YOU ARE MY LIGHT

CHAPTER 15 : THE SPACE BETWEEN US

I stood in the hallway long after the office door clicked shut. The silence of the hospital felt colder now, as if the warmth Vincent had given me earlier had been pulled away with his departure.

I have to get back to work, I told myself, shaking off the dazed feeling. I can’t spend the day dreaming about Mr. Vincent while patients are waiting.

I returned to the nurse’s station to check the afternoon rounds. Since it was lunchtime, the air was thick with the one thing more common than medicine in a hospital: gossip.

“Girls, did you notice the future Mrs. Vincent?” Nurse Miriam whispered, her eyes wide. “Her aura is something else! She looks like she stepped out of a magazine.”

“Oh my God, my waiting is finally over,” another nurse squealed.

“You were waiting… for who?” Nurse Sarah laughed, elbowing Miriam playfully.

“For a miracle!” Miriam sighed dramatically, clasping her hands. “But Mr. Vincent really has eyes. They’re perfect for each other… what a family they would make.”

“Perfect indeed,” I murmured to myself.

I stared down at my patient files, but the words blurred together. I didn’t know exactly what I was feeling, but it was heavy… and cold.

Suddenly, Joy — a young intern who had started at the same time as me — came rushing in.

“Girls! I have news!”

The circle tightened immediately.

“What is it?”

“Don’t tell me they’re already married!” one nurse gasped.

“No!” Joy and I shouted at the same time.

The sound of my own voice startled me. The entire group went silent. Five pairs of eyes turned toward me.

My face heated instantly. I lowered my head, pretending to be deeply interested in the corner of my desk.

“You’re interested in this too, right?” Miriam whispered, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she pulled me closer to the circle.

“Mr. Vincent—” Joy began again.

“Talk faster, Joy! My heart can’t take the drama!”

“I said, Mr. Vincen—”

Her voice cut off abruptly. Her head snapped up.

We all followed her gaze.

My heart nearly stopped.

Standing right there were Mr. Vincent and the Head Nurse.

My stomach flipped. I froze in place, unable to look away.

“You all aren’t having lunch today?” the Head Nurse asked, raising an eyebrow.

The group scattered instantly, flying away like startled birds.

I tried to retreat to my desk slowly — like a bird trying to hide in tall grass — but it was too late.

A low, smooth laugh echoed through the station.

“They’re funny, aren’t they?” the Head Nurse asked.

“Yes, they are,” Vincent replied.

I looked up — and my heart skipped.

He wasn’t looking at the other nurses.

He was looking directly at me.

A small, playful smirk curved his lips.

He knew.

He knew exactly what we had been talking about.

“I didn’t know they would be so curious about me,” he added lightly.

I kept my head down, but I could feel his gaze lingering.

Oh my God… what have I gotten myself into?

“Juliet… aren’t you eating?” he asked.

I turned toward him, my voice catching in my throat. “I—”

“Vincent! Let’s go for lunch. Grandpa is hungry.”

Dora walked in gracefully, her arm already reaching for his. The Chairman followed behind her, looking pleased.

“Grandpa, are you hungry? What would you like to eat?” Mr. Vincent asked politely.

The Chairman chuckled. “Don’t you know Dora yet? She’s just using me as an excuse. Take her to lunch, Vincent. Don’t keep a lady waiting.”

Vincent’s eyes flickered toward me, his expression suddenly unreadable.

I quickly turned my face away.

I didn’t want him to see the jealousy in my eyes.

“Vincent, take her before she faints here,” the Chairman teased.

“Alright,” Vincent finally said.

They left together — the golden couple walking side by side.

“What a happy family,” the Head Nurse remarked with a knowing smile.

I simply nodded.

“Aren’t you going to have lunch?” she asked.

“I brought my own,” I lied softly, staring at the closed container in front of me.

The image of them walking together lingered in my chest like something sharp and sour — a bitterness I wasn’t ready to admit.

I wasn’t hungry anymore. The thought of food made my stomach turn. That was all that was on my mind.

I focused on the patients who needed me the most. I can’t be jealous over someone I’m not even sure has feelings for me.

Besides… I knew this would happen.

Maybe he isn’t the one for me.

I’m not here to fight for a man. I’m here to achieve my dreams.

I’m the kind of person who lets things go immediately if I see they won’t work or will only bring problems.

Now I will have to let go of Mr. Vincent.

If he’s mine, he will come to me.

I continued my day with small movements — meeting patients, helping them out, making them laugh.

“Nurse Juliet… you’re not having lunch?” an old patient asked, noticing my pale face.

“I’m not hungry yet, ma,” I replied with a smile.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, everything is alright,” I said, checking her vitals. “How are you doing today?”

“Fine…”

She opened her bedside drawer, brought out a chocolate, and pressed it into my hand.

“This will help you,” she said with a gentle smile.

I laughed softly. “Why do people believe chocolate will make someone feel better?”

She laughed too. “It makes me feel better.”

I smiled.

I tucked the chocolate into my pocket. “Juliet, this is what you’re here for. Not any other things,” I told myself.

“Ma, I will be going now. If you need anything, you can call us.”

She nodded, and I left.

As I headed back toward the visitors' quarter, I saw the Chairman and Dora approaching and discussing comfortably. I stepped to the side to let them pass.

I greeted the Chairman. He nodded.

I lowered my head.

“Grandpa, have you noticed that Vincent has become more handsome?” Dora said playfully.

“Really? He has been handsome since he was little. You’ve been saying that since you were both children.”

“He’s more handsome now, Grandpa,” she insisted.

Their voices faded as they turned the corner.

I raised my head slowly, took a deep breath, and returned to the hospital desk.

“Juliet,” the desk clerk called out. “You have a delivery.”

“Me?” I asked, confused. “I didn’t order anything.”

“Your name is written on it.”

I checked. My name was clearly written there.

“Thank you,” I said, taking it to my desk.

“Maybe it’s Mum,” I murmured, even though I knew she would never order food for me. She would rather cook.

I opened it.

The first thing I saw was a box of chocolate.

Then coffee. Cakes. Bread.

I froze.

I knew who it might be.

Mr. Vincent.

The coffee was from the convenience store where I first met him.

Is this a mistake?

Why would he send this to me?

My fingers found a letter inside. I opened it.

“Juliet, I know you might have eaten already, but have this because we have a long surgery later, and you will need the energy. — V.”

My heart beat faster.

Before I could think further, the nurses who went for lunch returned.

I quickly hid the letter.

“Juliet! So this is why you didn’t join us. You knew your man would send you something!” Joy teased.

“It’s time for me to find someone too. I can’t stay like this anymore,” another nurse said dramatically.

“Juliet, who’s the lucky guy?” Mariam asked, moving closer. “There’s even chocolate. This is romantic!”

“Really?” another nurse gasped, coming closer. “Can you share your love with us?”

Mariam laughed.

“Yes, you can take some,” I said, opening the bag for them. “Besides… this shouldn’t even be mine.”

“What?” Joy asked, already mid-bite.

“Nothing,” I replied.

They took almost everything. Only one chocolate remained. I quietly put it in my bag.

“Thank your man for us!”

I nodded, not knowing how to explain that he wasn’t my man. If I said that, they would force me to reveal who sent it.

They were still eating when Mr. Vincent walked in.

“Juliet…”

His eyes moved across the room.

He saw the nurses holding what looked exactly like what he bought.

He looked at the group, his eyes landing on the empty wrappers and the nurses holding the food he had specifically bought for me. His expression shifted—

It wasn’t anger. It was something else. Maybe a disappointment—something tight and restrained.

He looked at me again.

I avoided his eyes.

I knew he had noticed.

But how could I tell them not to take it?

“Juliet,” his voice became calm.

“Come and help me prep. We have surgery in thirty minutes, and we need to review the patient’s charts.”

I nodded and stood up.

As we walked, Dora approached us.

“Vincent, I will help you,” she said, standing very close to him. “I’ve already checked the patient. His blood pressure is a little high, so we need to be careful.”

My legs froze.

I couldn’t feel them.

“Juliet is already going to assist me,” Mr. Vincent said firmly. “She knows this patient’s history better than anyone.”

“But I really want to help,” Dora insisted, pouting slightly. “I don’t want to sit around doing nothing. I’ll be leaving soon. She works here — she’ll have many more chances. I won’t once I’m gone.”

My chest tightened.

A small pang of jealousy hit me, but I forced it down.

“Vincent, allow her,” the Chairman said, appearing behind us.

I couldn’t speak.

I shouldn’t speak.

I stood there like a statue.

“Don’t be mean to her,” the Chairman added, placing a hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “She came back because of you. Let her assist. She’s one of the best nurses around.”

“Yes, Grandpa,” Dora laughed lightly. “He has become more handsome… and mean. But I like mean guys.”

Something gripped my heart.

I could feel Vincent looking at me.

“Let’s go,” Dora said.

“Juliet,” Vincent said, turning to me with an apologetic look.

“You can go back to your station. I’m sorry to disturb you.”

“You are Juliet?” Dora asked, stepping closer.

“Yes,” I replied with a smile — a smile that didn’t reach my heart.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a fake smile. “I have to take your place now that I’m here.” Her voice dripped with fake sweetness.

She meant more than just the surgery. She meant Vincent.

“It’s okay,” I answered calmly. “I’ll be here to take it once you’re gone.” I smiled back — a smile I learned long ago how to fake.

Her expression shifted slightly.

“Dora, let’s go. It’s almost time,” Vincent said, sensing the tension.

They left.

And I stood there.

Watching their backs.

Again.

The echo of their laughter lingered in the hallway long after they disappeared.]