Broken Reliance, Renewed Longing

The newcomer's eyes were filled with tears and I could see her distress as I tried to focus on my experiment. To lighten the mood, my boyfriend, in a misguided attempt at humor, gave my right shoulder a sharp, playful slap.

“Haha, look at her,” he said, grinning at the girl. “She’s totally stunned! Ray, give me a smile—I’ve just slapped her to cheer you up!”

Despite his intention to amuse, the girl's forced smile was quickly overshadowed by her laughter, which felt more like a backdrop to the growing discomfort in my hand. As I tried to keep my concentration, the broken edge of a pipette tube suddenly jabbed into my palm, slicing through the skin and causing a painful injury that ultimately required hospitalization.

Later, when he encountered issues with his experiment and needed a batch of cells rechecked, I was the only person in the company who could handle it. Thanks to his callous actions, which had led to my hand injury, I was unable to help him. His thoughtless behavior had not only inflicted pain but had also rendered me incapable of assisting him with his project.

The same hand he had recklessly harmed was the one he now desperately needed. Every time I thought about the extent of his negligence, my resentment grew.

——

Everyone envies me for having a thoughtful boyfriend. He not only dutifully hands over his salary but also surprises me from time to time to keep our relationship vibrant and romantic.

That was until recently, when a new girl joined the lab.

My boyfriend's behavior changed. He began treating her differently—calling her with nickname and being so touchy with her.

Watching her spend her days idly playing games, I, as her senior, couldn’t help but say, “Stop playing with your phone. If you don’t know how to conduct experiments, at least help with some of the simpler tasks.”

Rachel looked up slowly at me. Her eyelids fluttered as tears welled up in her eyes. Her eyes reddened as she bit her lower lip. The tears filled her eyes but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Her appearance made her look so fragile, like a jasmine petal falling from its stem and I felt a pang of sympathy.

I couldn’t force her to work, so I said what needed to be said and left it at that. That day, I threw all my effort into finishing the experiment after hours.

Out of nowhere, Benjamin, my boyfriend, popped up behind me and gave my right shoulder a hard smack. It caught me off guard, making my heart race and the tools I was holding drop to the floor with a clatter. Instinctively, I whirled around, trying to make sense of the sudden interruption.

“Haha, look at her,” he said, grinning at the girl. “She’s totally stunned! Come on, Ray, give me a smile—I’ve just slapped her to cheer you up!”

For a brief moment, Rachel threw me a resentful glance, her face streaked with tears. The sadness was palpable, but she quickly tried to pull herself together. She covered her mouth with one hand and let out a giggle, her laughter ringing out like a bell.

Benjamin's eyes sparkled with a mesmerizing light. It was as if he were completely entranced. The intensity of his gaze seemed almost hypnotic. It was blinding to realize how much a smile could hurt. I couldn’t fathom that my boyfriend would go so far—causing me pain—just to see her smile.

In that moment, I wanted to cry, but the pain was so intense that I couldn’t even shed tears. I tried to move my right hand slowly with my left, but any movement brought an indescribable agony.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that my hand was killing me.

The piercing pain radiated from my hand through my nerves to my brain. The sharp, unfamiliar sensation was terrifying and I struggled to hold onto the last bit of sanity.

“It hurts,” I whimpered.

“There you go. There’s nothing that can’t be resolved with a little joke” Benjamin said, completely oblivious to my suffering.

“Frowning doesn’t suit your pretty face. Don’t be sad just because of his scolding. Promise you won’t be sad anymore, okay Ray?” Benjamin extended his hand, intending to touch Rachel’s chin. He kept showering the smiling girl with compliments and jokes, completely absorbed in his mission to make her laugh.

Meanwhile, I was trying to manage the intense pain he had caused, struggling to keep a brave face. As he focused on brightening her day, I was left grappling with the excruciating discomfort of my own injuries, feeling utterly invisible in the midst of his careless cheer.

“Take your antics somewhere else, Benjamin. This is a laboratory, a place for work, not a stage for your nonsense,” a woman's voice cut through sharply. Her tone was firm and cold. “Don’t disturb Cora, she’s focused on her work.” A woman’s voice sounded. Her tone was firm and cold. She was a senior lab Benjamin patted my right shoulder twice more.

“Cora is the ace operator in your lab. Her physical and psychological resilience is topnotch. I couldn’t affect her even if I tried.” Then he turned casually to me.

“Isn’t that right, Cora—”

His smile faltered and then froze as his eyes fell on my bloodied right hand. His expression shifted from playful to horrified as he took in the sight of my pale, ghostly face.

“Co—Cora, are you alright?” His voice trembled as he asked.

The pipette I was holding slipped from my grasp. Benjamin’s slap had been so forceful that it caused the tube to break, sending a sharp fragment piercing into my palm. The pain was so excruciating that it made me break out in a cold sweat, leaving me speechless.

Not long, news of the accident spread through the company. The department’s chief hurried to the scene, his urgency evident as he insisted on sending me to the hospital immediately.

Later, I found myself in an ambulance, the siren blaring as we sped through the streets. Benjamin insisted on coming along, visibly anxious and frantic. He was like a cat on a hot tin roof, desperately urging the driver to go faster and shouting angrily at the red lights.

He looked at me with genuine concern, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead and gently patting my back in an attempt to reassure me, as if he were more frightened than I was. Even as we arrived at the hospital, he wanted to accompany me into the operating room.

“You can’t go in, sir,” said a nurse, blocking him at the door.

Benjamin's eyes were filled with worry as he kept his gaze fixed on me, following my every movement until the operating room door slowly closed.

“Don’t be scared, Cora. Everything’s going to be okay. I’ll be right here when you’re done,” he reassured me. His insincere expression was so grating that it made my stomach churn. The forced smile and concerned words only deepened my discomfort and I couldn’t suppress the wave of nausea that overwhelmed me. I ended up throwing up.

After the surgery, I was wheeled into a general ward. The room was sterile and dimly lit, its walls adorned with the dull, calming hues typical of hospital decor. I lay there, the throbbing pain in my hand a constant reminder of the ordeal I had endured. I lost track of time, drifting in and out of uneasy consciousness.

Through the haze of my discomfort, I could faintly hear voices just outside the room. Benjamin and Rachel were talking in hushed tones.

“It’s my fault. If it weren’t for me, Cora wouldn’t have been hurt,” she said, her voice heavy with regret. “I should’ve taken it when she scolded me; a little grievance isn’t a big deal. I guess I’m just not strong enough. I can’t even handle the smallest inconvenience without falling apart. I truly feel guilty for what happened to her.”

“If Cora can’t get better, I’m willing to pay any price,” she added.

The girl’s soft voice quivered with barely audible sobs, her attempt at strength betraying a vulnerability that tugged at the heartstrings. Even as a woman, I couldn’t bring myself to blame her, let alone a man who seemed to have an instinctive protective nature.

As expected, Benjamin tried to calm Rachel. He moved closer to Rachel, his expression softening as he reached out to her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, offering a reassuring squeeze.

“Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself,” he said, his voice soothing. “It was an accident. Cora will be okay. The fact that you’re owning up to this shows how much you care and what a strong person you are. We’re all here for her. Right now, we need to stay hopeful and supportive.”

His comforting words were accompanied by a warm, steady gaze. “Just because she’s injured doesn’t mean you’re at fault. In fact, you’re the victim here. She shouldn’t have been scolding you and the injury wasn’t your fault. Don’t get too caught up in it, Ray.”

“You really think it’s not my fault?” Rachel hesitated, looking at him with concern.

“Of course, it’s not.” Benjamin nodded earnestly.

“Cora should be waking up now. I’ll go check on her,” Benjamin said and with that, the conversation came to an end.

I heard his heavy footsteps grow closer, the sound echoing down the sterile corridor. The steady rhythm of his approach was almost rhythmic. A few moments later, the door to the hospital room creaked open with a slow, groaning sound, breaking the otherwise silent atmosphere.

“Look, I know you must be upset with me, but please give me a chance to explain,” Benjamin began, his voice earnest and filled with an urgency that hinted at his regret. He took a deep breath, searching for the right words. “Actually, I did it for you. Rachel is the manager’s niece. If you offend her, she might go complain to the manager, which wouldn’t be good for you. Not to mention, she’s your lab partner, so you’ll be seeing each other every day. I’m just trying to keep you out of trouble.”

“I didn’t expect this accident to happen. If I had known it would end up like this, I would rather have been the one injured.” Benjamin gazed at me with an earnest expression, as if desperately trying to prove the sincerity of his words. Time ticked by and the silence mocked his ridiculous pretense. Seeing my indifference, he finally couldn’t hold his composure any longer, his feigned affection cracking.

“I have something for you. Wanna guess? ” He forced a sheepish smile and quickly pulled something from his suit jacket pocket, hiding it behind his back. “Here’s a hint. It’s something that you really like.”

Benjamin looked at me with eager anticipation, like a puppy waiting for a pat from its owner. His eyes were wide, filled with hope as he waited for my reaction. But I remained still, my face an impassive mask, not giving him the satisfaction of engaging with his clumsy attempts at charm.

“Alright,” he said with a sigh, “I suppose the sedatives haven't worn off completely, so I'll just show you.” He moved the object he had been hiding behind his back onto the bed. It was a pair of tickets to a dance theater.

“Your favorite indie band is going on tour and they'll be in town next month. I know how much you love them, so I camped out on the website for days to get these tickets. You’re the most important person to me, Cora. If this doesn’t show how much I care about you, I don’t know what will.”

I remembered that the tickets had gone on sale only the night before. It was clearly a lastminute effort, his minimal attempt to calm my anger. He kissed my forehead and gently said, “Let’s go see them when you’re better.”

The room was so silent it felt like the world had stopped spinning, the kind of quiet where even the tiniest noise—a pin dropping, for example—would have seemed deafening. Benjamin’s eyes were locked onto me with such intensity, it felt like there was nothing else in the world but me and him. He was completely absorbed in the moment, his gaze unwavering and filled with an almost desperate hope.

Seizing the opportunity, I slowly raised my hand, pretending to gently stroke his cheek as if offering some sort of tender gesture. His eyes sparkled with anticipation and he eagerly leaned in closer, like a welltrained puppy responding to a command.

The first time I realized how badly I was hurt, everything went into total chaos. People were running around everywhere and the whole place was buzzing with panic. As I was being wheeled into the operating room, the doctor quickly told Benjamin to hang onto my medical record.

The moment I said it, Benjamin’s face turned sharply. The usual confidence that defined him was replaced with a visible mix of embarrassment and anxiety. He fumbled with the papers, his hands shaking slightly as he tried to hide his growing unease. Watching his reaction, my heart skipped a beat. A deep, unsettling feeling settled in my stomach. Something was definitely wrong and his nervousness only made the sense of impending trouble even stronger.

“How is she? Is she ok What happened to your face?” Rachel’s voice, filled with shock, cut through the silence from outside the door.

Benjamin took a deep breath before responding in his usual calm and measured tone. “It’s fine. Cora’s upset about her injury and she vented out a bit. Nothing I can’t manage.”

“Just because she’s injured, doesn’t justify her for taking her anger out on you. Hitting you on the face, of all places. How can you show up looking like that? It’s outrageous!”

Benjamin sighed, clearly trying to keep his composure. “Her mood is just a little messy right now. She’ll get over it in a few days. Let’s not provoke her further.”

Rachel, still fuming, shot back, “What? Am I just supposed to sit here and watch her walk all over you? She’s—”

“That’s not what I meant,” Benjamin interrupted gently. “You’ve been here for hours. You should get some rest. With Cora out, your team will need you. Don’t let this delay your work.”

Rachel’s frustration seemed to waver, her expression softening as she tried to regain her composure. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle things while Cora’s away,” she said, her voice tinged with reluctant determination.

Unable to endure the tension any longer, I threw open the door to the hospital room.

“This is a hospital. If you’re going to gossip, do it somewhere else!” I snapped, my voice echoing off the sterile walls. With that, I slammed the door shut, the force of it reverberating through the hallway. Benjamin and Rachel stared at each other in stunned silence, the abruptness of my outburst hanging heavily in the air.

I returned to my bed with a weary sigh, feeling the weight of the day’s events settle over me. As I lay back and closed my eyes, the exhaustion overcame me and I drifted off to sleep.

Benjamin and I grew up together; we were childhood friends who knew each other's families well. I was aware of his family’s financial struggles, which drove his relentless pursuit of success. Yet, he never let on about his hardships, always maintaining a façade of gentleness and grace.

He was relentless in overcoming any obstacle in his path and I once believed that I was an exception to his ruthless ambition. But now, I saw him for who he truly was. Even if his selfishness wasn’t deliberate, someone like him—so blind to the needs of others—didn’t deserve my love.

“I can’t believe he did this to you. We always thought he was a good man, even treated him like a son,” my dad said, his face stern. “If he ever shows up again, I’m going to make him regret it.”

“I’m so sorry this happened to you, honey,” my mom said, her concern evident as she gently caressed my face.

The week I spent in the hospital felt like a blur of sterile white walls and endless medical procedures. When I finally returned to work a month later, it was with a mix of relief and trepidation. The physical demands of my job had been replaced by the mental grind of catching up and managing my rehabilitation.

Benjamin seemed unaffected by the incident. To my dismay, I learned that the manager had even spoken up for him, defending his actions as unintentional. The company’s operations continued smoothly, as if my brief disruption hadn't made a dent. One day, as I returned from upstairs with a report, the usually quiet lab was in an uproar.

Rachel’s commanding speech, full of selfrighteous indignation, initially seemed reasonable and caused the other two girls to fall silent. Rachel strutted away victoriously, her head held high. As she turned her back, I quickly stepped in front of her.

“What did you say? Do you know that I can sue you for defamation?”

“You haven’t forgotten why I was injured, have you?” I asked coldly. “Benjamin is in jail because of you. Do you still think you’re some kind of saint? Any normal person who had caused such harm would be so overwhelmed with guilt they’d barely be able to eat. Yet here you are, stirring up trouble.”

With me standing between Rachel and the girls who were arguing with her, their expressions shifted. Unwilling to concede defeat, the second girl, Aria, retorted, “Even if what you say is true, you should think about the company. You’ve been an intern for quite a while. How many projects have been delayed because you’re not doing your job and always making fuss and how much has it cost the company?”

I smiled at her smart comeback. I glanced at the drawer near me and broke into a wide grin. Rachel stared at me in confusion as I walked toward the table beside her and opened the drawer. I kept a smile on my face while reaching for one of her hands and placing it gently on the table, then took out a pair of scissors. I lifted them high and drove them down forcefully. My expression was calm and devoid of aggression and everything happened in a flash. No one had time to react.

The sharp, piercing scream reverberated through the lab. Rachel’s tears flowed instantly, her makeup smudged beyond recognition. The scissors stopped just one centimeter above her palm. I remained composed while returning her words.

“If the scissors had gone a few inches lower, would you still keep this from the manager’s table?”

Rachel trembled, frozen in fear. Her eyes, the only part of her body still moving, were teary and burning with hatred as they locked onto me, as if she wanted to devour me.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through my right shoulder, causing my body to lurch sideways. My balance faltered and I stumbled, slamming my lower back into the corner of the table. The impact made me gasp in agony, the pain radiating through my spine.

As I struggled to regain my composure, my eyes met the scene unfolding before me. Benjamin was standing beside Rachel, his hand gripping her shoulder with a protective urgency. His face was flushed with a mix of anger and concern, his eyes blazing with a fierce intensity.

“Cora, there’s a limit to what you can joke about. I could even hear the commotion from outside. Look at her! You’ve made her cry. This isn’t a joke; it’s workplace bullying!” He paused for a moment before continuing,

“If you have a problem with me, then come at me. Don’t take out your anger on an innocent girl. She has nothing to do with this.”

As he spoke, his grip on Rachel’s shoulder tightened, a protective shield against the scene that had erupted around us. The room was filled with a tense silence, broken only by the muted sounds of Rachel’s sobs and Benjamin's resolute declarations.

Benjamin’s righteous indignation and severe condemnation of me might have seemed justified, but his actions were fundamentally flawed. The issue wasn’t with me but with his own behavior and no amount of bluster could silence the murmurs of discontent.

“How can he say that when he’s the one who caused Cora’s injury?” Aria remarked.

“If my hand had been harmed and I was subjected to such mockery afterward, my reaction would be even more intense,” Aria’s friend added.

“Whose boyfriend is he exactly? Why is he defending another girl over his own girlfriend? He’s a disgrace,” someone else chimed in.

Rachel’s brows furrowed as her tears fell to the ground. Her face, though smeared with tears, bore a vulnerability and poignancy that could rival the most dramatic TV dramas.

“I can’t defend myself against all your accusations when you outnumber me,” she said, her voice trembling. “Even though I’m an intern, everything I’ve said and done has been aboveboard. I’m done making pointless excuses. I believe the truth will speak for itself.” Rachel bit her lip and added as she left, “I’m here to earn a living, not to engage in office’s drama.”

Benjamin moved swiftly to intercept Rachel, his hand resting gently on her shoulder as he murmured a few soothing words into her ear. With a calm but firm tone, he guided her away from the chaotic scene, his eyes flashing with a mix of concern and calculation. Once he was satisfied that Rachel was somewhat calmed, he turned his attention to me, his expression shifting to one of feigned seriousness.

“Can't you be less impulsive?” he asked, his voice laced with a condescending edge. “What would have happened if I hadn't stepped in to defend you? Do you really think this situation could have ended well without my intervention?”

He paused for a moment, as if weighing his next words carefully. “Here’s what you need to do,” he continued, his tone now more measured. “Apologize to Rachel and all of this will be forgotten. It’s the easiest way to smooth things over and put this mess behind us.”

“I should have slapped you for saying that, but I decided against it. I don’t want to dirty my hands.” I took a few steps forward and pointed at the repulsive man. “Just leave. Don’t you have work to do? Your presence here is just irritating and your knightinshiningarmor act just now is disrupting our experiments.”

Benjamin’s face turned a deep shade of embarrassment. Just as he was about to retort, the team leader, Mrs. Gates arrived to address the matter.

Mrs. Gates’ voice was tinged with concern, but also a hint of impatience. “Cora, you have two projects nearing the deadline and the client is rushing out. How is your hands? Do you think you can handle it?”

Before I could respond, Rachel stepped forward, her tears now dry but her face still carrying a shadow of recent distress. “I can take over the projects, Mrs. Gates. I’ve been here for two months and I’m confident in my abilities. I can handle them.”

Benjamin, who had been observing silently, nodded in agreement. “I’ve worked with Rachel recently and she’s proven to be efficient and competent. I believe she’s capable of managing these projects.”

Mrs. Gates hesitated, her gaze shifting between Rachel and me. “Alright then. You can use this opportunity to gain experience. Newcomers need a chance to grow.”

Turning to me, she added, “That doesn’t mean you’re off duty, Cora. You’ll be the supervisor and help me keep an eye on things.”

As I listened, a wave of unease washed over me. I knew Rachel’s work abilities all too well, having trained her myself. Her basic aseptic techniques were consistently flawed and I worried that these projects, critical to our clients, might not proceed smoothly under her oversight. The thought of potential errors and setbacks made my stomach churn. Despite her confident demeanor, I feared that the pressure of these highstakes projects might overwhelm her, causing further complications.