He Watched Me Shine Without Him novel Chapter 3

Rose hung up on Ethan without hesitation.

A short while later, Houston pulled up in his sleek black Mercedes. About an hour later, the two of them arrived in front of a run-down apartment complex.

Houston eyed the dilapidated building with a frown. The reek of mixed garbage drifted out from the trash area, and grime was caked between the uneven stone slabs on the ground. For someone with OCD-level cleanliness like him, the scene instantly made his stomach churn.

Rose glanced back at him. "Why don’t you wait in the car?"

Houston nodded. "Yeah."

As soon as she turned away, he ducked into the car and shut the windows, finally managing to suppress the wave of nausea.

There was no elevator in the old building, so Rose ran up the stairs. Through the windshield, Houston watched her without blinking, a soft, indulgent smile touching his lips.

By the time she reached the seventh floor, Rose was panting. She knocked on the door to apartment 701. After a long wait, Ethan's sister finally answered.

"Rose, what took you so long?" Chloe Walker complained.

"I’m just here to pick up the stuff I left here," Rose said bluntly, not letting the girl get the wrong idea.

Chloe blinked. "But my brother said you were coming to take my mom to the hospital."

"I’m a psychiatrist," Rose said coldly. "Your mom’s condition is outside my scope."

Chloe scowled. "So now that you and my brother broke up, you’re just cutting ties?"

She started muttering, "It’s not like you and my brother even lived together. And he never hid the fact that he liked Vivian. He just didn’t want to hurt you since you were so into him. Was that really such a crime? Do you have to be so petty?"

Rose’s face darkened. From what she was hearing, Chloe had known about the affair all along—yet kept it from her, while happily accepting her help and support all year.

Without another word, Rose brushed past her and entered the study, dragging out a box of her precious handwritten medical notes.

Chloe grabbed her arm. "Since you’re already here, can’t you take my mom to the hospital too?"

Rose was done being the Walker family’s free on-call maid. She shook Chloe off sharply. "No."

"You’re a doctor! What kind of doctor just lets someone suffer?"

Rose stopped mid-step. Her professional oath wouldn’t let her walk away from a patient in need. A doctor’s duty was to ease suffering—even death row inmates had the right to treatment.

She turned back. "Where is she?"

Chloe opened the door to the her mom's bedroom. Through the gap, Rose saw Samantha Brooks sitting on the bed, her face pale and gaunt, eyes vacant. A dark, wet stain had spread beneath her on the floor—she’d wet herself. Something was very wrong.

Rose rushed in, setting aside her personal feelings, and began a full checkup—pupils, heartbeat, pulse. Then she turned and snapped at Chloe, furious.

"She’s in critical condition. Why the hell didn’t you take her to the hospital earlier?"

Chloe looked lost. "How was I supposed to know? I’m not a doctor! She was totally fine yesterday!"

"What do we do now?" Chloe stammered. She was just a college freshman and clearly panicking.

"Ask your brother," Rose said icily.

Chloe immediately called Ethan. After a few words, he told her to hand the phone to Rose.

Rose didn’t want to take it, but Chloe shoved it at her.