Emily walked into her hotel room, still reeling from the confrontation with her sister. She threw her coat onto the bed and walked over to the balcony, looking out at the city below. The lights twinkled like stars, and the sound of traffic hummed in the distance. But as she stood there, the thoughts of everything that had happened came rushing back, and she felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
She started crying, thinking to herself, "I don't want to cause any harm. I don't want to cause any trouble. Jack, just leave me alone and let me be." The tears streamed down her face as she thought about the complicated web of emotions that seemed to be suffocating her.
After a while, Emily composed herself and went into the bathroom to take a shower. As the warm water poured down on her, she stood under it for a long time, trying to clear her head. The water washed away her tears, but it couldn't wash away the feelings of guilt and anxiety that had taken up residence in her heart.
When she finally came out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and walked over to the bed to pick up her phone. To her surprise, it was ringing, and when she saw the caller ID, her heart skipped a beat. It was Doctor Jack.
Emily didn't pick up the call. Instead, she sat down on the floor beside her bed, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. "Leave me alone, Jack," she whispered to herself. "Please, just leave me alone." She buried her face in her hands, feeling overwhelmed by the emotions that seemed to be swirling around her.
But the phone kept ringing, and eventually, Emily picked it up, trying to compose herself. "Hello?" she said, trying to sound calm.
"Hello, Emily," Doctor Jack said on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry to call so late, but I really need to see you before you leave." His voice was low and urgent, and Emily felt a shiver run down her spine.
Emily took a deep breath, trying to stay firm. "Jack, I told you earlier today that I'm in a relationship, a serious relationship that's likely to lead to marriage. I don't think I want to discuss anything further with you." She tried to sound convincing, but her voice trembled slightly.
But Doctor Jack persisted. "Please, Emily, just hear me out. Just hear me out, and I promise not to trouble you again after our meeting tomorrow. Please, just hear me out." His words were laced with a desperation that made Emily's heart ache.
Emily hesitated, feeling a pang of guilt. She didn't want to lead Doctor Jack on, but at the same time, she didn't want to be rude to him. She thought about all the what-ifs and maybes that seemed to be swirling around her.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Emily agreed to meet with Doctor Jack. "Okay, fine," she said. "I'll meet with you tomorrow after my business meeting. But please, Jack, don't expect anything from me. I'm only doing this because I don't want to be rude to you." She tried to sound firm, but her voice was laced with a hint of uncertainty.
Doctor Jack's voice was filled with relief on the other end of the line. "Thank you, Emily. I promise I won't trouble you again after tomorrow. I just need to see you one more time." His words sent a shiver down Emily's spine, and she couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring.
As soon as Doctor Jack dropped the call, a mix of emotions flooded his mind. Although he felt relieved that Emily had agreed to meet with him, he couldn't shake off the fear that she might not show up. What if she changed her mind? What if she didn't want to see him again? The doubts crept into his mind, making him feel anxious.
But then he took a deep breath and said to himself, "Jack, what are you doing? You know you're doing what's best for you." He tried to reassure himself, but the confusion still lingered.
Ever since Eva died in a car accident, he had never felt this way about anyone. But whenever he saw Emily, she reminded him of Eva - the calmness, the gentleness, it was something he couldn't explain. He felt a deep-rooted connection to Emily, and he couldn't let her go.
He thought to himself, "I was a coward for not going back to look for her two years ago. I blamed myself for everything that has happened up until this moment." The guilt and regret still lingered, but he knew he had to move forward.
But then another thought crossed his mind - what about Cynthia? What was he going to say to her? He knew he couldn't just dump her without an explanation. He thought to himself, "I'll just tell her the truth - that I don't feel the same way about her, and that my heart belongs to someone else."
The thoughts swirled in his mind, and he knew he had to make a decision. He picked up the phone and dialed Cynthia's number. After contemplating for a moment, he made up his mind.
When Cynthia picked up the phone, she sounded cheerful. "Hey baby, what's up? What's going on?"
Doctor Jack took a deep breath before speaking. "Cynthia, I don't think we can continue this relationship anymore."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "What do you mean? Are you stressed? What's going on?" Cynthia asked, her voice laced with concern.
Doctor Jack knew he had to be honest with her. "The truth is, my heart belongs somewhere else. I don't want to waste your time or put you through a life of misery knowing that my heart is not fully invested in this relationship."
There was another pause, and Doctor Jack could sense the hurt and disappointment on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, Cynthia. I'm so sorry to have wasted your time. You deserve better than someone who can't give you their whole heart."
Doctor Jack hung up the phone and rubbed his temples, feeling a wave of intense sadness and guilt wash over him. The weight of his words settled in, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had hurt someone he cared about deeply. He thought about the pain he had caused Cynthia and felt a pang of regret. "I'm sorry, Cynthia," he whispered to himself. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Cynthia was on the other end of the phone call, her world shattered into a million pieces. She couldn't believe what Doctor Jack had just told her. Just a few hours ago, she was a proud girlfriend, hoping that he would propose to her soon. She had given him her all, running her life around his schedule, supporting him every step of the way.
But now, it was all over. She felt like she had been punched in the gut, unable to breathe. She broke down into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't believe it. She had thought they had something real.
She picked up her phone and dialed Doctor Jack's number again, but he didn't answer. Instead, he sent her a text message that read: "I'm sorry, and I hope you find a way to forgive me someday."
Cynthia felt a fresh wave of tears as she read the message. She felt so sad, so lost. She didn't know what to do or who to turn to.
She thought of someone she could talk to and decided to call Emma. When Emma answered, Cynthia was crying so hard she could barely speak.
"Cynthia, what's wrong?" Emma asked, concern etched in her voice. "We just left the restaurant a few hours ago. What's going on?"
Cynthia tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. She just sobbed uncontrollably, unable to articulate her emotions.
Emma immediately sprang into action. "I'm coming right now," she said. "I'll drive over to your place. Just hang in there, okay?"
Cynthia nodded, even though Emma couldn't see her. She just waited, feeling lost and alone.
When Emma arrived, she found Cynthia in a mess. She was crying, her face red and puffy. Emma immediately hugged her, trying to comfort her.
"Cynthia, what's wrong?" Emma asked again, holding her friend tightly. "You can tell me. What happened?"
But Cynthia just shook her head, unable to speak. She thought about telling Emma everything, but something held her back. Maybe it was the shock, or maybe it was the fear of being judged.
Whatever it was, Cynthia decided to keep her secret locked away, at least for now. Emma decided to spend the night with Cynthia, hoping that when she was calm, she would open up about what was bothering her.
Cynthia and Emma woke up in Cynthia's bedroom, the morning light streaming through the windows. Emma was happy to see that Cynthia was feeling at least a bit better, although her eyes were swollen from the many tears the previous night.
Emma rushed to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for Cynthia. She walked back into the room, handed the coffee to Cynthia, and watched as she took a sip before sitting down on the couch.
"Are you feeling better now?" Emma asked, sitting down beside her. "Do you think you'd like to talk about what happened last night?"
Cynthia shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears again. "I'm not ready," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But thank you for being here, for supporting me. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here."
Emma nodded, not wanting to pry into Cynthia's private business. But she couldn't help wondering what had happened. "Do you think you'd like to talk to your man?" Emma asked, trying to sound casual. "I mean, Doctor Jack... does he know what's going on with you?"
Cynthia's eyes widened in alarm, and she shook her head vehemently. "No, no, no. I don't want him to know about it."
Emma was taken aback by Cynthia's reaction. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on. For some reason, Emma started feeling like maybe Doctor Jack was the one who had made Cynthia so upset. She remembered what she had seen the previous night, when Doctor Jack and Emily had walked back to the table together. There had been something in the way they looked at each other, something that had made Emma feel uneasy.
But Emma pushed the thought aside, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Instead, she tried to steer the conversation towards safer topics. "Cynthia, so let me tell you about how I met Doctor Jack," Emma said. "He came to my school two years ago for a program..."
But before Emma could finish, Cynthia cut her off. "I don't want to talk about Doctor Jack right now," she said firmly.
It became clear to Emma that Doctor Jack was indeed the source of Cynthia's distress. Emma's eyes narrowed slightly as she wondered what Doctor Jack had done to hurt her friend.
"Are you having a fight with Doctor Jack?" Emma asked, her voice gentle. "Oh dear, I hope things get better between the two of you. You both look good together."
Emma then went and hugged Cynthia, and tears started rolling down Cynthia's eyes uncontrollably.
Cynthia said to Emma, her voice shaking with sobs, "He broke up with me. He broke up with me. I didn't do anything. He didn't tell me why he was breaking up with me. He just told me he was done."
Cynthia was crying, and Emma was comforting her. But Emma couldn't help thinking to herself, "What could be the problem? What could have led to this?"
As Emma continued to comfort Cynthia, she said, "You know, it could be anything. It could be a health condition, or maybe he's going through something very serious and he doesn't want to get you involved. Sometimes people push away the people they care about when they're struggling with their own issues."
Cynthia listened, still sniffling, as Emma tried to console her. Emma's words were meant to be comforting, but in her mind, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something more was at play. She thought to herself, "I hope these tears aren't about Emily. If it was about Emily, I'm definitely going to deal with her."
Then Emma said to Cynthia, "Cynthia, do you know what? We are going to get to the bottom of this."
Cynthia looked at Emma with a glimpse of hope in her eyes. Hopefully, there was more to it than what they currently knew. Cynthia's eyes locked onto Emma's, searching for reassurance that her friend would indeed help her uncover the truth.
"Really?" Cynthia asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "You think there's more to it?"
Emma nodded, determination etched on her face. "I'm sure of it," she said. "We'll figure it out together. I promise."