Chapter 3

Chloe's POV

Two days later, I finally landed in New York.

I hadn't slept a wink during the entire journey. I was still wearing the worn jacket I had on when I left the outpost, covered in travel dust, my hair a tangled mess.

None of that mattered. I didn't even have time to drop off my bags. The second I stepped out of the cab, I dragged my suitcase straight toward the hospital entrance.

But the moment I walked into the main lobby, my feet froze.

Across the crowded room, a painfully familiar figure caught my eye.

Tall, broad-shouldered, and impeccably dressed in a tailored dark overcoat, he was the kind of man who effortlessly commanded attention wherever he went.

Caleb.

In his arms, he held a little girl around five or six years old. She rested limply against his shoulder, her face flushed with an unnatural fever, looking weak and miserable.

Standing right beside him was Nicole.

They were talking to a doctor in a white coat. Nicole kept reaching up to feel the little girl's forehead, her face filled with maternal worry, while Caleb leaned down slightly, murmuring soft reassurances to her.

What a picture-perfect, loving family.

I stood there, nailed to the floor.

Even though I had learned the truth over the phone, and even though I spent the entire flight telling myself to stay calm, to not care, that he wasn't worth it...

Seeing it play out in front of my own eyes felt like a rusted blade twisting into my ribs.

Suddenly, as if sensing a gaze on him, Caleb casually glanced in my direction.

The second our eyes met, his face shifted from pure shock to blistering anger.

"Chloe?"

The name slipped out of his mouth in utter disbelief.

I tore my eyes away, refusing to acknowledge him, and spun around to leave.

I barely took a single step before Caleb shoved the child into Nicole's arms and crossed the lobby in long strides, cutting me off.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He swept his eyes over me, taking in my disheveled hair, my stained clothes, and the heavy suitcase by my feet. Instead of a single word of concern, his brow furrowed into a tight scowl.

"Did you sneak away from your post?" he hissed under his breath, barely containing his rage. "Chloe, do you have any idea what abandoning your station means? You're going to get court-martialed! How could you be so reckless?!"

"I didn't sneak—"

I tried to explain that I had official authorization, but Caleb cut me off roughly. He grabbed my arm, his grip so tight it bruised my skin.

"Let's go. I'm taking you to the station right now to get the earliest ticket back. When you get there, you're going to write a formal apology and accept whatever disciplinary action they hand down!"

He dragged me toward the exit, his pace fast and aggressive.

I stumbled along behind him, nearly tripping over my own feet.

"Daddy!" a tearful little voice cried out from across the lobby. "Daddy, hold me! I want Daddy..."

Caleb's footsteps hitched.

That small cry of "Daddy" felt like a needle jamming straight into my eardrum.

A wave of pure disgust washed over me. I violently ripped my arm out of his grasp, my voice dropping below freezing. "My career is none of your business, Caleb. If you have time to worry about my disciplinary record, why don't you go take care of your own daughter first?!"

Caleb froze. A flicker of guilt darted across his eyes.

"Chloe, it's not what it looks like. I..."

He parted his lips as if to explain, but Nicole hurried over with the girl in her arms, interrupting him. "Caleb."

She stopped right in front of us. When her eyes landed on me, they flickered with a messy mix of shock and unease.

"Chloe? When did you get back? Why didn't you let us know ahead of time? Caleb and I could have picked you up from the airport."

Staring at her fake, smiling face made bile rise in my throat.

Right now, my only priority was seeing my mother. I didn't have the time or the energy to waste on their games.

Without a single word, I pressed my lips into a hard line, turned on my heel, and walked away.

"Chloe!"

Caleb moved to chase after me.

"Caleb, please!" Nicole pleaded, her voice thick with panic. "Haley has a dangerously high fever. She keeps crying for you. Can we please get her to a doctor first?"

The little girl buried her face in Nicole's shoulder, whimpering weakly. "Daddy... please hold me..."

Caleb froze in his tracks.

After a few agonizing seconds, he reached out and took the child into his arms.

"Okay. Let's get you checked out."

When I had put some distance between us, I couldn't stop myself from glancing back. The lobby was already empty. All three of them were gone.

A bitter, mocking smirk touched my lips.

It was glaringly obvious who he cared about and who he didn't. Yet it took me eight long years to finally see it.

I had been completely blind, wasting the best years of my life loving a man like that.