Chapter 4

Third-Person POV

A week later, Amanda realized Ryder still hadn't come looking for her.

Her patience was wearing thin.

Whenever they fought before, Ryder always came back within three days to make up.

This time, a whole week had passed.

Not a word.

Annoyed, she started flooding her social media with photos of herself and Nathan.

Ryder never reacted.

What she didn't know was that he'd already blocked her.

And even if he hadn't, he was too busy to see any of it.

***

Ryder's POV

Once I officially took over the Merritt Hospital bid, breathing felt like a luxury.

As lead designer, I had to visit the site, run surveys, and take measurements.

Just my luck.

At the hospital construction site, I ran into Amanda and Nathan.

Nathan was there representing another international design firm.

Our competition.

He spotted me by the scaffolding, hard hat on, survey gear in hand, covered in dust.

Then he acted surprised.

"Ryder? Since when do you do grunt work?"

He sighed like he felt bad for me, but the smug look in his eyes gave him away.

"A man needs his own career. He can't spend his whole life trying to marry up."

Amanda stood beside him, watching me without a word.

I couldn't read her expression.

I ignored them and kept working.

"Excuse me."

Tape measure in hand, I stepped around them to measure the wall.

Nathan sidestepped and blocked me.

"What's the hurry, Ryder?"

As I tried to get past him, the back of my hand scraped against a rusted wire fence.

A sharp sting shot through me.

Blood immediately seeped from the cut.

Amanda's face changed.

Instinctively, she stepped toward me.

Then Nathan cried out, "Amanda! I twisted my ankle!"

Amanda froze.

She looked at my bleeding hand.

Then at Nathan, his face tight with pain.

For one second, she hesitated.

Just then, a cool voice cut through the noise.

"Move."

Nora, still in her white coat, walked straight through the crowd and took my wrist.

The second she saw the blood still seeping from the cut, her brows knitted together.

"Have you had a tetanus shot?"

The pain had me a little out of it.

I shook my head.

"Come with me."

She didn't wait for an answer.

She led me straight toward the ER.

Only then did Amanda snap out of it.

Her face darkened.

"Nora! Where are you taking him?"

She started after us, but Nora stopped her with one icy look.

"Ms. Sheffield, if you're so busy worrying about someone else, don't get in my way. My patient is my responsibility."

By the time we reached the treatment room, Nora was already cleaning my cut herself.

Her head was lowered, her face focused.

To break the awkward silence, I said softly, "Dr. Neilson, what are you doing here?"

"I'm Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery here, and the medical consultant for the expansion project."

She didn't look up. Her fingers moved fast, tying the bandage into a clean knot.

"And we went to the same college."

I blinked. "We did?"

"Yeah. I was a year ahead of you."

Nora looked up.

Her eyes met mine.

Something flickered there, something I couldn't read.

She hesitated, like she was working up the nerve.

"Actually, back in college, I—"

Bang.

The treatment room door flew open.

Amanda stormed in.

The second Amanda saw Nora holding my hand, her face went dark.

She pointed at me.

"What? I ignored you for a few days, and you've already found someone else? You really think she's some kind of saint?"

I stared at her, stunned.

My temper snapped.

"Amanda, are you out of your mind? Dr. Neilson's treating my hand. And why should I listen to you? Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Who am I?"

Amanda let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

She pointed at Nora, who still sat beside me, calm as ever. "Because this bitch was obsessed with you in college. She had your pictures all over her dorm room.

"She spent four years stalking you like some psycho."