Page 9 of Medical Malpractice

His eyes gleamed in triumph as they flicked to Gabriella beside me. “Those are all sex workers, by the way, my dear wife. And guess what they all have in common…”

“Shut the fuck up, Nico. Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“Oh, but I did—finish, that is. Multiple times. It was a thrill, really. You have particular taste, Leo. Dark hair and green eyes, just like my wife. But let me give you some advice, my friend. You should stick with your whores, ’cause although you always imagined fucking my wife, those women were a lot better than the real thing.”

I tackled him to the ground, my fists connecting with his body in a repetitive, dull thump. I couldn’t believe the shit he was saying and how he was saying it. He only managed to get that far because my brain had switched into damage control.

Where is my best friend? What happened to my best friend?

Concerned screaming managed to filter through, only because it belonged to her. I was causing Gabriella more fear, and I never wanted to be a source of hurt for her.

Collecting myself, I retreated, standing next to a wavering Gabriella. “Let’s go, Ella.”

She whimpered, “I-I don’t think I can walk.”

Whether it was her injured feet or her overwhelmed mind, it didn’t matter. I’d always protect her.

Leaning forward, I lifted her against my chest. “I’ve got you.”

Nico was bloody and bruised, his expression falling when he really took her in—small, delicate and broken.

“I-I—”

I didn’t let him finish. I just pivoted for the door. Stepping over the shattered glass and the ice cream melting on the foyer floor, I walked past everything.

My heart fractured with each step I took away from my best friend. And I could practically hear Gabriella’s splintering echo alongside my own.

Except mine was quickly internalised, remorse taking an equal claim to my pain.

Because Nico was right.

Gabriella was my first love. She was my only love. And I would pick her above our friendship, above any relationship, above it all.

Chapter 4

LEONARDO

I brought Gabriella back to my hotel after she fervently refused to go to the hospital.

Thankfully, no one saw us enter. Otherwise, there would have been a lot of raised brows at our dishevelled states.

After pushing through the generic hotel room, I sat her on top of the bathroom counter, rummaging through the first aid kit I had stopped to buy along the way.

I watched her closely, concern sparking at her lack of reaction. Gabriella didn’t cry, scream or rage. She just sat there, hollow and void of emotion.

I wasn’t fully aware of what had happened between her and Nico before I arrived, but I could practically feel the severing of their bond and marriage.

The things Nico claimed were not words you could easily come back from. I didn’t recognise that person; someone who could spit such vile hatred at the one individual who loved him the most—his wife.

However, I was not faultless. He had discovered my most desperate and darkest secret—one I had never intended to see the light of day.

Although I had loved Gabriella since I first met her, I never would have confessed or acted on my feelings. I was ready to die with that secret, and had reconciled many years before that she had chosen her future, and it wasn’t with me.

I loved them both enough that I wouldn’t jeopardise that, not for my own selfish wants. So, I shut my mouth and released that pent-up longing through random flings and meaningless sex.

It worked for a short while, though that never-ending ache would always return. Always.

Now, Nico had thrust our friendship into disarray, our lifelong connections riddled with uncertainty.