Chapter 2

Chloe Burns POV:

The morning air was crisp and cool as I walked out of the apartment building, a small bag with my mother's toiletries and a fresh change of clothes slung over my shoulder. Ann was still sleeping, resting peacefully before the transfer. I had a few hours to kill, and the thought of staying in that silent, tense apartment was unbearable.

I was heading to my car when a sleek, black sedan pulled up to the curb. My heart seized. It was Jermey's.

The passenger window glided down, and he leaned over, his face a carefully constructed mask of gentle concern. "Chloe. I was just coming to check on Ann. Get in, I'll drive you to the hospital."

I stopped on the sidewalk, clutching the strap of my bag. "I was just going to grab a coffee," I said, my voice tight.

"I can get you coffee," he insisted, his tone reasonable, patient. It was the voice he used when explaining a complex procedure to a worried family, designed to soothe and reassure. "Come on. Don't be like this."

He was early. He was never early. In the last year, as his "friendship" with the Farmer women had intensified, his visits to my mother had dwindled to almost nothing. He was always "stuck in surgery" or "swamped with consults." The last time he'd come with me for one of her check-ups, he had spent the entire time texting, his face illuminated by the glow of his phone.

Now, suddenly, he had all the time in the world.

"Jermey, I can drive myself," I said, keeping my distance.

"I know you can," he sighed, a practiced display of weary patience. "I'm just trying to help. We need to talk."

I remembered the last time we'd "talked" about this. It was a few months ago. I had found a ridiculously expensive cashmere throw blanket in his car, still in a designer box. It was a gift for Fronia, for one of her "bad days." I had lost it, screaming at him about how he spent more time and money on that woman than he did on his own family. He'd called me jealous and petty.

My mother, bless her heart, had tried to play peacemaker. The next time Jermey offered her a ride, she had politely declined, telling him she'd take a taxi. She never explained why, but I knew. She wouldn't be a pawn in our fights. After that, I stopped asking him to come at all.

But today, standing here now, a part of me, the tired, beaten-down part, just wanted to avoid another public scene. I sighed and walked around to the passenger side, pulling the door open.

"Thank you," he said, a flicker of triumph in his eyes.

I sent a quick text to my mom: Jermey is giving me a ride. Don't worry, everything is on schedule. See you soon.

I slid into the plush leather seat and was immediately hit by the faint, cloying scent of gardenias. Fronia's signature perfume. My eyes scanned the interior. Tucked into the side pocket of the passenger door was a small, jeweled pillbox. On the dashboard, propped up against the navigation screen, was a small, framed photo.

It wasn't a photo of us.

It was a picture of Jermey, Karina, and Fronia, all smiling brightly at some charity gala. Jermey stood between them, his arms around both women, looking for all the world like a proud husband and son. A happy family.

A cold, heavy dread pooled in my stomach.

"Charming photo," I said, my voice devoid of emotion.

Jermey glanced at it, then back at the road. "Oh, that. Karina gave it to me. She said it was a nice memory." He said it so casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world for a married man to have a picture of another family on his dashboard.

"A nice memory of you playing surrogate son," I murmured.

He shot me a sharp look. "Don't start, Chloe. Fronia is a lonely, sick woman. Karina worries about her constantly. Is it so wrong for me to offer them some comfort?"

"By abandoning my mother's surgery to hold her hand?" I shot back, the anger I'd been suppressing finally bubbling to the surface.

"It was a legitimate medical concern!" he insisted, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "Her blood pressure spiked. She was having chest pains."

"A 'health scare,' according to Karina's Instagram," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You can't believe everything you see on social media," he scoffed. "You're being childish."

I didn't argue. In the past, I would have fought, cried, pleaded with him to see how inappropriate his behavior was. Now? I was just tired. The fight had gone out of me, replaced by a chilling clarity. He didn't see it because he didn't want to. He was the hero of their story, and he loved his role.

"The pillbox is new," I said, gesturing towards the door. "Very tasteful."

He glanced at it, a flicker of annoyance on his face. "It was a gift. For me to keep Fronia's emergency medication in. She forgets things."

"How thoughtful of her," I said, turning to look out the window. "You've become their personal physician, concierge, and chauffeur. It's really quite touching."

"Chloe, I swear to God-"

I didn't let him finish. I just looked at him, my expression blank. I saw the confusion in his eyes. He was used to my fire, my tears. This cold indifference was new territory for him. He didn't know how to fight an enemy who refused to engage.

"We should get going," I said quietly. "We don't want to be late for my mother's transfer."

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He was a brilliant surgeon, a man who could literally hold a life in his hands, but in this moment, he was utterly lost. He had no protocol for this.

Just as he was about to put the car in drive, his phone, connected to the car's Bluetooth, rang out. The name on the screen made my stomach clench.

Karina Farmer.

He glanced at me, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but he answered it anyway. "Karina? What's wrong?"

Her voice, shrill and panicked, filled the small space. "Jermey! It's Mom! She's-she's having trouble breathing! She says her chest feels tight again! Can you come? Please? The ambulance will take too long!"

Jermey didn't hesitate. "I'm on my way. Keep her calm. I'll be there in ten minutes."

He hung up and immediately turned to me, his expression a mixture of apology and self-importance. "I have to go. It's an emergency."

Without another word, he reached over, unceremoniously grabbing the bag of my mother's things from my lap. "I'll drop this at the nurses' station for you," he said, already focused on his next heroic act.

He practically shoved the bag into my arms and got out, his mind already miles away, planning his dramatic rescue. As I stumbled out of the car, the bag slipped from my grasp. It hit the pavement with a sickening thud. A small, handcrafted ceramic bird, a little "get well" gift I'd bought for my mom, fell out and shattered on the asphalt.

Jermey didn't even notice. He was already back in the driver's seat, his tires screeching as he pulled away from the curb, leaving me standing there with my mother's things and the broken pieces of a life that was no longer mine.

I stared at the shattered bird, a mosaic of blue and white on the grey ground. And for the first time, I didn't feel hurt. I felt nothing.

I arrived back at the hospital room to find my mother awake, her eyes clear. She looked at me, then at the empty space beside me.

"He's not coming, is he?" she asked, her voice soft but steady.

I shook my head, my throat tight. "He had an emergency."

She gave me a sad, knowing smile. "It's alright, Chloe. I know."

"You know?"

"During the surgery," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "When they were putting me under. I was groggy, but I heard the nurses talking. They said Dr. Ferguson had to leave for a 'VIP patient.' I knew it was her."

A tear traced a path down her cheek. "I just wish... I wish he didn't have to lie to you."

I squeezed her hand, my heart aching for her quiet dignity. "It doesn't matter anymore, Mom."

She looked at me, her eyes searching mine. "He used to be such a good boy, Chloe. He really did."

I knew she was right. But that boy was gone, replaced by a man I no longer recognized. A man who would choose the applause of strangers over the love of his family, every single time.