The Surgeon's Rejected Girlfriend

3. A New Beginning

Annie

"Come on, sweetheart, it's time to wake up," my friend Martha pulls me out of my dreams. I hadn't realized how exhausted I was until I collapsed on the plane. So many hours of flight, and with the stress of the past few days, I had barely slept. My body demanded rest, now that all the anxiety I had been experiencing had passed, leaving me in a state of relaxation I hadn't felt in a long time. Perhaps not since that girl returned to our lives.

I adjust in my seat and look out the window. Only clouds are visible. The sound of the flight attendant announcing that we will soon reach our destination pulls me out of my lethargy. A new chapter in my life is beginning now. My son and I alone, in a country with so many needs. I don't know what life has in store for us, but I will try with all my might to make this little one very happy. I smile at the thought of him in my arms. I wonder which of my crazy friends will be the one to bring him into the world. The three of us share the same specialty, so we are heading to a place where hands like ours are needed. We will have plenty of work. It was a blessing that just when I found out about Liam and María, the opportunity to travel appeared. Destiny is something mysterious, but I always heed its call. While I leave with a broken heart, there will be much work to distract me from what I've lived through and perhaps help me heal.

Going back home? Not a chance. The shame I endured is enough to keep me away for at least three years. Maybe I'll find work somewhere else, far from everything that happened to me.

"Where are you going?" Mir asks, sitting by the aisle. I think they will be very overprotective aunts now.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Can't I go?" I challenge her. She lets out a giggle that makes me want to give her a playful tap on the head. She complains but says nothing. How I love these silly girls. They are the best soul-sisters I could have ever met.

As I try to return, someone blocks the aisle, leaving me little space to get back.

"Excuse me," the man says. Better put, the boy. He looks very young, perhaps the same age as me. Now that I see him clearly, he's quite attractive. Dark hair and green eyes.

"It's alright." I try to give him a smile, indicating it's no big deal. He kindly steps aside, and I can pass. When I get back to my seat, Mir shifts and ends up in the middle, leaving me on the aisle edge. I stick my tongue out at her, but she returns the gesture. We're such kids, hahaha. She leans on my shoulder and closes her eyes. I'm staring at nothing when the boy from the aisle passes by my side. I lift my face, and our eyes meet. He's annoyingly handsome. He smiles, and I give him a slight nod. I realize I hadn't seen him before. Well, I guess I didn't see ninety percent of the colleagues who boarded the plane.

I settle back into my seat for the short remaining time of the flight and close my eyes. The image of Liam saying he doesn't accept keeps replaying in my mind. It was more painful than I thought. A small tear slips down one side of my face, but I quickly wipe it away so the girls don't see. I can't help but remember what happened just a few days ago. Coincidentally, on the day of our bachelor and bachelorette party.

After I left the party, I took a taxi to my apartment. Although I still live with my parents most of the time, I have a place I go to when I want to be alone for a while. No one knows about it, except my little sister Rocio. It's my safe haven, and that's where I headed.

When I arrive, I make myself some tea. I can't drink alcohol, so that's all I can have. Just today, I had a slight dizzy spell at the hospital, so I asked the lab supervisor to discreetly run a test for me. What I feared happened. I'm six weeks pregnant. On one hand, I feel immense joy because I'm expecting a child from the man I love so much. But on the other hand, I know he doesn't love me, and he just proved it tonight. Will he be able to love my child? He would surely feel forced by his family, and I don't want that. I want a man by my side who is excited about the arrival of this little being who didn't ask to be conceived.

I let out a big sigh. The phone beside me starts filling up with notifications. I read my sister's message first. I ask her to tell everyone that I was called to the hospital for an emergency and couldn't inform them. That shouldn't seem strange, as it has happened before. I usually work in the emergency room, so it's not unusual.

She replies with a simple "Okay." I read my friends' messages and tell them I'll explain tomorrow. They are very understanding, and I know they'll seek an explanation tomorrow, but today I don't feel like talking to anyone.

Strangely, I have no messages from my boyfriend. His girl arrived, and I became the second priority. Oh well. Despite being the fiancée, I'm the third wheel, and that doesn't feel good.

When I saw him the next day, he tried to get me to break off the engagement, but I didn't want to. My pride was deeply hurt, and I couldn't, I simply couldn't let them be so happy together while I was dying inside. I know I sound selfish, but I'm also human. A person who believed she could make the man she has loved since she can remember fall in love. I don't understand why I didn't just give up when I realized he would never love me, but matters of the heart can't be controlled. And that night, when we were together for the first time, it was as if the stars aligned and told me it was the moment. I only had one chance to win over the famous Dr. Sexy. And while I could say he was almost mine, now I know he never was and never will be.

"Passengers of flight 506, please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts, we are about to land."

The announcement pulls me out of my thoughts. Here we are, on another continent, about to start our altruistic work. What my love for Liam left me with was the discovery that medicine is also my passion. I love being a doctor with all my heart. That, I must thank him for. The plane begins to descend. Officially, we are now thousands of miles away. I'm about to embark on an adventure, not knowing what it will bring. Unintentionally, I feel a gaze on me. Green eyes looking at me with curiosity and admiration.