The next day...
Ring... ring...
Cassandra listened to the ringing, lowering her head as she waited for the last tone. The call didn’t go through. Looking at her phone, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes softened, and she laughed at herself in mockery.
"What did I expect?" she whispered, huffing sharply. "I crossed the line."
It wasn’t Finn who had thrown away their friendship—it was Cassandra.
Even after breaking off their engagent, the two had maintained a friendship. Sotis, they’d catch up over a call, just to check on each other. It was all fine until Cassandra started envying Finn. It wasn’t even Nina she envied.
It was Finn.
Nina was a re casualty. After all, both Cassandra and Finn had co from the sa place—both had experienced broken engagents. But while Cassandra was still struggling to understand Jonathan, Finn had found happiness.
And so, Cassandra did the unspeakable. As a doctor, she was well aware of the trauma she had caused Nina—just because she couldn’t accept that Finn had moved to a better place.
So why would Finn answer her call now?
Cassandra held her phone tightly as she stared at a blank ssage draft. After a mont, she sighed and began typing:
[To: Finn
I know I have a lot to apologize for, but no words could ever undo the mistakes I’ve made. It was a very dark ti for , Finn. I’m not saying this to gain your sympathy, nor to justify what I did. What I did was horrible. I crossed a line you never would have.
I hurt Nina. I hurt you.
You, who had always been there for when I needed soone. You, who had always been honest with —even when the truth hurt. And you, who had always believed in .
If I could turn back ti, I wish I’d handled things differently. That I hadn’t let envy and bitterness consu . But no matter how much I pray or wish, I can’t go back.
The damage is done. I’ve not only lost you, but also the chance at a beautiful friendship with Nina. And I hate myself for throwing that away out of selfishness.
I kept making mistake after mistake. But I want to stop, Finn. I don’t want to hurt the people I care about anymore. So, I’m leaving. I want to find myself again—figure out my life again. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I’ll keep hoping.
You may never forgive , but please know that I’m truly sorry. I’m also apologizing to Nina... and maybe to Penny.
Goodbye, Finn.]
---
A soft smile curved her lips as tears welled in her eyes. Sniffling, she tapped Send.
"Goodbye, Finn," she whispered, wiping a tear that had managed to escape.
At the sa ti, a voice echoed from the speaker, calling passengers to board. Cassandra quickly tucked her phone into her bag and stood from the bench, making her way to the boarding gate.
It had been long months in Anteca.
Although there were monts of happiness, the heavy mories outweighed the rest. Reaching the counter, she offered a small smile as the agent scanned her passport. Then she walked down the corridor to the plane.
Halfway there, she paused and turned to the glass wall beside her. All she saw were aircraft and machinery, but sohow, her heart softened.
I don’t know when I’ll be back... or if I ever will, she thought. But I’ll never regret leaving a ho that never felt like one.
With that, she continued until she boarded the plane and reached her seat. But just as Cassandra was waiting for the plane to take off, the lights around her dimd.
Looking up, her brows furrowed. Two uniford officers stood in the aisle.
"Are you Miss Cassandra Smith?" one officer asked, and for so reason, that single question triggered all the alarms in her head.
Deep down, she already knew—this was bad news.
---
[In the hospital...]
"Second Brother..." Penny said, crossing her legs and arms while eyeing her brother. Hugo, who was busy enjoying his al, looked up at her.
"What?"
"Weren’t you looking after that coma patient?"
Hugo raised a brow. "Uh huh."
"And you’ve been surviving on hospital food?"
"Yeah...?" he blinked. "What about it?"
"I’m just a little confused here," she said, gesturing with her hand. "Why would the hospital give a coma patient food? He’s in a coma, yet you’re getting two als—yours and his."
Hugo’s face twitched. For a mont, he thought his sister was digging into sothing deep.
"Penny, you’re a licensed doctor too," he pointed out. "You should know coma patients can hear, right? I told his attending it’s not fair! Just imagine if you were in the patient’s position!"
"I probably wouldn’t want my food stolen," she muttered.
Hugo clicked his tongue. "A coma patient wouldn’t feel like they belong if soone eats next to them and they don’t get any food. Just imagine—they can hear how good the food was, sll food, and feel motivated! It might wake them up! It’s psychological!"
"Oh..." Penny’s mouth ford an o-shape. "That actually makes sense. If I were in a coma, I’d probably wake up from the sll of good food."
"See?" Hugo smirked—though in reality, he’d just begged the attending physician for two plates until they gave in.
"Second Brother, sotis... you’re smart."
"I’m always smart, Penny. I just don’t show it," Hugo replied, pausing when a newsflash ca on the television. "Hmm?"
"Always smart..." Penny pouted and leaned back, uninterested with the news report. She usually checked the news in the morning anyway.
But then—
"Hey, Penny, isn’t that... Nina’s friend?"
"Huh?" Penny turned to the TV. Her brows furrowed as she saw dia crowding around a police station. Officers were escorting Cassandra inside. Despite the cloth covering her wrists, it was obvious she was in handcuffs.
"What the..." she whispered, her eyes locked on the screen as Hugo turned up the volu.
And what they got was a breaking report:
Cassandra had been arrested at the airport while attempting to flee the country—after being discovered as the head of a human trafficking operation disguised as an orphanage.
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