Two Years in Prison for His Crime

"Jasper, I've decided to go with the plan you suggested and go abroad." It was lunchtime, but Nia Hawthorne hid in a quiet corner of the Cardiology Department stairwell, the solitude amplifying her sense of loneliness. On the other end of the line, her sworn brother, Jasper Vale, let out several quick exclamations of delight before asking, "Were you mistreated at the hospital? I told you back then, coming out of prison isn't easy; people don't just accept anyone. Follow me to Cerulean City, and I'll arrange for you to go abroad. Three years later, when you come back, my private hospital will be set up. No one on my turf will dare touch you. But you said back then that you had a fiancé and refused to leave. Why the change of heart now?" Nia glanced down at her wrist, red and swollen, before forcing a bitter smile. "Let's not talk about him." Jasper immediately realized what had happened, his voice hardening with intensity. "Did he bully you? That's it, you must have been wronged and couldn't take it anymore, that's why you called me. I'll make the arrangements right away. I'll send a few people to watch over you, and I'll get your trip abroad organized immediately. At the latest, you'll be on your way within a week." Nia wanted to reply, to make small talk, but a familiar voice cut through the stairwell. "Who are you talking to?" It was Adrian Locke, her fiancé, the one who had caused her the deepest wounds. She quickly hung up, plastered a neutral expression on her face, and said calmly, "No one. Just an old friend who wanted to chat." Adrian didn't question her obviously flawed explanation. Instead, he asked, "What about your lunch?" Her nails dug into her palms as she turned away. She caught sight of her white coat in the window reflection, streaked with dirt and water, looking completely disheveled. "It's gone." "Gone?" "Yes, it's gone," Nia said, lifting her head as tears welled in her eyes. "There will never be another one." Adrian's confused look pulled her mind back to months of accumulated suffering. Two years ago, she had been the brightest doctor in Cardiology Department. But during Adrian's first major surgery, he made a catastrophic mistake. The patient's family brought in reporters to expose the hospital. Panicked and desperate, Adrian, weighed down by all the expectations his parents had placed on him, knelt before her, begging her to take the blame. She, alone and without her family, stepped up. She apologized to the patient's family, bore the consequences, and spent two years behind bars for him. She endured the moldy, damp walls and the scorn of others. Even when Jasper extended a hand to help her after release, she refused, only returning to Adrian. Yet after her release, Adrian relegated her to menial tasks at the hospital. Former colleagues no longer sought her opinion, instead giving cold, commanding orders. Her lunch was stolen, her coat slashed, patient files torn, and the balance on her cafeteria card spent maliciously, all to keep her at a distance. Nia told herself it didn't matter, as long as Adrian still loved her. But just moments ago, Melody Carver, one of Adrian's nurses, cornered her in an empty hallway, snatching her lunch box with a frown. "Stop bringing these cheap meals. Don't you know how much trouble this causes Adrian?"