Chapter 2

The next morning, I showed up on time for my shift at Cole Memorial Hospital. It was one of Chicago's premier private teaching hospitals, and the same place Graham had attended board dinners with his father since he was a child. Bound by the hospital's anti-nepotism policy and his father's senior position on the board, Graham and I had spent our entire relationship pretending to be nothing more than colleagues at work.

The elevator doors opened to two residents chatting with Maya.

"The photos from last night's party are all over the group chat. You two finally went public."

Maya kept her head down. Graham's arm rested casually on her shoulder, and everyone around them was congratulating the new couple. When Graham spotted me, the smile on his face froze.

"You're still jet-lagged. Let me cover your night shift."

"No need." I took a patient chart from the charge nurse. "Has the follow-up CT come back for bed three?"

Seeing how coldly I brushed him off, he didn't press further. The patient in bed three had just undergone complex aortic surgery. Any fluctuation in vitals overnight could send them straight back to the resuscitation room. Personal matters could wait, but patients couldn't wait for me to process my feelings.

During the lunch break, I went to the staff cafeteria for coffee and spotted Graham in the distance, tucking a strand of loose hair behind Maya's ear with the ease of two people in love. Warm coffee and pastries sat on their table. Back in medical school, we'd always competed for the top spot. Once we rotated through the same department, whoever finished surgery first would bring the other something hot to eat. I'd once believed that was something reserved for just the two of us.

Maya saw me and immediately followed me into the hallway, placing a roll of Smarties on my desk. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You don't look well. Don't push yourself."

I looked up at her.

"Take the candy back."

"Elena—"

"You don't get to care about me anymore."

Her fingers froze on the desk. I thought of those early days when she'd first moved in with me, how she'd jolt awake from nightmares and sit on the kitchen floor hugging her knees, splitting candy with me. She'd said the sweetness helped her breathe. Later, when her applications for the registered nurse residency kept getting rejected, it was me who asked Graham to get her an interview.

The roll of Smarties stayed on the corner of my desk. I didn't throw it away. I just pushed it to the back of the drawer. Not because I couldn't let go, but because I didn't want anyone to see that this small remnant of a past friendship could still get to me.

That evening, the updated schedule came through. Maya had been reassigned to the post-surgical critical care unit I supervised. The next day, she'd be responsible for a high-risk patient who had just undergone aortic reconstruction.

I stared at her name on the screen and typed two words in reply: Copy that.