Love, once tainted, could never return to what it once was.

…

Nadine still hadn't come home by nightfall. Meanwhile, Dylan had been flooding his social media feed with videos, giving me a clear view of what they were up to.

Today was his first official day on the job, and Nadine was out celebrating with him at a fancy restaurant, with some expensive-looking dessert—the whole nine yards.

And in that moment, the line between love and indifference had never been clearer.

It would have been a lie to say it didn't hurt. But I wasn't going to get angry at her like I used to. I was too tired for that now.

Instead, I walked into my bedroom and started packing my things. Technically, it was the master bedroom—our shared room.

But honestly, Nadine had barely been around since we moved in together. Some months, I could even count the number of nights she spent here on one hand.

She always said that work kept her busy. But I knew exactly where she was—out having fun with Dylan.

I wasn't stupid. I could feel her growing colder with each passing day.

Once, I even went to her hospital to see what she was really up to for myself. And there she was, in her office with Dylan. Their heads were pressed close together as they watched a movie on her laptop.

At one point, he leaned in and kissed her.

She blushed in response. Flustered, she said, "You can't do that. I have a boyfriend."

But Dylan just laughed and said, "That's what makes it fun. It's only exciting if there's someone to betray, yes?"

She hesitated for a second, then kissed him back. That was the beginning of the end.

From that moment on, she fell deeper and deeper into the thrill of infidelity. Each time, she pushed the limit a little further.

…

By the time I finished packing, it was already past midnight. Still, there was no sign of Nadine.

I let out a long breath, slipped the ring off my finger, and placed it on the vanity.

We'd been together for seven years. I was there through the worst of it—when Nadine lost both her parents, leaving her a mountain of debt to deal with in their place.

She had hit rock bottom back then and didn't want to keep living. I was the one who stayed by her side through all of it. I held her up and guided her through everything.

I took on extra work to help pay off her debts. And over time, somewhere in the middle of all that pain, we fell in love.

She confessed to me first, saying that she wanted to be with me for the rest of her life.

And after that, I did everything I could to make her happy. I bought her the best skincare products and all of the clothes she liked. Meanwhile, I wouldn't even let myself splurge on a bottle of water.

Over time, I found myself giving her everything including my heart.

Eventually, she became a respected doctor, making more in a year than most people do in five. And the first thing she did to me after was cheat.

The next morning, she posted a photo of the sunrise to her feed. The caption read, "The sunrise today is beautiful."

Right beneath it was Dylan's post. Unsurprisingly, it was also a sunrise photo. Only, his had Nadine's silhouette in the frame.

His caption read, "As beautiful as it is, it still can't compare to you."

I scoffed. They really were happy, weren't they?

I decisively grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door. But when my hand touched the doorknob, I froze.

In the end, I hesitated. I found myself going to Nadine's hospital. I just needed to see her one last time, as a way to bid farewell.

I stopped by a cafe and picked up some breakfast on the way. This was to be the last meal that I would ever bring her.

I used to do it almost every day. However, she had told me to stop bringing food to her office back then.

I didn't understand why at the time. Now, I knew it was because she didn't want me to find out about Dylan.

Halfway down the hallway, I overheard a conversation that stopped me cold.

"Did you hear? Dr. Sullivan and Dylan slept together at a hotel last night."

"I'm not even surprised. Everyone already thinks they're a couple, even if they haven't made it official."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Come on, you haven't noticed? With the way they act around each other? They share the same coffee and even split an apple. Dylan doesn't even call her 'Dr. Sullivan' like everyone else does. He calls her 'Nadine.'"

It turned out that Nadine and Dylan had been fooling around behind my back more than I even realized.

In truth, she and I had already argued over Dylan once. There was that one time she got drunk, and he carried her home.

I was furious, of course. The next day, she brushed it off, saying, "Why are you always so paranoid? Dylan's just a resident at my hospital.

"He only just graduated. He carried me because I'm the senior doctor assigned to him—that's all. He's not like you. He doesn't overthink everything."

She always compared me to him. To her, Dylan was perfect. And me? I could never get anything right. Whatever I did was always wrong.

I stopped listening to the gossiping nurses and turned to leave.

This would have been the last time I'd ever see Nadine. After today, we'd have nothing to do with each other.

I walked toward the office, reaching for the door knob, then froze.

Laughter spilled from inside. "Stop tickling me! That really tickles!"

"Nadine, were you always that ticklish? You didn't seem to mind last night when I had you naked on top of me."

"You're awful! I was too busy enjoying myself, alright?"

Through the small crack in the door, I saw that Nadine and Dylan were the only ones in the room.

Nadine was perched on Dylan's lap, and her face was glowing with laughter. It had been so long since she'd smiled at me like that. And now that I finally saw it again, I felt nothing but disgust.

I'd already suspected they'd crossed the line, but hearing it for myself still made my stomach churn. I looked down at the breakfast in my hands. Suddenly, I had no intention of delivering it.

I turned to leave—but my keys slipped from my fingers and clattered to the ground.

"Who's there?" Nadine's voice rang out.

She looked through the door crack, and her eyes locked with mine. Panic washed over her face. In a heartbeat, she scrambled off Dylan's lap.

"Zayn, wait. Let me explain!" She rushed out and grabbed my arm, dragging me into the office.

The sharp scent of wine hung in the air. I glanced over and saw a half-empty bottle and two wine glasses still on her desk.

Really? Drinking and getting cozy on the clock?

"It's not what it looks like. Dylan and I were just messing around. You know how young he is. He doesn't understand boundaries. Things just got a little out of hand."

Nadine kept talking, trying to justify everything.

Dylan jumped in too, as if they'd rehearsed this. "Yeah, Zayn. Don't get the wrong idea. There's really nothing going on between us. We're just playing around, like usual. It's harmless banter, you see.

I turned to look at him. So he was admitting that this wasn't a one-time thing. They were usually that close.

Was he trying to provoke me? If so, he was wasting his time. I wasn't holding onto Nadine anymore. Not even a little.

"I see. I'm not mad." I looked straight at Nadine, calm and collected as ever.

She was caught off guard by my indifference, and disbelief flickered across her face.

Even Dylan looked confused.

"You're… not mad?" She looked at me, puzzled.

"What would I be mad about? You explained everything, didn't you?"

Nadine let out a breath of relief. "That's good. I'll come by tonight. Make sure there's dinner for me."

That was a habit of hers. Every time she felt guilty about something, she'd show up and share a meal with me, as if it would erase her guilt.

Just then, I caught sight of it. Dylan's eyes were flashing with frustration. However, he covered it up quickly with a grin.

"Zayn, I heard it was your birthday yesterday. It didn't feel nice spending it alone, right? How about having dinner at my place tonight? I've even got a gift for you."

As he spoke, he kept sneaking glances at Nadine to catch her reaction.

As expected, she played along perfectly. "Dylan, you're so sweet. You even got him a gift?"

"Zayn, why don't we have dinner at Dylan's tonight? He's actually a great cook," Nadine said.

Realizing she might have misspoken, she hurriedly added, "Well, he usually brings his own meals, but I tried his cooking once. And honestly, it was pretty good."

"Yeah, Zayn. You have to come! I'll get off work early and cook for you. I promise you'll love it!" Dylan said with a smug grin, looking right at me.

I knew exactly what he was up to. "Alright, I'll come."

He blinked, clearly surprised. He'd invited me over before, but I always declined and wasn't exactly thrilled about it. After all, he didn't mean anything to me. I simply didn't want to go to his place for dinner.

But now, I'd moved past it. Besides, I was leaving tomorrow, and I didn't want to start any conflicts with Nadine at such a crucial moment.

…

After Dylan requested an early leave to go home, Nadine did the same. She even took me shopping for a watch that cost 100 dollars.

"This is your birthday gift. I wanted to bring you here yesterday but didn't have time."

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist and remembered that Dylan once posted about receiving a watch, too—one Nadine had given him. He received a watch that was worth 10,000 dollars.

Nadine had always been generous with him.

It was bitterly ironic, but I still thanked her. Soon, I'd be gone. I wouldn't have to see her face ever again.

…

That evening, we went to Dylan's place. As soon as I walked in, I noticed a pair of couples' slippers by the door—one in blue, the other in pink.

Nadine slipped on the pink pair as if it were second nature.

Seeing me stare, she quickly shook them off. "I thought these were for me. I must have grabbed the wrong pair," she said.

I didn't look at her eyes. Instead, I just slipped into a fresh pair and stepped inside.

Dylan's apartment was gorgeous—freshly renovated, no doubt.

"Zayn, you're here! Feel free to look around. I just bought this place earlier this year. Oh, and Nadine was with me when I bought it. Paid the full million dollars for it," Dylan said casually while walking out of the kitchen.

Nadine's expression shifted instantly. "Oh, it was during Labour Day. I had nothing to do, so I went with him," she said.

Thinking back, she really did have nothing planned that day. But I'd noticed a huge withdrawal of a million dollars at the time from her mobile banking app.

When I asked where the money had gone, she told me, "I lent it to a friend. He'll pay me back soon."

I trusted her, so I never pressed further. But now, everything was falling into place.

As we sat down to eat, Dylan placed a trash can next to me. "Zayn, just spit the bones in here, okay?"

On instinct, I looked down and froze. Inside the bin was a used condom, along with its strawberry-scented wrapper.

"Oh, my girlfriend and I used that. Sorry, I forgot to clean it up," Dylan said, looking embarrassed. But his eyes gleamed with a strange pride. It was as if he was saying, "See? Your girlfriend's mine."

At that moment, Nadine was utterly disgusting to me.

Nadine looked uneasy, so she cleared her throat and urged us to eat.

Just then, my phone on the table lit up with a message from Alex Hughman.

"Are you really coming to Amenam? Great! I'll rent a place for you."

"What's this?" Nadine snatched my phone, staring at the screen in disbelief.