica, who should be in the hospital, standing at the door. What was going on? "What was she doing here and not there?" "Why was she even here even after he had broken up with her?" he thought as he got out of bed and casually picked up his pants from the floor.

"Jessica, aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?" he said, raising his brows as he put on his trousers.

Jessica was stunned by his words. Was that what he was supposed to be asking her after what she had just witnessed? "Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?" Wow!

"I was in the hospital for 7 days, 7 whole days, and not even once did you come to see me. Yet you have the time to have sex with my cousin? My own cousin, Nicholas!" She was furious, her anger evident in her voice.

"Well, it's a good thing you caught us. At least this, I believe, will help you move on." He leaned on the side of the door with his arms folded across his chest as he stared at Jessica. Her mouth gaped open; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had he really broken up with her the way he did because of her cousin?

"W...what did you just say?" she stuttered.

He lifted his body from the door, his eyes still fixated on her. "Like I told you earlier over the phone, I came to the hospital and met with the doctor two days after the accident. He told me everything. You see…" 

He walked around her. "I was so infatuated with the thought of getting married to a pretty medical doctor that earned a decent living, someone I could be proud to show off to my grandmother and the entire family." 

He stood in front of her, glaring at her with a look of contempt in his eyes. "Imagine the pain I felt when I realized you would never get to use your hand again. I cannot date a disappointment, let alone marry one."

A piercing sound cut through the air as Jessica's hand landed on Nicholas' face. "You wanted to marry me just because of my profession as a medical doctor?" Her voice quaked with a mix of pain and fury.

Nicholas clutched his face where he had just been struck. It stung pretty bad, but he managed to maintain his composure. He was the second son of a rich family, born with a golden spoon in his mouth; no one had ever dared to slap him

. After being slapped by Jessica, his face became very stern. "Don't you ever hit me again!", he said through gritted teeth "£nd yes, you heard me, Jessica. We can't be together anymore. Get over it!" 

He looked over his shoulder at Sonia, who held the bedsheet over her body, staring at both of them as if she were stunned, when in fact, she wasn't. "At least your cousin is a medical doctor; she would serve as your replacement."

Everything was playing out as Sonia wanted it to. She had been jealous of Jessica for a very long time. She wanted everything Jessica had. Even when Jessica decided to study Medicine, Sonia also decided she wanted to go into the same field of study. 

Jessica, who didn't know anything about her jealousy, as she had always done a good job at hiding it, doted on her. She always trusted her. Their relationship was so strong, and Jessica even considered her her best friend. She was the only other person aside from her mom and fiancé who would have her back at any time in this cruel world.

Jessica looked over at Sonia with disdain. "How could you do this to me, Sonia? How could you sleep with..." She wanted to mention her fiancé, but he wasn't that anymore, not after what she had just witnessed. "...Nicholas? How could you betray me this way? You are family, I trusted you. If anyone could ever do this to me, I would never believe it would be you!"

"I am so sorry, Jessica. I don't know what came over me. It was a mistake. Please forgive me," Sonia pleaded while she rejoiced deep inside. This was all her plan after all. She had gotten information from a friend of hers who was a nurse working at the hospital where Jessica was admitted that Jessica was getting discharged this morning.

 After getting the information, she knew the first place Jessica would want to visit was Nicholas' apartment to sort things out with him regarding their breakup. Knowing how much Jessica loved him, she didn't want to take any chances because it was possible Jessica would plead with Nicholas, and he would take her back out of pity. 

She couldn't let that happen. She needed to make Jessica so angry she wouldn't beg. Bearing this in mind, Sonia knew she had to act quickly. She went to Nicholas' apartment very early in the morning, and as luck would have it, Jessica arrived at just the right moment.

She smiled inwardly; everything was working out perfectly in her favor. The only reason she was pretending to be sorry was because of Nicholas. She didn't want him to think this was all she had wanted all along. She wanted him to think her humane and empathetic.

"I am so sorry, Jessica. I never planned for it to happen this way. Th... this affair has been going on for just a little over a year," she confessed with a stutter as she clutched tightly to the bed sheet around her body. She was gloating inside. This was her moment. She had finally made Jessica know that it didn't just start now; it had been going on for a while.

"You mean you have been sleeping with each other for over a year now, right under my nose?"

"I wanted everything to stop. It was going to stop once you both got married. I planned on leaving Nicholas for you. I love you so much I didn't want to hurt you like that," Sonia sobbed.

Jessica shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. There is absolutely nothing to forgive." She bent down, picked up her bag, stood up straight, and locked eyes with Nicholas. "You can have him all to yourself. He was always a scumbag to begin with. Too bad I let myself be blindsided." 

Jessica stormed out, walking gracefully down the hallway. She wouldn't break down in front of them, and she wouldn't let them have the last laugh.

As soon as she got to the staircase, hot tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she laughed painfully and muttered to herself, "Oh Lord, what a fool I have been. Mum had always been right."

Jessica and her mother often had clashes and misunderstandings because of Nicholas. At one time, her mother had told her, "I wish the wool over your eyes would fall off so that you can see this man for who he truly is." Now it dawned on her just how right her mother had been. 

All the thoughts of begging Nicholas to take her back had vanished immediately she saw him with her cousin. She could forgive anything, but never a cheating partner.

She got outside the apartment, the bright sunlight shining onto her face, making her very lightheaded. Although Jessica had had a quick recovery, she was advised by the doctor not to stress herself to avoid complications. Unfortunately, she had stressed herself beyond her limit during her confrontation with Nicholas and Sonia.

She staggered and fell to the floor. Just before she became unconscious, she saw the face of a very handsome man looking down at her. He wore a frown on his face, and there was just a certain coldness about his gaze.

"Get her into the car immediately," she heard him say before slipping into unconsciousness.