Chapter 2

I rushed into Metro Medical Center like I'd lost my mind.

The red warning light above the ICU door blinked on and off, like a sinister eye watching over the pale, lifeless hallway.

Hedy was standing at the door, her eyes puffy like she'd been crying for hours. When she saw me, she started sobbing even harder. "T-The doctor said her condition is really dangerous," she choked out.

The heavy automatic doors slid open, and a doctor in green scrubs stepped out.

When I saw his face, I froze.

It was Luke Harrison, my ex-boyfriend.

He was completely impassive when he saw me. The eyes that once overflowed with love now held nothing but clinical detachment.

"Family? Come over and sign this," Luke said, his voice flat and mechanical.

I took the pen with shaking hands, every word on the paper swimming and blurring before my eyes.

"H-How is she?" My voice was shaking so much that I could barely get the words out.

Luke sounded like he was just reciting a report about a stranger. "Acute heart attack. She missed the critical window for rescue. Things don't look good at all."

My legs buckled, and I nearly collapsed, grabbing the wall just in time.

"It's all my fault. I didn't make it in time." Guilt and regret crashed over me like a tidal wave, threatening to drown me.

Luke stared at me coldly, a trace of mockery in his eyes. "Aren't you a doctor? You didn't even know your mom had a history of heart disease?"

My face turned very pale, and I tried to speak, but no words came out. "All her checkups always said she was fine. I didn't know. I really didn't know."

"We'll keep her under observation for 24 hours," he said, taking back the critical condition notice and turning to leave.

He took a couple of steps, then stopped and turned back. His words were casual, but they landed like a punch to the gut.

"I heard you got fired from Doriaten Hospital," he said.

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms, but I didn't say a word.

He curled his lip in a sneer. "You tossed love aside for your career, said it didn't matter. Well, look at you now. You've lost that, too."

I closed my eyes, letting the hot tears slide down my cold cheeks.

The bench outside the ICU was cold and hard as a rock.

I hugged my thin coat tighter, trying to keep the chill out, but I didn't get a wink of sleep all night.

At five in the morning, my phone lit up with a message from Felix.

Felix: [Everyone's talking about it in the department. Dr. Harrington called you out at the meeting, said you crossed the line professionally, and that you're a disgrace to the ER.]

I stared at the message, my heart twisting painfully.

Right after that, another message came in.

Felix: [Head nurse was saying in the group chat that you totally deserved this. Said you always acted all high and mighty, never tried to fit in, so now punishment's finally caught up with you.]

I managed a terrible smile.

I just wouldn't get involved in all their department drama, wouldn't suck up to James, and wouldn't order pointless tests for patients who didn't need them.

But in their eyes, that just made me act all high and mighty.

By eight in the morning, daylight finally crept in.

The hallway was starting to fill up with people.

A few doctors I recognized from past conferences walked by. When they saw me sitting by the ICU doors, they pretended not to notice and picked up their pace.

I even caught one of the young nurses leaning in to whisper to her friend, "See her? That's the one who got canned for ticking off a patient's family. She totally brought it on herself."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it drilled straight into my ears.

I didn't even have the strength to argue back.

My phone buzzed again; it was a text this time.

It was from my landlord. [Hey Eloise, just a reminder. This month's rent is due.

I opened my banking app, and my account balance glared at me in angry red, deep in the negative.

That was when it hit me. The hospital had already frozen my salary account.

Hedy came over with a bowl of steaming soup. "Dr. Langley, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Please, just have a little something."

I stared at the soup in the thermos; it was exactly the kind my mom used to make for me after every night shift.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, dropping into the warm soup and vanishing instantly, leaving no trace behind.

My life felt just like that bowl of soup, all mushed up, a shapeless mess with nothing left intact.