Chapter 1

“Some exes make you want to do terrible things,” she muttered. And honestly, you couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.

Freya was already tired after standing for long hours in surgery; the effort, pressure, and stress of trying to preserve a human life were exhausting. It was even harder when she had to share the operating theatre with her ex and his new girlfriend, Ingrid. Wilhelm stood close to Ingrid, his attention fixed entirely on her.

She was an excellent and renowned surgeon. No matter how hard she tried to transfer to another hospital to avoid Wilhelm—her ex-boyfriend who also worked there and now paraded through the corridors with his new girlfriend—fate seemed determined to keep them in the same place. However, she changed her mind about leaving when her colleagues, especially her best friend Anika, begged her to stay.

After standing for several hours performing surgery, the procedure finally came to an end. “Proceed with suturing,” she said to her assistant. She handed over the suturing to a team member, eager to leave the operating room and meet the patient’s relatives.

"The operation was a success. Everything went as planned, and there were no complications. He'll need some time to wake up, but so far, everything looks good. You can see him soon, but for now, he needs to rest. I'll have the nurse update you on the next steps."

After informing them, she bid farewell to the family, She saw Wilhelm and Ingrid also leaving the theatre. He politely waved to the patient's family and headed to another room to change clothes. She followed behind them and discreetly observed the smiles they exchanged and occasional touches to each other arms. She wondered why she tortured herself as much by doing that.

"What is keeping you so engrossed in watching them? Are you a jealous observer?" Anika's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Her being confused could only mutter, "What?"

Anika walked over to her with a teasing smile "You may come off as a jealous observer, why do you keep watching those two huh?"

"I don't know,Anika, I can't help it. it's like I'm always drawn to him."

" If you were into women, my friend, I'd happily volunteer to make you forget him," Anika teased, flipping her hair dramatically. "I mean, look at me— I'm gorgeous enough. But seriously, you know what you need? A handsome, well-built man with broad shoulders and a decent personality. Someone who can help you get over that idiot Wilhelm fast." Anika said bluntly, trying all possible ways to help her get over Wilhelm.

She just shook her head smiling, and once again glanced at the two as they turned remembering Wilhelm's words.

"I tried, but you’re too passive for me. And I don’t just mean in bed—it’s who you are. You’re always so obedient, so careful. You never act on impulse, never push back. And I’m different—I crave someone with a firm hand, someone who challenges me, someone who takes what they want. You’re an incredible woman, truly, but you’re not the kind of woman I see myself spending my life with. There’s no point in staying together just to avoid hurting you. That’s not fair to either of us. Let’s just end this. I need to think about myself too."

Wilhelm's voice from the day he walked out of her house after she discovered his betrayal echoed in her mind. Was she that predictable? Too obedient...and perhaps too idle in bed? Was her dislike for taking risks really such a flaw?

She was eager to change out of her scrubs and leave for the night. Her shift had finally ended, and,all she wanted was a long, quiet soak in the bathtub. After saying goodbye to Anika, she headed to the locker room to change, then returned to her office to gather her things. It was already midnight, and the weight of multiple surgeries pressed heavily on her.

As she walked towards the reception area, she noticed an unusual commotion. She heard screams and noticed that some armed men had entered the facility, bringing with them injured men. They pointed a gun at Anika and asked where the doctor was.

"I'm a doctor," she said drawing the attention of the men and pulling them away from her friend. She was apprehensive but couldn't show her fear.

One of them approached, pointing a gun at her and ordered her to save the Injured 's life who was in front of her, while she struggled to remain calm. The man in front of her requested that other doctors be brought . At that moment, Wilhelm and his girlfriend also appeared at the scene, drawn by the noises perhaps, and had guns pointed at them.

She didn't even want to talk to them, but she had no choice. "Take care of these patients, while I attend to the other," she said to Wilhelm and his girlfriend, then turning to the armed man, she added, Take the others wherever these doctors indicate and you follow me."

She acted quickly , without waiting for questions from the man in front of her, she turned and began to walk ahead of them, realizing the man was following her.

" Put him on the stretcher," she ordered, grabbing some gloves to examine the patient while the other armed men watched from the room.

She opened the shirt of the man lying down on a stretcher with a scissors. He was a young man, probably the same age as her if not older and his body was covered with tattoos. The patient was conscious and seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

" The bullet didn't go through much deeper, I need to remove it. it would be better to take him to the theatre."

The man on the stretcher looked at her strangely and immediately responded," Doctor, I don't need to be anesthesized. Just take the damn bullet out of me right here and now. it's not the first time I can handle it."

She was surprised to hear what the man said. She doubted there was anyone brave enough not to want to work anesthesized and go through a painful procedure while conscious.

" Well if you say so, but I have to warn you, it's going to hurt a lot, I still tried to convince him.

The armed men who were standing nearby approached closer and spoke directly, "We can't risk someone finding us and him being unconscious. it's pretty dangerous, so just go ahead with your job doctor, remove the bullet, and don't you dare let him die." he said finishing the sentence close to her ear.

She had sworn to save lives, and it didn't matter if it was that of a criminal; it was still a life. She handed the man a towel to bite on when the pain became unbearable.

She gathered everything she needed, cut open the man's shirt, and began to clean the injury to locate the bullet. Then, she used tweezers to try and remove the projectile, which was lodged in the left shoulder and hadn't hit any Vital points.

"Well hold him down so he doesn't interfere with the process," she told the hard looking man who had brought him.

She continued the procedure for a few minutes until she managed to extract the bullet. She carried out all the necessary procedures and gave instructions for the dressing. With the help of my subordinate, the man on the stretcher sat up and faced her, placing a hand on her face.

" I'm forever in your debt, I won't forget what you did for me today, doctor and I certainly won't forget this gorgeous face, even with the mask on," he said giving a wink, despite being in pain. Then, he stood up with assistance, asked where he could find the other wounded men, and left the room, leaving her paralyzed with fear.

" Please.. please.. please, you don't need to remember my face," she prayed within herself.

She removed her gloves and mask, trying to calm her accelerated heartbeat caused by adrenaline. She didn't know what was happening in the other room , and she was worried about the other people in the hospital. Although she didn't want to admit it, her greatest concern was Wilhelm.

She left the room and headed towards the direction of the others. She could hear raised voices, and the man who previously had a gun pointed at me now held Wilhelm by the collar. She guessed that the other man hadn't survived. Wilhelm tried to intervene but was pushed by one of the other armed men.

" Judging by the state of his clothes, iimagine it wasn't just one bullet. He must have lost a lot of blood before coming here. If the bullet hit a viral organ, it would be difficult to save him," she explained..

She intervened drawing unwarranted attention from the man she had previously treated. The man turned to her and approached.

" Do you have trust in his skills, doctor? " The man asked the question and turned to face the man who was still being held.

Internally, she felt satisfied at seeing him being intimidated, but she knew she couldn't let the situation become too dangerous. She was aware that those men could kill him right there and she didn't want to be responsible for that. She stared at the man and then looked at Wilhelm.

" Yes, I trust him," she said confidently without wavering.

The thug in front of her stared at her again and smiled.

" Well, if you say so, doctor, I will consider it a coincidence."

" Please do" she uttered.

He turned to his men, ordering them to release Wilhelm's girlfriend, and instructed others to take care of the deceased man and the injured man to be removed from the hospital. Then, he turned back to her.

" My name is Tobias Krieger. Maybe you've heard my last name before. And yours, doctor?" She swallowed hard and looked away.

"My name is Freya."

Tobias smiled and turned, leaving with his men. slowly, the employees and patients began to move. Some were crying, others wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

She pressed her forehead, feeling a slight headache settling in. She needed to go home and rest. She gathered her things and, this time, exited through the back, heading towards the parking lot.

Driving in the early hours of the morning. She observed the deserted streets. it was past two in the morning, and her only wish was to get home quickly. She thought about the name mentioned by the man at the hospital and remembered having heard of the Krieger last name before. She knew it belonged to a powerful mafia family in the country.

She feared that treating the son of the Krieger family's boss could bring trouble. She arrived in front of her house and pressed the button on the remote control.

Before moving the car again, she heard a thud on the window. She looked startled and saw an armed man.

" What the hell is happening this morning? Wasn't what happened at the hospital enough, and now I'm being robbed," she complained.

The man made a gesture with his gun, indicating for her to roll down the window. She obeyed like a scared cat, not wanting to risk doing anything that could result in a shootout. She noticed that the man's hand was bloody, and the other hand held his abdomen.

" I need to get inside your house. If you don't want anything bad to happen. Drive in slowly and close the gate," the armed man said.

She was beyond perplexed. She thought he wanted to take the car. "Why does he need to get into my house?" She thought as she obeyed and slowly drove in, closing the gate. She looked in the rearview mirror and noticed that the man who had been shot. She thought she should do the same as she did at the hospital to try save her own life but also the man's life. After all, she was a doctor and couldn't run away from that responsibility.

She waited for the man to approach the car with difficulty. " Get off. We need to go inside. I need you to do me a favor."

She imagined that the man would ask her to help with the injury. She got out of the car, and the man in front of her almost fell. Her reflexes were faster, and she held onto the man, getting his face close to her's. She couldn't maintain eye contact and looked down at the man's abdomen.

"Put the gun away and put your arm around my neck. I'm a doctor and I can get you treated. I won't do anything against you. If this injury isn't treated at the earliest it could be fatal. You're losing too much blood"

The man looked at her incredulously, probably thinking about how lucky he was to have approached a doctor, she was reflected. Carefully, she opened the back door and grabbed her medical bag from the back seat, under the watchful eye of the man standing beside her. Then, she walked towards the door and heard a groan from the man. She turned around and realized that the man was about to faint she acted quickly, holding onto him and putting her arm around him. With this movement, she couldn't avoid their faces being closer again, more than ever.

They both looked at each other intensely, but she couldn't maintain eye contact with those eyes. She quickly looked away and continued to hold onto the man.

"Du hast wunderschöne Augen," the man said, catching her attention once again.

" Let's go inside. You're losing too much blood and I can't risk anyone dying on my corridor". She replied, adjusting the man's body next to mine and guiding him towards the door even though he was heavy.