The morning sun felt like an accusation as Ophelia stepped into the prestigious City Medical Center, the Research area.
She had been summoned for an emergency departmental meeting, and after the emotional wreckage of the previous night, her body was already rebelling.
She had barely eaten, her eyes still puffy from crying and to make things worse she was twenty minutes late.
“Dr. Cater,” Dr. Margaret Voss, her superior and head of the regenerative medicine division, snapped the moment Ophelia entered the conference room.
The older woman’s sharp gaze cut through her like a scalpel.
“How generous of you to finally join us. While the rest of the team has been here since seven, working on protocols that actually matter.”
Ophelia swallowed hard, clutching her tablet to her chest.
“I am sorry, Dr. Voss. There was… a family situation.”
Dr. Voss let out a harsh laugh, crossing her arms.
“A family situation? That’s one way to describe it. Your father is out on some mysterious bail after poisoning half the city with those tainted drugs, and suddenly you think you can stroll in whenever you please? People are beginning to talk, Ophelia. They are wondering if you’re even committed to this field anymore. Or are you too busy trying to rebuild your ruined life to focus on actual research?”
The words landed like blows.
Ophelia’s cheeks burned with humiliation as the other researchers in the room avoided her eyes.
She gets that Dr Voss is strict but talking plainly down to her was a bit brutal.
Once, she had been the golden child here, the brilliant 28-year-old with groundbreaking papers on nerve regeneration.
Now she was tainted by association.
“I am still fully committed,” Ophelia said quietly, her voice trembling.
“My work on neural tissue repair is—”
“Save it,” Dr. Voss cut her off.
“Clean up your family mess or don’t bother coming back. We can’t afford scandals in this department.”
Ophelia nodded stiffly, fighting back tears as the meeting continued without her input.
The weight of everyone’s judgment pressed down on her until she could barely breathe.
As the meeting ended and people filed out, a familiar voice rang out behind her.
“Oh, Ophelia. Still showing up? Brave of you.” Liora sauntered into the room, dressed in a sleek cream pantsuit, her red lips curved in a mocking smile.
She had clearly come to “visit” the department or more likely, to twist the knife. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Ophelia’s stomach dropped seeing her ex-best friend.
“Liora… what are you doing here?”
Liora laughed lightly, loud enough for Dr. Voss to turn back.
“Just checking on my old friend. After all, you shouldn’t really think sleeping around or crying to powerful men would fix your family’s crimes?”
Dr. Voss’s eyebrows shot up.
“Is this true, Dr. Cater? You are involved in more personal drama that could affect our funding?”
Ophelia’s heart pounded.
“That’s not…”
Liora interrupted with a dramatic sigh.
“She even offered herself to Nicholas like a desperate whore while we were already together. I can’t believe that, as my best friend she would want my man to be hers. She even pleaded to be his mistress.”
The superior’s face hardened.
“Dr. Cater, if your personal life is this messy, perhaps you should take leave until the scandal dies down. We can’t have this kind of negativity around our patients and donors.”
Ophelia stood frozen, tears burning her eyes.
The betrayal from her former best friend felt like acid in her veins.
“Ma’am… you can’t just push me away I have been..”
“I am sorry Dr Cater but I have given you enough time… This is a very important project. We can’t let you cause issues because of your personal life.”
Liora stepped closer, lowering her voice but not enough to hide the words.
“By the way…” Liora lifted her left hand, flashing a massive diamond engagement ring that sparkled cruelly under the lights.
“Nicholas proposed last night. We are getting married in three months. He wanted me to tell you personally that it might finally help you move on from your delusions.”
The ring hit Ophelia like a physical punch.
Her chest tightened painfully, heart aching with sharp, crushing sorrow.
All those years of love, the promises, the nights she had trusted him through her worst pain episodes reduced to this.
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe.
“Congratulations,” she whispered brokenly, voice cracking. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Liora smirked, satisfied.
“Don’t cry too hard, darling. It makes your condition worse, doesn’t it?”
Ophelia turned and fled to her office, barely making it inside before the sobs overtook her.
She collapsed into her chair, burying her face in her hands.
The humiliation was completely publicly shamed by her superior, mocked by her ex-best friend, and reminded that Nicholas had chosen Liora without a second thought.
Her father was temporarily free, but everything else was crumbling.
Her phone buzzed on the desk.
She answered with a shaky breath.
“Hello?”
“Tonight. There’s a private party at the Aurelian Hall. A red dress and accessories will be delivered to your apartment by 6 PM. Make sure you look beautiful. Hair, makeup everything.”
Ophelia wiped her tears, voice hoarse.
“A party? But… I thought I was supposed to be your secret mistress. Why would you want me there?”
Tristan’s tone remained cold and indifferent.
“Who told you I want to take you there as my date? I only want some release afterward. I might be in the mood later so you will go there. I will arrange a car to pick you up and bring you to me after the event. Be ready.”
Ophelia’s grip tightened on the phone.
Another night of degradation.
Another reminder of the contract she had signed.
“I… understand.”
Tristan hung up without another word.
She set the phone down slowly, fresh tears flowing as she opened her gallery app.
Picture after picture of her and Nicholas filled the screen smiling at galas, kissing in the rain, him holding her during one of her painful episodes.
She had deleted most of them weeks ago, but a hidden folder remained.
Each photo twisted the knife deeper in her chest.
How did I go from this to kneeling for his cold friend?
Ophelia cried quietly in her office, the weight of her new reality crushing her.