My head had been foggy from consecutive sleepless nights. At the time, I hadn't even caught the panic in his voice.
He must have had her warm body nestled against him, our agreement already forgotten.
After I'd arranged their examination items, Ervin took the forms and went out to pay.
Only when his figure had completely disappeared down the corridor did Annette reluctantly tear her gaze away.
She rubbed her belly.
"We've been talking all this time, and I don't think I even caught your name, Doctor."
I lifted my eyes to look at her.
"It's Simmons. You can call me Dr. Simmons."
A flicker of something passed through her eyes, and she smiled.
"What a coincidence."
My heart stirred, but I kept my expression neutral. "You know someone with the same last name?"
Annette smiled faintly and nodded. Then her expression shifted, a flash of disgust crossing her features.
"My husband's ex-girlfriend was a Simmons too. But that's ancient history."
"He told me she was ugly, had a terrible temper, treated him horribly, and was a total control freak."
"Thank God he was brave enough to break things off. And now he's found someone as wonderful as me."
I tightened my grip on the pen in my hand and let out a silent, bitter laugh.
"Your husband told you all that himself?"
"Of course."
She clenched her fists, her expression indignant, as though she were outraged on Ervin's behalf.
"She even used his career to threaten him, trying to force him into marrying her."
"But he turned her down flat and put her in her place."
I raised an eyebrow. In my mind, I'd already sentenced Ervin Harding to death a thousand times over.
When I first met Ervin, he was a broke nobody whose only talent was burying his nose in textbooks.
He told me he wanted to work in Sterling City after graduation. It was the place he'd dreamed about since he was a kid.
So I convinced my father to pull some strings, to build him a ladder straight to the top firms in Sterling City. We even bought him an apartment here.
I held his hand and told him, "Go after whatever you want. People who truly love each other don't let distance change what they have."
When he proposed, he stood in front of all our friends and admitted that without the Simmons family, he would be nothing.
He got down on one knee, slid the ring onto my finger with ceremony and conviction, and swore he would be with me for the rest of his life.
Yet in the blink of an eye, he had betrayed me so completely.
I looked at the girl sitting across from me, let out a quiet breath, and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over everything. Suddenly, none of it seemed worth caring about anymore.
I twisted the wedding band on my finger, then abruptly changed the subject.
"I envy you, having a husband who loves you so much. My situation is... different."
Annette's head snapped up, her eyes glittering with curiosity.
I continued.
"I'm actually married too. Within the first month after the wedding, I found out my husband was cheating."
"He'd been hiding a whole other life behind my back."
Bang.
The moment the words left my mouth, Annette slammed her fist on the table.
"What a piece of garbage! Dr. Simmons, you're such a wonderful person. How could he not appreciate what he had?"
I gave a helpless little laugh, then went on in the same unhurried tone.
"And recently, I found out he got another woman pregnant behind my back."
This time Annette shot to her feet, her chest heaving.
"Scum!"
"A man like that deserves to be struck by lightning. He deserves to rot!"
Right on cue, the door swung open and Ervin walked in, a smile on his face.
"What are you two talking about? Who deserves to rot?"
Annette turned to him, still fuming. "Dr. Simmons' scumbag husband. You have no idea the disgusting things he's done."
