Chapter 2

Michael and Quinn looked disheveled. Quinn grabbed a napkin to wipe herself while clinging to Michael and being coy with him. "Look at her, Mike. How could she do something like that? She's dirtied my new dress!" Michael kept his arm around her as he snarled, "You'd better apologize to Quinn, Carissa. How can you be so petty?" I'd always been obedient before Michael. He couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to pour beer over him and Quinn. It was apparent he didn't care about whether I'd feel humiliated or ashamed—he was defending his lover while shaming me, his fiancée. Well, it didn't matter. The affairs Michael had had over the years were enough to humiliate me. "Let's break up, Michael." I threw the beer bottle on the floor, allowing it to roll to his feet. He was slightly taken aback. Then, he looked at me with mockery. "You've lost your mind, Carissa. You're breaking up with me?" He didn't believe I would do it. After all, I'd pursued him back then and begged for this engagement. No matter how much trouble he'd caused over the past three years, I'd never clamored for a breakup. Today, I was demanding one over a college student. He didn't believe I was being serious. I nodded and took off my diamond engagement ring, throwing it at him. "Yes, I'm breaking up with you. You and I have nothing to do with each other from today onward." After that, I grabbed my bag and left. Michael stared at me, then shouted, "We'll really be over if you step out that door, Carissa!" I ignored him and left without another look back. Michael's friends tried to appease him. "Carissa seems really mad this time, Mike. Maybe you should go talk to her." He snorted. "Talk to her? Is that even necessary? She'll come back to me in two days, begging me to take her back." To Michael, I was a goody-two-shoes who couldn't bear to be apart from him. I left the bar and headed to the hospital for my night shift. The news that I wanted to break up with Michael soon spread through our social circle. Everyone texted me to comfort me. "Mike only made a mistake in the heat of the moment, Carissa. You're still the one he loves." "No one can usurp your status as Mrs. Goldman. We're rooting for you, Carissa." My best friend was the only one who sent something different. "Pay up." I ignored all the messages, only transferring money to my best friend, my heart aching. When my shift was almost over, there was an emergency—two men in military uniforms showed up. One looked young and was probably a rookie, while the other looked about 30. His skin was tanned, perhaps from years of training. That didn't take away from his good looks, though. He was sexy and wild, and his lips were pursed tightly. They made one want to pry them open. In other words, I wanted to kiss him. This was the first time I'd met a man who made my mouth go dry. By the time I realized I was staring at him, he was appraising me, too. Our gazes met, and we observed each other. I couldn't help finding him familiar, but it only hit me when I saw his name on the patient's details form. "Caleb Goldman." It was such a small world—he was Caleb Goldman, Michael's youngest uncle. He was Michael's grandfather, Stephen Goldman's youngest son. He'd enlisted in the army and was away from home around the year. I'd only seen him once throughout my three-year engagement with Michael. He'd taken a day off and returned to celebrate Mr. Goldman Senior's birthday. I'd only met him once in three years, but he'd left an impression—he was too good-looking not to. I didn't expect to run into him right after breaking up with Michael. "Doctor, Captain Goldman has been injured at his waist. Could you help him with it?" "Of course. Mr. Goldman, please come with me," I told Caleb. He hadn't said a word so far and followed me into the treatment room. I grabbed the tools I needed and pointed at the bed, telling him to lie down. Then, I told him to take his clothes off. "Everything?" he asked seriously.