Chapter 2 My Perfect Hubby
Ethan was momentarily speechless.
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Then he let out a long sigh and said helplessly, “Rose, I know our breakup hit you hard. But please, don’t throw yourself away on some random guy. I’d feel awful.”
“Ethan,” she said, her voice like ice, “one more reminder–we’re not friends. We’re complete strangers now. Stay out of my life.”
She hated him. Hated him.
Ethan tried one last angle. “Rose, your medical notes are still at my place. What, are you never going to come back for them?”
Rose’s heart faltered. Those notes–years of her hard work and dedication. It wasn’t something she could just leave behind.
Houston noticed the concern in her eyes. “Do you need something from his home?” he asked.
Rose nodded. “My medical notes.”
“I’ll take you,” Houston said.
Ethan’s voice came through the phone again. “And don’t forget to take my mom to the hospital
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Chapter 3 Awakening
Chapter 3 Awakening
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Rose hung up on Ethan without hesitation.
A short while later, Houston pulled up in his sleek black Mercedes. About an hour later, the two of them arrived in front of a run–down apartment complex.
Houston eyed the dilapidated building with a frown. The reek of mixed garbage drifted out from the trash area, and grime was caked between the uneven stone slabs on the ground. For someone with OCD–level cleanliness like him, the scene instantly made his stomach churn.
Rose glanced back at him. “Why don’t you wait in the car?”
Houston nodded. “Yeah.”
As soon as she turned away, he ducked into the car and shut the windows, finally managing to suppress the wave of nausea.
There was no elevator in the old building, so Rose ran up the stairs. Through the windshield, Houston watched her without blinking, a soft, indulgent smile touching his lips.
By the time she reached the seventh floor, Rose was panting. She knocked on the door to apartment 701. After a long wait, Ethan’s sister finally answered.
“Rose, what took you so long?” Chloe Walker complained.
“I’m just here to pick up the stuff I left here,” Rose said bluntly, not letting the girl get the wrong idea.
Chloe blinked. “But my brother said you were coming to take my mom to the hospital.”
“I’m a psychiatrist,” Rose said coldly. “Your mom’s condition is outside my scope.”
Chloe scowled. “So now that you and my brother broke up, you’re just cutting ties?”
She started muttering, “It’s not like you and my brother even lived together. And he never hid the fact that he liked Vivian. He just didn’t want to hurt you since you were so into him. Was that really such a crime? Do you have to be so petty?”
Rose’s face darkened. From what she was hearing, Chloe had known about the affair all along–yet kept it from her, while happily accepting her help and support all year.
Without another word, Rose brushed past her and entered the study, dragging out a box of her precious handwritten medical
notes.
Chloe grabbed her arm. “Since you’re already here, can’t you take my mom to the hospital too?”
Rose was done being the Walker family’s free on–call maid. She shook Chloe off sharply. “No.”
“You’re a doctor! What kind of doctor just lets someone suffer?”
Rose stopped mid–step. Her professional oath wouldn’t let her walk away from a patient in need. A doctor’s duty was to ease suffering–even death row inmates had the right to treatment.
She turned back. “Where is she?”
Chloe opened the door to the her mom’s bedroom. Through the gap, Rose saw Samantha Brooks sitting on the bed, her face pale and gaunt, eyes vacant. A dark, wet stain had spread beneath her on the floor–she’d wet herself. Something was very wrong.
Rose rushed in, setting aside her personal feelings, and began a full checkup–pupils, heartbeat, pulse. Then she turned and snapped at Chloe, furious.
“She’s in critical condition. Why the hell didn’t you take her to the hospital earlier?”
Chloe looked lost. “How was I supposed to know? I’m not a doctor! She was totally fine yesterday!”
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Chapter 3 Awakening
“What do we do now?” Chloe stammered. She was just a college freshman and clearly panicking.
“Ask your brother,” Rose said icily.
Chloe immediately called Ethan. After a few words, he told her to hand the phone to Rose.
Rose didn’t want to take it, but Chloe shoved it at her.
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“Rose, my sister’s still young. She can’t handle this kind of thing. Just do what you think is best. I trust you. Please help my mom.”
Rose let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh. “Ethan, what the hell did I do in a past life? Run over your dog? Burn down your house? Whatever bad karma I owe, I’ve paid it. I don’t owe you anything.”
Ethan lowered his voice like he was trying to smooth things over. “Look, I know I messed up. But you’re a doctor. Walking away now? That’s not who you are. Karma’s a real thing, Rose.”
“You’re disgusting,” Rose growled through gritted teeth.
Half an hour later, Houston spotted Rose coming down the stairs–with Ethan’s mother slung on her back.
He jumped out of the car and ran over. “Let me.”
He gently took Samantha from her, lifting her onto his back instead.
Chloe’s jaw dropped. Houston’s air of elegance, his strikingly beautiful face, the luxury car that had to cost over six figures— she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Rose, who is that? He looks rich. Is he single?”
Rose ignored her. Instead, she quickly opened the car door so Houston could carefully settle Samantha in the back seat.
Then Houston got into the driver’s seat. Rose started to open the passenger side door, but Chloe darted ahead.
“Rose, I get carsick. Can I sit in the front?”
Rose blinked. Since when did Chloe get carsick?
“That seat’s reserved for my wife.” Houston’s cold voice cut through the air like a blade.
Chloe turned bright red and climbed out, reluctantly taking the back seat.
But when she saw Rose slide into the passenger seat, she froze.
“Why does she get to sit there?” she muttered.
Too bad neither Rose nor Houston bothered responding.
At the hospital, Rose used her credentials to get Samantha admitted quickly. But when it came time to pay the bill, Chloe didn’t budge.
Rose handed her the receipt. “Go pay.”
Chloe gawked. “I don’t have any money. Can’t you just finish what you started…?”
Out of habit, Rose reached into her bag to pull out her card–but Houston placed his hand over hers.
His voice was low and forceful. “If you’re broke, go ask your brother. Rose doesn’t owe you anything. You’re not her family. You’ve gotten all the help you’re going to get. Rose, let’s go.”
Chloe flushed with shame.
By the time Rose and Houston left the hospital, the sun was beating down fiercely.
Houston got a call from his company and looked at her apologetically. “Rose, the chairman just dropped in. I’m really sorry3
9.48 AM
Chapter 3 Awakening
I’ve got to head in right now.”
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As someone who also worked for a rigid system, Rose understood. She waved him off generously. “Don’t worry about me. Go. I’ll talk to you later.”
Houston handed her his keys. “Take my car home. I’ll come pick you up later. At our place.”
Then he turned and hurried across the street to the crowded bus stop.
Rose stared after him, dumbfounded. When she saw his tall figure squeezed awkwardly into an overpacked bus, something in her chest stirred unexpectedly.
