No Room for Three: I Accepted Another Offer

The day I graduated, I held the job offer from St. Vincent's, the most prestigious public hospital in my hometown, and turned to my boyfriend, Damian Cross. "Where are you planning to work?" Before Damian could answer, my best friend, Lilian Bennett, chuckled. "Damian and I have already signed contracts with Grace Medical Center in Kingsley City. We're moving there together next month." That was when everything finally sank in. For months, the two of them had been applying for positions, attending interviews, and even signing a lease behind my back. Their entire future had already been planned out. Yet Damian had still asked me every single day how I felt about accepting a position in my hometown. Throughout our four years at university, Damian and Lilian had been Professor Alex's star students, the pair he was most proud of and had the highest expectations for. I had always followed behind them, my arms full of research papers and study materials. Whenever I fell too far behind, Damian would gently ruffle my hair and say, "Take your time. I'll wait for you." Then came our prom day. I had only turned around for a moment to pick up my files. But when I looked back, Damian and Lilian were already walking ahead together, laughing and chatting like they had forgotten I was there too. Damian glanced back at the crowd and called out impatiently, "Hurry up! We're waiting for you!" I lowered my eyes to the offer letter from the hospital in my hands. After a long silence, I made my decision. I accepted the position. Then I left the three-person group chat we had shared for years. "You two go ahead to Kingsley City." I was done chasing after them. ****** Barely 10 minutes after I left the group chat, Damian's call came through. "Claire, what was that supposed to mean?" His voice was low, the irritation barely hidden beneath the surface. I could hear the noise from the background, along with bursts of laughter. Then I heard Lilian say dinner was about to start. I carefully folded my job offer and placed it back inside my folder. "Nothing. We won't be living in the same city anymore, so there's no point keeping that group chat." "Who said we can't stay in touch just because we're moving to different cities?" Damian fell silent for a moment. "Lilian saw that you left the group and thought she had done something wrong. She's really upset right now. You should apologize to her." I gripped my phone tightly and stayed quiet for a long minute. They had already signed their contracts with Grace Medical Center, rented two apartments, and planned to leave together next month. They had arranged their entire future behind my back. And somehow, Lilian was the one who was hurt? "Why should I apologize?" "She just didn't get the chance to tell you beforehand. It's not like she deliberately left you out." Damian sounded frustrated. "Claire, you always make things more complicated than they need to be." Someone from the faculty called my name from behind, asking me to come to the after party. I ended the call. ***** The after party was held at a restaurant near campus. When I arrived, the only empty seat left in the room was the one beside Damian. I had barely sat down when our team leader raised his glass with a bright smile. "Congratulations to Damian and Lilian for securing positions at Grace Medical Center! You two will bring honor to our university in the future!" The entire table burst into cheers. Someone asked where they planned to live. Lilian smiled and named a community. "Our apartments are right across the hall from each other. Damian spent so much time helping me choose." I lifted my eyes and looked at Damian. Last year, when he had accompanied me to go apartment hunting, he had complained about being exhausted after seeing only two places. I had thought he simply hated dealing with those things. Now I realized the truth. He just didn't want to go out of his way for me. Lilian acted as if she had only just noticed I was also here. She lightly tapped my glass with hers. "Claire, you aren't upset, are you? I've never lived away from home before, and I had no idea what to do. I had to ask Damian for help." "Of course she's not," Damian answered before I could say anything. "Claire has always been understanding." Under the table, he reached for my hand and rubbed his thumb gently over the back of it. That gesture was painfully familiar. Whenever I felt bad, this was how he comforted me. As if a little attention from him was enough to make me forget every bit of pain. I pulled my hand away. Damian turned to me. "You're still upset?" "No." "Then smile a little, okay? Don't make things uncomfortable for everyone." I couldn't force myself to smile. I lowered my eyes and quietly took a sip of water. When the party ended, heavy rain was pouring outside. The raindrops hammered against the restaurant windows. Damian opened the umbrella and naturally tilted it toward Lilian. She was holding her laptop and files tightly against her chest. I stood beneath the entrance awning and waited for a few seconds. "Damian." He turned around. "What?" "What about me?" "We only have one umbrella. Lilian has a lot of important documents with her, so I'll walk her over first." He pulled out his car keys and tossed them to me. "Go wait in the car." The parking lot was across the street. It wasn't far, but the rain was coming down relentlessly, soaking everything in its path. By the time I reached the car, half of my dress was already drenched. I opened the door, only to find Lilian in the passenger seat. I had no choice but to climb into the backseat. In the front, Damian fastened Lilian's seat belt for her before adjusting the air vent away from her. "You don't want to catch a cold." Then he glanced at me through the rearview mirror. "Claire, why is your hair soaked? You're always so careless." I turned my head and looked out the window. The glass reflected their profiles, sitting close together. One of them knew the route by heart. The other was busy planning their move to Kingsley City next month on her phone. No one asked when I was supposed to report to St. Vincent's Hospital. No one noticed that the job offer I had been clutching in my hand had been ruined by the rain until the name was completely blurred beyond recognition.