MainNovelChapter 82 ~ Starting today!
ATHENA
My heart stutters. That voice.
Even if the years had dulled it, even if thad blurred every echo of that night, I'd still recognize it anywhere.
Leah.
The last t| saw her, she was standing in the doorway of my apartment with Alex's child in her arms.
Rubbing it in my face that she had what | could never give him even if | tried.
| looked at the child for the first time, and my heart shattered. He was the spitting image of Alex with his eyes.
| shut the door in her face and applied to work in the furthest hospital | could find.
And now, she's here.
Why is she here?
Dressed in a tailored navy-blue suit with a white coat, her hair pulled back in a bun that does nothing to soften
the features on her face.
She's flanked by six doctors, clearly a surgical team, all in identical white coats, all standing like soldiers in
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The ssmug expression | remember curls on her lips as she stops just a few steps from me.
"Well, well," Leah muses, her eyes trailing overlike I'm a specimen she expected to find in the trash but
discovered alive and kicking. “It's great to see you, Athena Dawson."
I hold her gaze, refusing to let my face betray the chaos ripping through my chest. What is she doing here?
Last | heard, Leah was supposed to be climbing the ranks at that prestigious city hospital; the one Alex was
funding.
The one | never got a chance to reach because | was too busy trying to breathe again after what they both did.
My dream has always been to work alongside lann Quinn. They're legendary, and my mother talked about his
father all the time. The family that changed the world of medicine.
But | had to give that up and work at a local hospital for the sake of peace but seeing this blonde is standing in
front of me, tellsI'll have to change the plif | want her to stay the fuck away from me.
Did Alex finally marry her?
| search her hand for a ring but see nothing. But then again, most surgeons don't wear jewelry.
My mind spirals, and | force it to stop.
This isn't the time.
This isn't the place.
But Leah, of course, doesn't care about either of those things.
"I was told there was an interesting case in your ER," she says, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Didn't- expect the
excitement to cfrom a second-year throwing protocol out the window."
She tilts her head.
"Broke conduct. Ignored triage rules. Took over a bay without clearance. All after an hour on shift. I'm afraid," her
smile widens into a cruel grin, "you'll be completely out of line by the tyou beca resident."
My stomach tightens.
Not from fear but from the anger boiling in my chest.
"I did what | had to do to save a life," | reply evenly. "If that's out of line, then maybe the line needs to move."
A couple of the doctors behind her exchange surprised glances, but Leah doesn't flinch. She takes another slow
step forward.
"You always did have a flair for tics." Her eyes glint. "Still chasing hero moments to make up for the ones
you lost?"
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"Do you know her?" One doctor asks.
"Oh yes! My fiance's family sponsors orphans who are desperate. So, she was one of the recipients." Leah throws
the insult.
I'm tempted to rubbish her term "Fiancee." Because it's been over a year, and he hasn't married her yet? | bet he
has found someone else to interest him.
But | chose to be the bigger person. Mostly because I'm way below her rank and she may be a bitch, but | love
my career.
"I'm so glad to see she used the opportunity well but | do hope you will not ruin it with the sheer arrogance |
heard of today!"
My fingers curl at my sides, but | don't react.
| won't give her the satisfaction.
"I'm not here to argue with you," | say, my voice tight. "You're not my superior."
"Oh, but | am." She smiles sweetly.
"Starting today, I'm shadowing this hospital for the next few months Part of a rotation program." She leans in.
"Looks like you and I are going to have all the tin the world."
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