You lived with your fellow interns — Meredith, George, and Izzie — and usually, nights in the house were chaotic in a fun, loud kind of way. But tonight? It was a storm that had already hit, leaving nothing but wreckage.

The house felt heavier than usual—like the walls themselves had absorbed Meredith’s heartbreak. The air hung thick with the kind of silence that comes after an explosion, when everyone’s still waiting for the dust to settle.

Meredith sat at the kitchen counter, her fingers wrapped around a mug of coffee gone cold hours ago. She didn’t drink it. She just stared into it—like maybe if she looked hard enough, she’d find an answer floating somewhere in the dark surface.

George paced near the fridge, wringing his hands. “So… wait. She’s who?” he finally asked, voice cracking in disbelief.

“Addison Montgomery,” Izzie said, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. Her tone was a mix of awe and pity. “As in Addison Montgomery-Shepherd. The Addison Montgomery. World-renowned neonatal surgeon, goddess in heels, saves babies for a living…” She trailed off, her voice softening. “And apparently, Derek’s wife.”

Meredith flinched at the word wife. The sound of it felt like a slap.

George froze mid-step, his mouth opening and closing uselessly. “But—he—he said he was divorced—”

“He said a lot of things,” Meredith murmured, her voice barely audible, brittle like glass about to crack.

The hum of the refrigerator was the only sound for a long, suffocating moment. Then Izzie sighed, her eyes flicking toward Meredith. “Guess ‘McDreamy’ left out the ‘McMarried’ part.”

And just like that, the quiet house in Seattle felt even colder.