Jack pulled me out into the corridor and gently pressed an ice pack to my face. I lowered my gaze and murmured, “I didn’t push her…”
“Hm,” he replied softly—neither anger nor comfort in his voice.
But I knew him too well. This kind of silence was the cruelest response. If he believed me, he would have defended me. If he didn’t, he would simply say nothing.
And yet… if he didn’t believe me, why was he being so gentle?
Tears slid down my cheeks and fell onto his hand. He flinched, as if scalded, then abruptly stood up.
“If you’re just going to stand here and make Katy and the baby suffer,” he said coldly, “then you should go home.”
I grabbed the hem of his shirt, my voice trembling with desperation, “Just this once… believe me. Please.”
He sighed heavily, then pried my fingers off his shirt one by one, as if completely disheartened.
“Hayley, I can forgive you—for anything. Because I love you. But the least you could do is be honest with me.”
Suddenly, a familiar ringtone cut through the silence—Katy’s custom ringtone.
"How much further must I go to enter your heart? How much longer must I wait to be close to you..."
I had asked him once, “Is it really appropriate to set a custom ringtone for a female colleague?”
He had looked confused. “She likes the song, so I used it. Don’t overthink things.”
Now, I watched as he answered her call and walked away—without so much as a backward glance.
I sat there on the cold bench, face swollen, chest hollow, laughing and crying like someone slowly losing their mind.
He said I should be honest. But did he ever show me the same honesty?
I returned to pack up my things, intending to go back to my parents’ house. But before I could leave, a video call came through.
My father appeared on screen, clutching his chest, his face red with fury. He pointed at me with trembling fingers.
“The Lawndsey Family said you caused a scene at the hospital and injured a woman who just gave birth. Do you even think before you act? The hospital director is a friend of mine—he posted in our group chat, asking what happened. You’ve completely embarrassed the Morgen Family!”
His breathing grew labored. My mother quickly handed him his medicine, then turned her scolding glare on me.
“Jack already explained everything. He and that girl are just colleagues. Why did you have to interfere and force them into this mess?”
She glanced at the red mark on my face and sneered. “You brought that on yourself.”
I drew in a shaky breath, my voice raw. “What did I do wrong that you’re all scolding me? Why do you believe everyone else but me?”
“Then tell us—what should we believe?” they snapped in unison.
Looking at their cold, unyielding faces, my heart sank. “…Forget it.”
I hung up.
I couldn’t let them see my tears—because if I cried, they’d just say, “All you ever do is cry.”
At that moment, I had no idea where to go. I felt like I had no one left.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from Tom Gerald.
[Hayley, when can I take your place?]
[Now.] I replied without hesitation.
Tom—the boy who once sat at the bottom of the class, always failing his exams. In senior year, he suddenly changed, studying day and night just to follow me to university. He confessed to me a hundred times and I rejected him a hundred times.
Who would fall for a boy worse at academics than a failing student? Even if he was cheerful and handsome, with a heart-stopping smile…it just wasn’t enough.
After graduation, I started dating Jack. Tom went abroad to Switzerland to continue his studies, but we never lost touch.
Everyday messages, casual updates and every so often, the same question.
[When will you let me take the lead?]
I never answered. But he never stopped asking. Like a tireless machine—relentless, unwavering.
