You Gain One, You Lose One

I double over in pain after assisting Adrian Randall with a late-night operation. He immediately carries me to a ward to check on me. However, before he can do that, he receives a call from a patient and hurries off.

That night, I miscarry.

When I come out of the operating theater, I see his childhood friend's social media update. She's shared a photo of her baby bump.

"He hurried to come to my side just because I was lost. You have to treat Adrian well in the future, my darling!"

I rub my belly, which throbs with a dull ache. I don't cry and demand an explanation from Adrian as I would have in the past. Instead, I like the post and apply for a position on the Borderless Medical Assistance Program.

The day I leave, the high and mighty Dr. Randall looks at me with red-rimmed eyes. He asks, "How can you bear to leave me behind?"

When I learned it was a miscarriage, I called Adrian Randall more than ten times. But no one answered.

My best friend, Celeste Logan, a gynecologist, held my hand and comforted me for a long time before I finally agreed to get on the operating table.

Because I had a low tolerance for anesthesia, I woke up in pain several times. Each time, I hoped to see Adrian by my side. But he wasn't there.

It wasn't until after the surgery that he sent a message that read, "Katelyn is my patient. I have a responsibility toward her. I hope you understand."

Every time he left me to deal with Katelyn Russo, he would send me a similar message.

Clutching my stomach, I sat in Celeste's office to rest. I lifted my hand and typed a line of text into our chat: "But this time, I needed you more."

After thinking about it, I deleted it and typed a new message: "Okay, Dr. Randall."

Even though Celeste tried to persuade me to stay in the hospital to rest, I didn't heed her advice. If I did as she suggested, people would soon find out I was pregnant.

The hospital forbade office romance, and on the day that Adrian and I got together, he had already made it clear that I couldn't publicly show affection toward him. To others, we were just colleagues with good chemistry.

I didn't want to give him another reason for us to argue. We had already had plenty of conflicts because of Katelyn.

After Celeste watched me take my medication over a video call, I slumped on the couch, groggy.

Half-asleep, I was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening. It was Adrian.

"You're back." I sat upright.

"Yeah." He hung up his coat and went straight to the bathroom, not giving me a chance to say anything else.

It was always like this between us. We were colleagues on the outside but barely spoke at home.

I heard something chime. I turned my head and learned that the sound had come from Adrian's phone on the table. The message was from a woman with a cute cat profile picture.

I tapped on it. The contact was saved as "Katelyn".

"Thank you for staying with me so late today, Adrian. I was delighted with you around."

My fingers trembled slightly. I remembered the pain I had endured on the operating table. While I kept glancing toward the surgery room door, hoping to see a familiar face, the man I had been waiting for was off caring for another woman.

"What are you doing?" Adrian's voice came from behind me.

I turned. He stood there wrapped in a towel, looking down at me. Droplets of water slid down his abs, tracing along the lines of his muscles.

"Oh, sorry. Your phone just happened to go off." I handed it to him and looked up. "I didn't mean to read your messages."

Adrian didn't take it. "I never said you couldn't." He opened his Whatsapp and showed me all of his conversations. "I told you, you can trust me."

I froze, still holding the phone.

He gestured toward the phone with his chin. "If you ever want to check in the future, go ahead. You already know the password."

I know that Adrian wouldn't cheat because his upbringing wouldn't allow it.

I smiled and shook my head. "No, thanks. I'm not in the habit of going through other people's phones."