Chapter 5

"Dr. Nia, I have work to get back to. If there's nothing else, please excuse me."

The color drained from Nia's face in an instant.

"Nia. Come here."

Robert was standing a short distance away. The glance he gave me was the kind you'd give a stranger.

That was fine.

I pulled my sleeve free and walked away.

Not long after, the three of us ended up in the same OR.

A colleague had called in sick, and I was filling in.

The patient's case was complicated. The hospital was taking it seriously.

Robert was the lead surgeon. Nia was assisting.

I took a slow breath, geared up, and triple-checked every sterile instrument before we started.

Halfway through the procedure, I was still tightly wound, checking every move twice.

Both of them were focused, expressions serious.

"Hemostat."

I passed the hemostat to Nia.

Then her hand slipped.

It hit the floor with a sharp clatter.

Before I could bend down, Robert's voice came through, clipped and cold.

"Get her out. Jessica, step in."

Coming out of the OR, I noticed cold sweat soaking through my scrubs.

It had only been a small hiccup. The surgery went fine overall.

After the shift, Nia left looking shaken and distant.

Then Robert's shadow fell over me. His eyes were tired, his voice heavy with disappointment.

"A mistake like that — what kind of nurse are you?"

I looked up at him in disbelief.

"You saw what happened. That wasn't my fault."

"So you're saying it was Nia's?"

Robert's expression went cold immediately.

"Maya. Since when do you pass the blame?"

I understood then. He had decided, in that moment, to make me take the fall — for Nia's sake.

My fingers drifted to my chest without thinking.

No wound there. But it hurt so much I thought it might kill me.

I don't know what Robert said to the head nurse.

The next day, I was reprimanded in front of everyone — and a patient's family member happened to overhear.

It spread fast.

"That nurse Maya can't even hold a scalpel steady. She has no business in an operating room. One of these days she's going to get someone killed."

To contain the fallout, the hospital suspended me for a week.

The head nurse sighed.

"Administration is pushing hard on this. I put a rush on your resignation paperwork. Let's get your things today."

At three in the afternoon, I changed into my street clothes and packed everything into a cardboard box.

Robert spotted me in the hallway and frowned.

"They're letting you go over something this minor?"

"Suspended," I said.

He visibly relaxed and reached over to ruffle my hair.

"Then take it as a vacation. Rest up. I'll take you somewhere fun next week."

I said okay and walked out of the hospital.

He didn't know I was never coming back.