Chapter 34: Duty over Desire
1109 Words
STANLEY
When Stanley returned with takeout, Vanessa forced her thoughts into submission. The aroma of food filled the room, and they settled into a comfortable rhythm. Conversation was easy, light. Almost.
Until Marcus arrived.
He sauntered in, his grin wide and knowing. “I thought I’d find you here, buried in proposals.”
Stanley’s eyes lit up, the kind of ease only an old friend could bring. “I could say the same for you. What brings you here?”
Vanessa tensed as Marcus dragged a chair over, joining them. Her smile faltered, but she hid it behind a sip of her drink. The conversation turned lively, filled with inside jokes and easy banter. Stanley laughed more than he had all night, his guard slipping just a little.
Vanessa watched, feeling invisible. Excluded. She forced down the simmering frustration, excused herself when her food was done, leaving them to their camaraderie.
As the door closed behind her, Marcus turned to Stanley, his smile fading.
“You’re working too hard,” he said quietly. “You’re burning out.”
Stanley shrugged, though his shoulders were heavy. “It’s what has to be done.”
Marcus’s gaze was sharp. “And Lily? Have you decided she’s collateral damage too?”
Stanley stiffened. The mention of her name was a blade.
“It’s too late.” His voice was rough, final. “She’s better off without me.”
Marcus leaned forward, elbows on the table. “She’s drowning, Stanley. She’s exhausted, broken, and still hoping. Hoping you’ll come back. That you’ll explain. She’s got everyone believing she’s fine, but I know better. She’s not. She’s barely holding on.”
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating. Stanley stared at his hands, at the life he’d chosen, and the one he’d left behind.
“It’s better this way,” he said, though the words felt like ash on his tongue. “I can’t give her this mess.”
Marcus didn’t reply, but his gaze said it all. Coward.
And maybe he was. Maybe he’d sacrificed love for duty, hope for responsibility. Maybe he was already too lost to be found.
But as Marcus stood and left, Stanley couldn’t shake the image of Lily—her tired smile, her determined eyes, her silent strength.
And he wondered, for the first time, if he’d made the wrong choice.
Ava struggled too.
Watching her brother carry the weight of the family tore at her.
She tried to help, offering advice, attending meetings, but Stanley could see the exhaustion in her eyes.
They were all drowning in grief, uncertainty, and responsibility.
Yet, she found moments to tease him, reminding him of their childhood mischiefs, trying to bring light into his shadowed world.
Marcus remained his steadfast friend.
Always there, always watching. He didn’t pry, but his eyes said enough.
He knew Stanley’s struggle, understood the war raging beneath his composed surface.
It was Marcus who pulled him back from the brink when the pressure became too much, who reminded him that he was not his father, and he didn’t have to be.
Late nights in the office became his norm.
Drowning in paperwork, negotiating with suppliers, meeting with department heads.
His sleep was a collection of stolen hours, his meals a series of coffee cups and half-eaten sandwiches.
He became a ghost in his own life, haunted by memories of Lily and plagued by the fear of failure.
Every plan he made was shadowed by what-ifs. What if his father never woke up? What if he lost everything his family had built? What if he lost Lily forever?
He would sit in his office, staring at the ring meant for her.
The ring that never reached her hand.
He imagined her laugh, her smile, the way her eyes lit up when she was happy.
He wondered if she thought of him, if she hated him for disappearing, if she missed him half as much as he missed her.
But duty kept him away.
The hospital needed him. The businesses needed him. His mother needed him. His sister needed him.
And every time he considered breaking away, guilt anchored him down.
The hardest part was pretending. Pretending he was fine. Pretending he didn’t miss her. Pretending his world wasn't crumbling.
Yet every moment, his mind was consumed by thoughts of Lily—the woman who had been his solace and his sin.
And when the day came, the day he saw her in the hospital, his world tilted.
Because despite the distance, despite the silence, his love for her hadn’t wavered.
But the guilt was there too, pressing on his chest, suffocating him.
Because while he had been drowning in responsibilities, she had been alone. And he didn't know if he deserved a second chance.
Still, one truth remained. He loved her
---
He chose Lily's days off as his family visitation days.
It was easier that way.
Easier not to run into her, not to be reminded of the ache that lingered in his chest every time he thought of her.
Easier to pretend that his absence from her life was temporary, even though every day it felt more permanent.
But temptation was a cruel mistress.
There were nights he drove by her apartment, parking a few blocks away, watching the light in her window, yearning to walk up, knock, and fall to his knees at her feet.
But he never did. Duty kept him caged. Guilt kept him silent.
The boardroom became his battlefield.
The board members, once allies, now scrutinized his every move. Investors questioned his decisions, while hospital executives whispered about his inexperience.
He struggled to keep the hospital's standards intact, fighting to maintain the legacy his father had built while battling his personal demons.
His secretary, Vanessa, was young, efficient, and irritatingly attentive.
She had a way of lingering too long, her smiles a little too suggestive. He noticed but chose to ignore it.
His heart wasn't free. It was trapped with a woman he couldn't even face.
---
As Stanley entered the hospital, Allen and Marcus were whispering in hushed voices near the VIP wing.
His steps slowed. Something about the tension in the air felt… wrong.
“She’s here,” Allen murmured. “I saw her name on the patient list.”
“Does he know?” Marcus asked.
“Not yet.”
Stanley’s stomach clenched. He took a step closer.
“Who’s here?” he asked, his voice low.
Allen’s face paled. Marcus exhaled sharply.
Silence stretched.
Then Marcus muttered, “You need to see for yourself.”
“I need to see my mom first,” he replied walking away quickly.
- Writer
