Chapter Eight Sloane
Chapter Eight
Sloane
Iwas rushing through the hospital, darting from one room to the next.
The influx of patients today was overwhelming, a nonstop tide that barely let me catch my breath.
Every time I thought I had a moment to pause, another call came in, another emergency needed attention.
It felt like the entire city had decided to fall apart all at once.
Work was supposed to help me forget the pain. But it didn’t. Not really.
It had been nearly a week since Cameron last came over and spent the day with Harper and me.
We hadn’t spoken since. When he came to the house, we didn’t talk. He hadn’t reached out, and I hadn’t either.
So we’d quietly slipped back into what we were before—strangers with shared history. Silent.
I hadn’t expected much, but it still stung.
I was still learning how to cope with everything.
The separation.
The impending divorce.
I was on a break, perched on a low stool tucked into the back corner of the tiny kiosk inside the hospital cafeteria. It was owned by my friend Lina, who was currently giving me a look.
“What?” I asked, frowning.
“You know you can’t hide, right? They’re still going to find you.”
“I know...” I sighed. “But at least if Robert doesn’t see me, I reduce the chances of being handed more patients.
” I glanced up at her, tossing my hands in the air.
“Why is it always me? It’s like the moment he sees my face, he thinks, Hey, there’s Sloane.
She looks like she has a spare minute—give her another patient! ”
“That’s a compliment, you know. He trusts you.”
I leaned back against the wall, stretching my legs out in front of me. “Yeah, maybe. He’s a good boss, but he’s not exactly willing to take risks with the other doctors. So he keeps pushing me to the limit.” I exhaled, the weight of the day settling in my chest. “I’m exhausted.”
“Can I ask you something?” she said softly.
“What?” I replied, a bit suspicious.
“Where’s your wedding ring?”
My eyes dropped to my bare hand before meeting hers again. “You can guess, Lina,” I said quietly.
She let out a sharp gasp and fell silent for a moment before gently saying, “I noticed Cameron still wears his.”
I didn’t answer.
“I know sharing your feelings with me is like pulling teeth. Remember, I’ve known you since we were sixteen—”
“Fifteen,” I corrected.
“Okay, fifteen. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I nodded.
She gave me a knowing look and said, “But you won’t.”
“I will,” I said.
Lina shook her head slowly. “Sure you will.” She sighed. “And I’m the Queen of England.”
I gave Lina a grin and didn’t answer. I just took a bite of the chocolate-covered donut she had given me.
She sighed and turned toward the counter, knowing that the conversation was over. I leaned back, eyes closed, still chewing, lost in my thoughts.
Then I broke the silence. “Can I have the number of your divorce lawyer?”
Lina spun around so quickly that she almost made a swishing sound. The kiosk was so small that it was a miracle she didn’t bump into anything.
I watched her expectantly, and she looked back at me, eyes wide with a mix of shock and sadness.
“Since when has this been happening?” she asked.
“Quite some time now,” I said simply. “He moved out of our house a month ago.”
Lina sucked in a breath, her eyes starting to glisten.
“Is there any chance of reconciliation? Marriage counseling?”
I shook my head. “He already has someone else.”
“Oh, fuck...” she mumbled, shock deepening. “How did you find out?”
“He told me himself just last week.” I swallowed the bile rising in my throat, remembering that night. “I need some time to process it, but now I’m ready to see the lawyer.”
She studied me carefully before asking, “Are you alright, honey?”
I shook my head slowly. “No.”
“You have me,” she said gently, her expression softened. “I know it’s not the same, but just remember, you and Harper will always have me.”
I nodded, forcing a smile at the closest friend I had in the world.
“This lawyer,” I began hesitantly, “I need to ask how much it’ll cost. I’m just worried, knowing your usual standards.”
Lina might own a small kiosk and work here herself, diligently, but she drove an Audi Q5 and lived in an apartment worth two and a half million.
And she was the rich one, not the ex-husband.
She had inherited a fortune from her father.
Luckily, she had a prenup, so that asshole of a husband didn’t get a single penny.
But before she could answer, I heard a familiar voice. “Sloane?”
My eyes darted to the front. Gabriel was at the walk-up window, grinning at me.
Lina looked at him, then at me, her frown deepening as she glanced back at him again.
“Are you hiding in there? Robert was looking for you.”
I gave Lina a pointed look. “See?”
She scoffed, then asked Gabriel for his order. He replied, “I’ll have a black coffee, please. No sugar.”
No sugar. Of course.
Lina turned and started making the coffee for him.
“But seriously,” he asked, “what are you doing in there?”
“Hiding,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “And bingeing on sugar again?”
I glanced at the one in my hand and the two more resting on a plate in my lap. “These donuts are fantastic,” I said, taking another bite. “Lina made them herself.”
“I’ll have that too, then,” he said. “The chocolate one.”
“I thought you banned sugar from your life,” I pointed out.
“What can I say? You inspired me,” he said with a laugh.
Then our eyes met, and I became fully aware that Lina was listening closely.
“I want to invite you in,” I said. “But the space is so small, and you’re such a big guy...”
“Then why don’t you come out and sit with me?” he offered.
Lina’s head snapped toward me, eyes wide.
I narrowed my eyes at her, catching the silent message loud and clear. “Oh no, you don’t.”
“Yes, okay,” I said, locking eyes with Lina, a silent challenge in my gaze.
I placed the half-eaten donut along with the other two on the plate and grabbed my coffee from the floor before standing. I walked out of the kiosk, ignoring Lina’s burning stare on my back.
Walking beside him, I couldn’t help but notice how tall he was—maybe six two or six three—and solidly built. I found myself wondering when he even had time to work out, considering our schedules.
“I saw there’s a glass-enclosed balcony on the fifth floor,” he said.
“I know.”
“Want to go there?”
“Okay.”
“You’re so easy to persuade,” he said, turning toward the elevator at the far end of the floor. I followed.
“Didn’t even need to bribe me with sugar,” I said.
“I wonder what I could get with a piece of a donut.”
“That might earn you some time with me on the rooftop.”
He glanced at me, brows raised. “The helipad?”
I smiled. “Yeah.”
“That’s an odd place to spend time, Sloane.”
“I’m odd like that.”
“I’m intrigued.”
This time, I was the one who glanced at him. But he kept his eyes ahead as we continued walking.
We stood side by side, waiting for the elevator. The cafeteria was on the second floor, and I was grateful Gabriel hadn’t suggested we take the stairs to the fifth. It was also a relief that we were the only ones waiting.
The elevator doors slid open, and there he was.
Cameron. Alone in there.
These coincidences kept happening, as if the universe had a twisted sense of humor, placing us in each other’s path just enough to stir things up.
He stood against the back wall, head down, hands in his pockets, wearing his blue scrubs with a black long-sleeved shirt beneath. He looked up and saw us.
There was a brief, silent standoff—a moment of held stares—before Gabriel and I stepped inside.
“Sloane,” Cameron said, his voice low.
To Gabriel, he gave only a nod, and got one in return.
“Hi,” I replied softly.
Gabriel and I leaned against opposite sides of the walls, facing each other. All of us were quiet, heads lowered.
It was Cameron who finally broke the silence.
“Where are you both heading?”
“To the glass balcony on the fifth floor,” I said, lifting my head to meet his eyes.
“Oh,” he mumbled, looking surprised, glancing at the coffee and the plate of donuts in my hands. “Taking a break?”
“Yeah. I still have another half hour.”
“Okay,” he muttered.
I didn’t say anything more, and neither did he. The three of us just stood there in silence until the elevator stopped at the fourth floor.
Cameron stepped out. “This is me,” he said as he walked away. “I’ll see you.”
When we reached our floor, we walked in silence until we arrived at the glass balcony. The space was empty; it was not a popular spot to hang out, despite its view overlooking the city.
There weren’t many seats, but we took the front one, the nearest to the glass wall.
We sat quietly, sipping our coffees. I finished the half-eaten donut from earlier.
“I heard what you said to your friend back there,” he said softly.
I swung my head around to look at him.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop—I just happened to be there, standing off to the side.
I only came down to buy coffee.” He paused for a moment, then added, “I hesitated before stepping out... but I was worried someone else might walk by and overhear. So I figured if I showed up, you’d both stop talking. ”
“Okay...” I said quietly, unsure what else to say.
“I won’t tell anyone. I promise,” he said. “And I’m not going to say you can talk to me, either, because I get the feeling you’re not the type to unpack feelings out loud.”
“And?” I prompted.
“I’m just offering to sit with you for half an hour each day during your break if you want. No talking, unless you want to. Just... company. Anywhere you choose.”
He smiled, eyes creasing at the corners. “That’s a good offer, Doctor. I suggest you take it.”
The smile that stretched across my lips was slow and grateful. I nodded at him. “Yes, I’d like that.”
“I’m good company. I’ll prove it to you,” he said, smiling widely.
“I believe you.”
“Good.” He turned to face forward, stretched out his long legs, slouched back, and let out a long sigh.
We sat quietly together, in comfortable silence. I ate another donut and sipped my coffee while he took the last one, finishing it in three bites.
When I went back down, I felt somehow lighter.
I went back to my usual routine, but every so often I’d notice Cameron. He’d be standing somewhere nearby, watching—silent.
He was everywhere today.
And whenever I caught his eye, he’d give me this small, unreadable smile, then just walk away.
Caleb caught me just as I stepped out of a patient’s room, chart in hand. I hadn’t seen him in a while. He’s a trauma surgeon stationed down in the trauma unit on the first floor, the busiest department in the hospital, hands down.
Between incoming codes, emergency consultations, and back-to-back surgeries, he was constantly on the move. So seeing him up here, outside the med-surg wing, was unexpected.
“Hey,” he said, catching up with me as I walked toward my next patient. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Haven’t seen you either.”
“I stopped by Mom’s a few times, but only found Cameron there.”
“He’s been taking Harper over.”
He hesitated for a moment. “Mom’s been asking about you.”
That made me stop. I turned to face him.
“Please visit her,” he said quietly. “You’re not coming around... It’s making her think you’re mad at her, too, because of Cameron. She’s sad.”
“Oh.” I blinked, caught off guard. The realization tugged at something in my chest. I hadn’t considered that I might have made Anita feel that way. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Yeah.” He gave me a small, understanding smile. “Want to come by tonight? I can drive you.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “I’ll come with you.”
“I’ve got to run,” he said, already turning away—always in a hurry. “I’ll find you here tonight.”
“Yeah, see you then.”
After that, I was swamped with patients again. Later, I had to head down to the administrative office to assist a patient who’d requested a consultation about costs, but none of the staff had arrived yet. They were often overwhelmed and understaffed, so I sometimes had to track them down myself.
I took the stairs down one floor and jogged toward the office, knowing I only had a few minutes to spare.
Passing through the lobby, I had to weave between a crowd of patients, their families, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff.
I slipped into a small gap in the throng but accidentally bumped into a woman, who shot me a fierce glare. I mumbled an apology and kept moving.
Then the crowd parted.
And what I saw in front of me stopped my heart for a beat.
It was Cameron.
A woman stood close to him, arms linked around his waist as she looked up at him.
I knew without a doubt it was Evie Moore.