Ophelia stepped out of her bedroom, her legs still unsteady from the intense morning she had shared with Tristan.
Her cream blouse and pencil skirt felt too tight, too formal after what had happened on the couch after she had stripped bare, straddled him, and ridden him with desperate abandon while he filled her.
She paused in front of the hallway mirror and stared at her reflection.
The woman looking back felt like a stranger eyes slightly swollen, lips still a little red and tender from his demanding kisses, cheeks flushed with lingering shame and confusion.
How did I become this person in just a few days? she thought bitterly.
Nicholas had ripped her heart out, and in the wreckage, she had turned to Tristan.
She had begged him.
She had pressed her naked body against his, taken him into her mouth, and then sunk onto his thick cock, moaning as she needed him to survive.
The memory made her stomach twist with a confusing mix of lingering desire and deep self-loathing.
She walked into the living room and stopped short.
Tristan was still there, sitting on the couch, as he belonged in her space.
He looked calm and composed in his crisp white shirt and dark trousers, the same couch where he had gripped her hips and thrust up into her an hour earlier.
“Tristan, what are you still doing here?” Ophelia growled.
“You said you would handle things. Go do what we agreed on.”
Tristan leaned back, watching her with those piercing grey eyes.
“Who knows? I might have already sorted it out on the phone.”
Ophelia paused, biting her lip in frustration.
“My entire life can be fixed with one phone call?”
Tristan stretched his hand toward her, holding out a tablet.
“You have contraceptives with you?”
Ophelia stared at it, then at him.
“Why in the world would you have that?”
“Elias helped arrange it,” Tristan replied calmly.
She snatched the tablets from his hand and walked toward the kitchen, murmuring under her breath.
“You are also in the health line, so I will trust you with this.” Her hands trembled slightly as she took the pill.
She downed it with water, then turned back to him.
“Maybe you shouldn’t pour yourself inside me again. News flash! I hate taking medicine!” Her voice rose in anger.
Tristan stood up slowly, hands behind his back, and pulled out a small pack of her favorite expensive candy from his pocket.
“I will drive you to your institute,” he said quietly, stretching the candy toward her.
Ophelia’s heart gave a small, painful flutter.
She loved that particular brand, expensive and hard to find.
She had stopped buying it months ago due to the cost.
The fact that he knew and brought it so casually unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
“No,” she said sharply, snatching the candy from his hand.
Tristan’s jaw tightened.
Frustration flashed clearly in his grey eyes.
“Ophelia…”
“I said no.” Her voice was firm even though her heart was racing.
“Just… leave. Please.”
For a long moment, he stared at her.
Then, with a cold nod, he turned and walked out without another word.
Ophelia watched his tall figure disappear, a confusing mix of relief and emptiness settling in her chest.
She looked down at the candy in her hand and couldn’t help but smile softly.
How does he know I like this so much?
The small gesture felt strangely intimate.
She slipped one into her mouth, savoring the familiar sweetness, before steeling herself and heading to City Medical Center.
*****
The parking lot was quiet when she arrived.
As she tried to open up her car a strong hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Where the hell do you think you are going?” Nicholas’s voice was low and angry.
Ophelia snatched her arm away, spinning to face him.
“What is your problem? Why are you still here?”
Nicholas looked taken aback by her harsh tone.
She had never spoken to him like this before.
“I heard you last night,” he said, stepping closer, eyes dark with jealousy.
“Moaning like a desperate whore right behind your door. Were you touching yourself while thinking about me? Pathetic. Even after I dumped you, you still can’t get over me, can you?”
Ophelia’s blood boiled.
The pain of their seven years together still ached deep in her chest, but so did the fresh anger.
“I wasn’t, Nicholas. I was with a man. A real man and news flash I am already over you.”
Nicholas laughed loudly, the sound cruel and mocking.
“Who? Some desperate loser who picked up my scraps? You really think anyone worthwhile would want you now? With your father’s scandals and that broken body of yours?”
“None of your concern anymore,” she snapped, her voice cracking slightly.
The old love she still carried for him made the words hurt more than she wanted to admit.
She turned to get into her car, but Nicholas grabbed her wrist again.
“Haven’t you seen the news? Your career is finished. You will come crawling back to me begging for help soon enough.”
Ophelia’s eyes burned with fury.
She slapped him hard across the face, the sound echoing sharply in the parking lot.
“You said you don’t want me anymore so get away from me!”
She jumped into her car, started the engine, and reversed angrily, nearly hitting him.
Nicholas jumped back, shouting curses.
Tears blurred her vision as she drove.
Even after everything, a part of her heart still ached for the man she had loved for seven years.
The betrayal still felt fresh, like an open wound that refused to close.
*****
By the time she reached City Medical Center, her hands were shaking.
The moment she stepped inside, whispers followed her like shadows.
Colleagues turned their heads, some with pity, others with mockery.
A few openly laughed behind their hands.
Dr. Margaret Voss was waiting for her in the main hallway, surrounded by several staff members.
Ophelia knew at once that things weren’t going to go well.
“Dr. Cater,” Dr. Voss called coldly, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“I thought I made it clear you were suspended. Yet here you are, parading around after that speech. Do you have any idea how much damage you have caused? People are saying you are no better than your criminal father so you are now sleeping with rich men to cover up family scandals.”
Laughter rippled through the hallway.
Dana stepped forward with a fake sympathetic smile.
“I called to warn you not to come, Ophelia. Why would you show up anyway? Are you that desperate for attention? Everyone’s laughing at you behind your back.”
The humiliation crushed Ophelia.
Tears burned in her eyes as she stood frozen.
“Ma’am… I have never been caught in any scandal. Why am I the one facing punishment?”
“Maybe because you share the same blood with your father,” Dr. Voss replied sharply.
“Or do you want me to rephrase that?”
Ophelia took a deep breath, anger rising, but before she could respond, heavy footsteps approached.
“Hold up, Dr. Cater,” a deep, authoritative voice called out.
Everyone turned.
Mr. Reginald Kane, the stern and brutal chairman of the institute, strode toward them with a dark expression.
He was a tall, imposing man known for his ruthless decisions and zero tolerance for insubordination.
“Sir…” Ophelia turned, hope flickering weakly in her chest.
“Dr. Voss,” Mr. Kane said coldly, “I just heard what you have done behind my back without proper authority. You are fired with immediate effect.”
Dr. Voss’s face turns pale while Ophelia is left speechless.
“But I did it for the image of the institute..”Margaret cried out.
“You had no right,” Mr. Kane cut her off.
“Dr. Cater is an important figure here. Her father’s scandal is not her burden to carry. For overstepping and damaging a valuable researcher without consulting the board, you are terminated immediately.”
He turned to Ophelia, his expression softening slightly.
“Your suspension has been lifted. The board wants you back immediately with leadership over the nerve regeneration division. Congratulations, Dr. Cater.”
Ophelia stared at him in complete shock.
“Th… thanks you..” she stuttered as Mr. Kane walked away.
Ophelia then remembered Tristan’s words from earlier that morning.