Chapter 30
Regan
I walk into the hospital with the same pit in my stomach that I woke up with.
That article’s still everywhere with that damn photo of Brant’s arm around me, my body tilted just slightly toward him like I belong there.
Just... natural, both of us smiling for a photo. I thought it felt too good at the time, and the camera caught it like that. Like we were something real.
It’s all over the Pulse Bulletin, slipped into group chats, causing murmurs in corners. I pretend I don’t care, but I feel it every time someone glances at me too long or raises their eyebrows just before smiling.
And of course, my dad saw it, probably before I did.
The Toy Story-themed decorations are still up on the ward. Jessie hats, cardboard cutouts, and balloons bouncing near the nurses’ station. It’s ridiculous and over-the-top and so fun. I love that I get to work here.
I head to Brant’s office to check in, to see if there’s anything urgent before rounds. But I find his chair’s empty. I step in to put my bag down. That’s when I get it. A text from him.
Brant: In a meeting. Meet you on the ward.
There’s no sign-off. Just blunt instructions.
I let out a breath through my nose and set it back down, dropping my bag in the corner. I’ll make us a coffee later, when he’s back. Right now, I head for the ward.
“Morning!” I call out as I pass the nurses’ station.
Two of them glance up, already mid-conversation.
“New game today,” Mira says, barely hiding her grin. “It involves Silly String and Brant’s pen.”
I laugh, loving how bold they’re getting. “Why stop there? Rope Dr. Gould into it too. That’s fair.”
“Ohhh,” Jade, the other nurse says, eyes sparkling. “You want us to take down both?”
“Absolutely.” If I’m going to stir the pot, might as well make it interesting.
They’re already plotting before I’m even around the corner.
Still no word on who’s taking over as chief. The tension crackles in the air. Is this what this meeting’s about?
I wrap up my last check-in on the ward, writing a few notes, before I head toward the corridor I hear a familiar voice.
My father’s.
I freeze. He’s not talking to me. But I can hear my name.
“She’s smart, but I can’t give him chief if he’s getting involved with her.”
My spine stiffens.
He keeps going, not even bothering to lower his voice. “I worry he’s only with her to get the position.”
I don’t breathe. I don’t blink.
I just listen.
“That’s a hell of an assumption,” a woman replies. Dr. Hawk… I finally place the voice. “You really think he’s manipulating her?”
“I think it’s possible. And I’m not rewarding it.”
The hallway spins for a second.
I want to step in, to defend Harrison, to shout That’s not what this is! But my feet don’t move. I just stay hidden, heart pounding, mouth dry.
“Then who do you want?” Dr. Hawk pushes. “You’ve only got days to decide.”
“Dr. Gould,” he says.
My stomach sinks.
“Dr. Gould’s good, but is he the better fit?” Dr. Hawk sounds skeptical.
“I’m thinking about options.”
Options.
That’s all I am now. A complication in his decision-making process.
Guilt slams into me. This isn’t fair to Brant. If he ever heard what my dad just said…
I swallow hard.
Maybe we need to cool it. Just for a while or at least until things settle and he becomes chief. I’ll change my dad’s mind. I have to, even though I don’t want to pull back, but I can’t let this cost him everything.
I step back quietly, ready to sneak away unnoticed, when my pager buzzes.
Shit.
Dad turns. His eyes land on me, eyebrows raised.
“Perfect. I was hoping to catch you,” he says smoothly. “My office.”
Dr. Hawk nods to me as she leaves, face unreadable.
I follow Dad inside, knowing I need to deal with the consequences of the page. My hands curl into fists behind my back.
“I’m assigning you to work with Dr. Gould this week,” he says, motioning to the chair across from him.
“Starting today?”
“Yes. I’ve paged him. I think it’s time you broadened your experience.”
I know exactly what he means—distance from Brant.
There’s no point arguing. If I push back, it just makes things worse. Because he’ll dig deeper and ask why I care so much. I can’t give him that answer.
“Sure,” I say quietly. “Today’s fine.”
A knock on the door.
“Speak of the devil,” Dad mutters as Mason pokes his head in.
“Morning,” he says, flashing his usual cocky grin. “Congratulations on the new ward, sir. It looks amazing.”
“Thank you. I’m proud of it.” My father nods, already halfway to smug. “Have a seat. I want to brief you on something.”
Mason sits and casually crosses his ankles. “What is it?”
“Dr. Thomas will follow you for the rest of this week.”
Mason turns his attention to me, looking at me like he’s already planning how to make this interesting. “Looking forward to it.”
“I wanted her to see another style,” my dad says. “You and Dr. Harrison differ in a lot of ways.”
Oh, we know.
The words “I don’t want to” rise in my throat, but I swallow them down with effort. I nod once, tightly. “Okay. I’d better let Bra—” I stop. His name catches in my throat.
My dad’s eyebrow twitches. “Dr. Harrison,” he corrects.
I clamp my mouth shut and nod instead. He’s going to be furious, or worse, hurt. Like I’m choosing this.
“—Dr. Harrison know.”
He watches me just a little too long. I turn away before he can ask questions that I can’t lie well enough to answer.
Mason shifts, glancing between us. “Are you ready to cause some chaos?”
My lips thin. Chaos is the last thing I need.
“Only the healthy kind.” I force a smile.
Dad’s expression hardens, mouth pressing into a tight line. “Not too much chaos.”
Mason gives him an easy grin. “Of course not, sir.”
I laugh under my breath. This part’s easy.
It’s my dad second-guessing Brant for chief that might break me.
We head out to the main nurses’ station, and Mason’s practically glowing. His enthusiasm is relentless, but it’s what I need right now.
“I’m going to make sure you have the most fun you’ve ever had on rounds.”
I let out a genuine laugh. “All right. Show me what you’ve got, Dr. Gould.”
This is good. I need someone who doesn’t make my pulse race. Someone I don’t want to kiss. Someone safe.
He starts walking, and I fall into step beside him. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well,” he says, flipping through his tablet, “we’ll check in on the new admits… get you familiar with the layout, new equipment, procedures, all the shiny stuff.”
I’ve already memorized the floor plan, familiarized myself with the equipment, and read through the manuals, but I can’t say that. Instead, I fake a smile and say, “Perfect.”
We step onto the ward, and Mason’s already chatting up the nurses with total confidence.
“You guys really went all in on this Toy Story thing,” he says, gesturing to the Buzz and Woody balloons bobbing beside the station.
One of the nurses rolls her eyes. “We’re just waiting for the moment it pops.”
Mason chuckles. “Please tell me I’ll be there for that.”
A young doctor approaches with a chart. “Dr. Gould? I wanted to run something by you about the patient in bed two. The X-ray results are clear—”
“Later,” Mason says without looking up from his conversation with the nurses. “I’m in the middle of something.”
He nods and steps back. It makes my stomach roll. That could’ve taken thirty seconds. The doctor thought it was important enough to ask.
“Anyway,” Mason continues to the nurses, grin back in place.
I decide to tell the doctor to ask Dr. Harrison, and he thanks me and heads to his office.
Returning to where Mason’s standing, I hang back slightly, clutching the tablet I brought for rounds.
Everything feels... too bright and fun. I usually love this kind of energy, but my thoughts are with Brant.
Wondering if my Dad’s already told him, if Brant’s angry, if he thinks I asked for this reassignment.
“Alright,” Mason says, clapping his hands once and turning to me. “Where to first, partner?”
“Um, Bay 3. Post-op.”
We walk in step, but I’m hyper-aware of every inch between us. I don’t want to flirt. I don’t want him thinking this means anything.
“So,” Mason says lightly, “you and your dad seemed a little... intense back there.”
“He’s just being a dad,” I say too quickly. Trying to control who I work with… which I hate.
He shoots me a knowing look. “And maybe protecting you from a certain doctor trying to get too close?”
I stop walking.
Mason stops too.
“I’m not judging,” he says gently. “Just be careful. Not everyone plays fair at the top.”
My throat tightens. “Yeah. I’m figuring that out.”
He nods once, like he gets it. Then we move on, and thankfully, the patient needs all our focus.
Mason works differently than Brant. He explains things like a teacher in med school, but with Brant, he asks.
Pushes me to think through the steps myself, trusts me to make the call. Works beside me, not above me.
After finishing with the patient, I head to wash my hands, where I find Brant doing the same. My heart wants to burst from my chest with a mix of relief and dread.
His sleeves are damp, dark against his forearms, and his brow furrows the second he sees me.
“Hey,” he says, drying his hands.
“Hey,” I mumble.
His eyes narrow. “Everything okay?”
I want to tell him what I heard, but I can’t, so I take a breath and tell him the other problem. “I’m working with Dr. Gould this week.”
He stops. “Since when?”
“My dad assigned me.”
His expression freezes for a beat, then tightens. “Did something happen?”
“No. But I mean...” I glance around. “My dad’s watching us. We need to be more careful. At least until the chief position’s sorted.”
Brant’s jaw flexes. “Is that what you want?”
No, I scream inside. I want to tell him everything, that I can’t stand the thought of being the reason he loses this. But the words are stuck in my throat. If I say it out loud, it becomes real. And I can’t handle that. So I say nothing.
That’s all the answer he needs.
He drags a hand down his face, turning away for a second, like he can’t bear to look at me.
I step toward him. “I’m doing it to protect you.”
His eyes widen as he breathes out hard, shaking his head.
I almost reach for his hand, but then I remember where we are. Anyone could walk in. “Won’t be for long,” I say. “Please tell me you understand.”
He looks at me with his eyebrows scrunched for a long moment. The kind of look that squeezes my chest and hurts.
Then finally, he nods.
“Alright.” I should feel relief, but instead, I feel empty that he agrees. Because it’s exactly what I don’t want.
I nod and force a smile.
He walks away before I can lose my nerve.
And just like that, we’re back to colleagues.
It’s safer this way. Better for him, but it doesn’t help the ache in my chest.
I head back to find Mason. He’s talking to a nurse, leaning against the counter with a grin. She’s laughing at something he said. He glances up when I approach, straightening. “There you are. Ready?”
I nod as he finishes his discussion about weekend plans. But I’m not really listening; my mind keeps replaying my conversation with Brant.
Suddenly, the air shifts, and I feel him. I glance back, and Brant is standing near the doors with his hands shoved in his pockets, his jaw like stone, eyes locked on me.
He’s trying not to look pissed. But he’s failing miserably.
It shouldn’t matter. This is what we agreed on a fling. Something temporary.
Then why does it feel so hard right now?
I try to ignore the weight of his stare and focus on Mason’s voice, but part of me still aches for him.
By the time my shift ends, the haze from earlier is long gone. I head back to Brant’s office to grab my bag, still hoping to see him. I need to explain better, that this isn’t what I want, that I’m just trying to protect him.
But it’s empty.
His chair’s pushed out slightly, the note still there on his desk, untouched.
No sign of him. I take my time packing, moving slower than necessary.
Maybe he’ll come back… but, I can’t drag it out any longer.
And when he doesn’t come back, I step into the hallway, and my phone buzzes.
My heart jumps, thinking maybe it’s him.
I pull it out of my coat pocket, thumb hovering over the screen. An unknown number. I ignore it when Mira calls out my name, and we walk out together.