Chapter 3 Torn

Clara Hayes had seen hundreds of patients - bruised, broken, lost. But never one who could silence her heartbeat just by saying her name.

As she walked down the dim hospital corridor that night, her hands trembled around the clipboard she was pretending to read. The sterile smell of antiseptic had never felt so suffocating. Her shift had ended hours ago, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave.

She leaned against the cool wall beside the vending machine, breathing in slow, uneven drags.

Adrian Cole.

The name rolled through her mind like a cruel echo. The boy who once promised her the world. The boy who had turned love into a dare. The boy who had looked at her like she was everything - until she found out she was just a joke whispered among his rich friends.

And now... fate had seen fit to hand her his recovery.

She almost laughed - a sharp, disbelieving sound that died before it escaped her lips.

"I can't do this," she murmured to herself, running a hand through her hair. "Not him. Not again."

But his mother's words replayed like a soft melody she couldn't shut off - He doesn't remember us... but he remembered you.

Why her? Why after all these years?

She rubbed her arms, trying to shake the chill that had crept in. Her mind drifted to a conversation she had months ago - one that suddenly felt prophetic.

Flashback

It was a Sunday afternoon. The kettle whistled softly in her mother's cramped kitchen, filling the room with the scent of chamomile. Her mother sat opposite her at the small table, her gray hair pinned neatly, her hands folded with the kind of grace that had survived too many storms.

"You're still holding on, Clara," her mother had said gently, eyes steady. "You smile, you work, but you haven't let go" her mother pointed out when she waved off the idea of getting married.

Clara stared into her tea, avoiding her mother's gaze. "Let go of what?"

"The past."

"Mum-"

"Don't pretend," her mother interrupted softly. "I know you. You carry pain like it's part of your uniform."

Clara swallowed hard. "Some things aren't easy to forgive."

Her mother reached across the table, placing her hand over hers. "Forgiveness isn't about ease. It's about freedom. You don't have to forget what they did - but you can stop letting it define you."

Clara blinked back the sting in her eyes. "How do I forgive people who never said sorry? Who didn't care what they did to me?"

Her mother smiled sadly. "By realizing they don't have to care for you to heal. You forgive for you, not for them."

Clara looked away, her throat tight. "You make it sound simple."

"It isn't," her mother said, squeezing her hand. "But it's necessary. One day you'll be faced with something - or someone - that will make you understand why forgiveness matters. When that day comes, I hope you choose peace, Clara."

Now, standing in the hospital hallway, Clara almost laughed through her tears.

"Peace," she whispered bitterly. "Is that what this is supposed to be?"

She pushed herself off the wall and walked toward the staff room. Her reflection in the mirror looked foreign - tired eyes, trembling lips, a woman caught between the past and the present.

When she'd first met Adrian Cole, she'd been seventeen - a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school filled with children of wealth and legacy. He'd been the golden boy with a grin that could start wars and end them just as quickly. She'd never stood a chance.

He'd made her feel seen - truly seen - in a world that only noticed her when she was invisible. He'd helped her carry books, remembered her favorite tea, even walked her home once through the rain. For a girl who'd grown up watching her parents walk away from each other - and from her - that kind of attention felt like salvation.

Until it wasn't.

The memory came back sharp as glass: the day she found out about the bet. His friends laughing in the courtyard, the words "told you she'd fall for it" echoing across the campus. Adrian's face pale, regret flickering - too little, too late.

That was the day she'd promised herself she'd never let anyone break her that way again.

And now, the same boy - now a man, powerful and broken - had looked at her like she was the only person in the world he trusted.

Clara pressed her hands to her eyes, willing herself to breathe. "This is madness."

A knock on the door startled her. Dr. Lewis stood at the entrance, his expression kind but weary. "Miss Hayes? The Coles have completed the arrangements. They'd like you to start tomorrow morning. You'll be briefed on his rehabilitation schedule."

She nodded numbly. "Of course, Doctor."

He hesitated. "You don't have to take this if you're uncomfortable."

"I said I'd do it," she said quickly, forcing steadiness into her voice. "I'll do my job."

Dr. Lewis studied her for a moment, then nodded and left.

Clara sank onto the chair, her shoulders heavy.

Her mother's voice whispered in her head again: When that day comes, I hope you choose peace.

Maybe this was that day - her chance to forgive, to prove to herself that the past didn't own her. But sitting there, surrounded by the hum of machines and the scent of antiseptic, all she could feel was fear.

What if she wasn't that brave? To be gracious to herself. To let go and have peace?