The sound of Stacy's voice broke Joseph out of his drunken stupor. Opening his eyes to find her gazing at him with abject misery, he snapped right back to reality.

Joseph was aware that he'd been babbling, but he couldn't quite recall the gist of it. At length, he said, "Stacy, I'm drunk. Nothing I just said really means anything, okay?"

Someone was calling his name. Joseph kissed her several times, in the hope that it would console her, and then headed back to the party, staggering and stumbling the whole way.

Stacy watched until he disappeared from view, then got up and entered the restroom, where she silently remained for a long while.

Her legs were going numb when the sound of footsteps outside jolted her from her dazed reverie. She was about to push the cubicle door open, but then she heard her own name being mentioned.

"Did that Stacy character just leave on her own? What's going on? Do you suppose she got jealous, seeing how Joseph was taking such good care of you?"

"Who knows, who cares? I'm certain Joseph has zero interest in an old hag like her."

There was something about Charlotte's disdainful tone of voice that caused Stacy's hands to curl up into fists.

Not knowing she was listening in on them, the girls continued to gossip viciously about her.

"I've heard that she's not merely his sister's best friend, she's in fact been his woman these past several years! Worry not though, Charlotte. Apparently, Joseph was only using her for practice. She's his plaything, nothing more… but still, it's unbelievable how shameless she is! Talk about trying to score beyond your own league!"

"I'm not worried. One time, in order to protect me from some thug, Joseph actually took a knife for me. He nearly died! But when he came to, the first thing he did was try to make me feel better.

"That boy is absolutely devoted to me. He loves me more than life itself! There's no way some shrivelled-up prune past her sell-by date has any chance of coming between us."

"Then how are you going to play this? You ought to know that, after Joseph fetched you home from the airport last night, he immediately got his boys together to plan your next birthday party. What if he's planning to confess to you during that party? Will you say yes?"

Charlotte harrumphed haughtily. "If he can persuade me."

There was the rush of running tap water, and then the sound of the girls' merry chatter grew distant.

Stacy looked down at how her fingernails had dug deep marks in her palms. Her lips curled up into the most hideous leer.

She made her way outside, hailed a cab back to her place, slept until morning, and then submitted her notice of resignation at work.

Her supervisor read through her letter, then remarked, "You're going home to your parents? But didn't you say something about getting married to your boyfriend and settling down here? Why the sudden change of heart?"

Eyes downcast, Stacy replied with some random excuse, her thoughts in a jumble. In her mind, she continued to drift through all the time she'd spent in this city of Balmora: Four years of university… three years of work…

Five years in love.

There had been countless opportunities to return home to Safeport. Each time, she'd opted to remain here with Joseph, instead.

At last, it was finally time to go. The original girlfriend had arrived to reclaim her rightful title.

For the next three days, she heard nothing from Joseph. However, photos and videos on social media revealed that he was spending lots of time with Charlotte.

Here, they were at some church, exchanging tokens of good fortune.

There, they were strolling along a tranquil beach, side-by-side.

In yet another scene, they were on a roller-coaster, holding hands in exhilarated terror.

With each photo, the couple seemed to grow ever closer. Not quite as intimate as lovers yet, but there was certainly something more than friendship there…

Stacy finished flipping through those photos, then put her phone away, her features impassive as stone. She got her luggage ready.

She packed some basic essentials, then decided to step out for dinner. Just then, one of Joseph's friends called her:

"Ms. Rivers, please come to the hospital! Joseph's been in an accident!"

Stacy hesitated for a long moment. Then she reached for her car keys.

If nothing else, Joseph was her best friend's brother. While Jeanne was out vacationing overseas, Stacy was obligated to watch over him.

She arrived at the emergency room to see Joseph and Charlotte lying in stretchers, covered in their own blood, while hospital staff fought to preserve their lives.

The mutual friends of the couple watched on in a daze. When Stacy approached them, they recounted to her the tragedy of the night, tripping over their own tongues as they did so.

"We'd planned to watch the sunset from a summit. Charlotte said that she missed driving, so Joseph let her take the wheel… but she sped too fast, then braked too suddenly… she lost control of the car, and it rammed into the mountainside. They've both been pierced through with a steel bar, and now the doctors are working on getting it out!"

"The problem is that it's lodged very close to both their hearts! There's only one doctor in the city who can pull off this kind of surgery. Even with all the money in the world, you couldn't find another guy in time!"

"Joseph was in the passenger seat, so his injuries are worse than Charlotte's! We've all told him that he needs to be the first one into the surgery room, but he simply won't listen! Stacy, you've gotta convince him!"

Stacy's heart was in her throat as she turned back around and went over to Joseph. His face was pale, and blood still oozed from his gaping wounds.

Her voice shook as she declared, "Joseph Dorne, you're going for surgery this instant!"

His eyes flickered open, and he faintly shook his head. A hoarse whisper rasped from his throat. "Charlotte first… save Charlotte first! She's in danger, I can't…"

That was the point where Stacy's emotions took over. "Are you crazy?! Her condition is stable, she can wait! But whether or not you'll allow the doctors to operate on you immediately is a matter of life and death! If you die here tonight, what's going to become of your parents? How will I tell your sister?"

"My life doesn't matter. Only Charlotte's. I can hold on…"

More lights came on in the emergency ward, as a nurse approached them with a consent form to delay medical treatment.

As everybody around him hesitated, Joseph summoned a heroic effort, and signed the form with his own hand.

Charlotte had been right—he did love her, more than life itself.

Stacy reached out to snatch away that accursed document, but Joseph caught hold of her sleeve with one bloodstained hand.

"You are not family to me. You have no right to interfere."

At these words, Stacy felt something shatter inside her soul.

Her heart was seized in an excruciating vice-grip, so that each breath she took was a painful ordeal.

Charlotte was rushed into the operating theater.

Joseph's eyes closed slowly, and his hand fell limply away from her.

The heart rate monitor emitted an urgent squeal.

His friends were losing their minds from panic, begging and pleading for her to think of something.

Stacy rallied herself and called up an old friend from back in Safeport, whose uncle used to be a hospital director here in Balmora, although he'd retired long ago. Once Stacy had outlined the situation, her friend urged her to have Joseph sent to another hospital, where she'd persuade her uncle to come out of retirement for his sake.

The hospital staff flew into action, loading Joseph back onboard the ambulance, even as they fought to keep him alive.

Ten minutes later, Joseph was being wheeled into a different operating theater.

Stacy waited outside. She waited the whole night.

Her mind was blank. She chewed her lower lip into a blotchy mess.

At daybreak, the doors to the operating theater were finally opened.

"The surgery has been a resounding success."

Hearing the good news from the surgeon, Stacy suddenly felt all the strength leaving her body. She exhaled heavily, her legs gave out beneath her, and she fainted dead away.

The next day, Stacy awoke at noon to see a nurse pulling a needle out of her.

"Relax, your boyfriend's operation was a complete success! He's already come out of the ICU."

Soothing the needle wound with a hand, Stacy found out which hospital room Joseph was in, and then clambered weakly out of bed.

Arriving outside the specified hospital room, she heard a commotion coming from within:

"Joseph, we've just told you that Charlotte is fine! Why do you need to be transferred to the hospital where she is? You've only just taken a step back from death's door. You're still not that far away!"

"That's right! Do you have any idea how many phone calls Stacy had to make last night, in order to save your miserable life? Quit being such a nuisance, alright? Charlotte is in better shape than you. She's fine, and she will still be fine several days from now!"

Besieged on all sides by friends who obviously only had his best interests at heart, Joseph nonetheless insisted, "No, I tried to protect her when we crashed, but she was still badly hurt. I need to see her with my own eyes… I have to!"

Stacy listened to all this through the closed door, and then proceeded inside.

As one, everyone turned to look at her.

Joseph's resolve flagged for a moment, his face a portrait of confused emotions.

Before he could figure out which way to steer this dialogue, Stacy seized the initiative first. "I know I'm not your family, so it's not my place to make this decision for you. If your heart is set on being transferred elsewhere, I'll put a call through to your sister, and she should be able to make it back here before evening. Just wait a few more hours, okay?"

Stacy said all this calmly, maintaining an even tone.

However, Joseph was deeply troubled by her words. He shooed everyone else out of the room, and then took her hand in both of his, struggling to find the right words.

"I was the one who let Charlotte drive my car. That makes all this my fault. That's why I insisted on saving her life before my own. The truth is that you're as close to my heart as my own sister, or anyone else in my life. I didn't mean for those words to hurt you…"

Stacy could no longer tell the truth from the lies.

However, if Joseph held her in equal standing to his own sister… What of Charlotte? Who was she to him, in the grand scheme of things?

Instead of asking so directly, Stacy took a more roundabout tack.

"Joseph, do you wish to go on living? Don't you think life is a valuable thing?"

Not knowing why she would suddenly ask such a question, Joseph nodded with uncertainty.

"Of course…"

So… Joseph valued Charlotte's life over his own.

Stacy had gotten the answer she wanted. She withdrew her hand, swallowed the anguished protests she yearned to make, and forced a smile for him.

"Fine, transfer yourself over there, if that's what you want. However, I'll have to let your sister know about all this, in case anything goes wrong along the way."

Then she turned sharply on her heel, and strode out of the room.

Just before the door closed shut behind her, she heard Joseph speak up, his tone anxious. "I won't transfer, then! Stacy, please don't tell my sister! She can't find out!"

What exactly was it he didn't want Jeanne finding out about? That he'd gotten hurt? Or that he'd been dating her best friend behind her back?

Stacy didn't know the answer to this question, and she honestly couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

Ultimately, she decided not to inform Jeanne. Her best friend was having a good time on vacation. No reason to ruin her mood.

She found two of the hospital's staff, and made arrangements for Joseph's stay.

When they served food to her own room there, they would often make some sort of report to her as well.

"Ms. Rivers, Mr. Dorne has been asking about you again. In particular, he's wondering if you're upset with him."

Stacy merely grunted in response.

After lunch, she visited Joseph's room. He wasn't there.

The staff were just finishing up with the cleaning. Seeing her, they said, "Mr. Dorne has applied to be transferred over to Southpoint Hospital."

He'd flown the coop. Stacy allowed herself a wry little smile.

She unlocked her phone, and scrolled through the messages Joseph had been sending her these past few days.

[Stacy, I'm bored… come over here and hang out with me.]

[It's been three days since we last spoke… Don't you miss me?]

[Please forgive me. I'll buy you something nice, once we're out of here. How's that sound?]

If she didn't know about Charlotte, it would have been easy for Stacy to believe that this boy was head-over-heels for her.

However, having now seen what he was like when he really loved a girl, she no longer bought into such delusions.

Returning to her place on her own, she contacted an agent, and put her condominium apartment up for sale online.

Over the next few days, half-a-dozen prospective buyers came by to inspect the premises.

Eager to complete the sale sooner rather than later, she'd offered it up at quite a bargain. Sure enough, it didn't take long at all to secure a deal.

Just as Stacy was signing off on the agreement, Joseph walked in. Surprised, he noted the company uniform worn by the real estate agent.

"Stacy, you're selling this place off?"

No point lying about it now. She nodded affirmatively.

He cocked an eyebrow, and then surveyed the room nonchalantly. "Yeah… this place has been feeling kinda cramped. You could move into my villa, in West Hills. I've had it for a while now, but it's mostly been left vacant."

Stacy didn't answer. Instead, she saw the agent out the door, and then changed the topic. "Are you feeling better these days?"

"Much better!" Joseph trilled cheerfully. "See, I knew you cared!" He strode up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and leaned in for a kiss.

His breath was hot, like the blast from a furnace. Stacy dodged aside reflexively.

Joseph stared at her, puzzled.

Keeping a straight face, she fibbed, "I'm on my period."

Joseph sighed faintly. "Stacy, it's not always like that… we haven't seen each other in a while. Is it so hard to believe that I just miss you? Just want to kiss you?"

Indeed, Stacy found that hard to believe.

She no longer had the patience to put up with his endless theatrics. Muttering various excuses, she went to wash up and go to bed.

The next couple of days, Joseph didn't leave.

Stacy brought out a box, containing all the mementos collected over the years they'd been together.

Matching mugs, a shaving razor she'd bought for him, gifts he'd given to her, couple of selfies, miscellaneous trinkets…

She gathered them all up, every single item, and stuffed them all into a rubbish bag.

Joseph emerged from the study, noticed how bare the whole house suddenly felt, and began to get nervous.

"Why are you throwing this all away?"

"Didn't you say something about moving to your spare villa? I'm just cleaning up some odds and ends."

This explanation allayed his doubts somewhat, but he nevertheless detected that she was in a peculiar sort of mood. That evening, he managed to convince her to accompany him to some sort of auction.

The first several pieces were jewelry, and Joseph bought them all without a moment's hesitation. Stacy received envious looks from all across the hall… but she wasn't the least bit interested in any of it.

As he was getting up from his seat, Joseph's phone rang.

Stacy glanced at the screen. It was Charlotte. Without a word, she headed off to the restroom.