Mag-log inThe sand was warm beneath Sarah’s toes, softer than any coastline she’d ever visited. The morning sun glittered like scattered gold across the water, the air smelled of salt and coconut sunscreen, and she felt… alive. A rare feeling. An unfamiliar one.For once, there were no beeping monitors, no surgeries scheduled back-to-back, no calls from residents needing her approval. Just the ocean. And her. A forty-five-year-old woman rediscovering the pulse of her own heartbeat.She hugged the surfboard Adrian lent her, lighter than she expected, slick against her skin. She laughed under her breath, nervous but excited. Surfing. Who was she right now?“Ready?” Adrian asked, walking beside her. Board under his arm. Sunlight painting sharp lines along his shoulders.His voice was calm, warm, like a man who didn’t need to prove anything.“Absolutely not,” she exhaled. “But… maybe that’s the point.”He smiled, not cocky, not aggressive, a smile that felt like encouragement itself.“Good. That me
The first thing Sarah felt was warmth.Soft, golden warmth brushing over her cheeks like a timid lover afraid to wake her. The scent of sea salt lingered in the air, and a distant crash of waves rolled like applause against the shore, slow, steady, soothing.She opened her eyes.Bali.A place she swore she’d only ever see in travel magazines shared by nurses on night shift breaks, a dream crushed beneath schedules, morning rounds, board exams, and operating rooms that robbed her of sunlight.But not today.She pushed herself up from the white sheets, her hair tumbling messily down her shoulders, and stepped barefoot toward the balcony doors. When she slid them open, the world greeted her in pure gold.Orange streaks shattered the horizon. The ocean glittered like diamonds scattered by careless gods. Palm trees swayed lazily with the morning breeze, as if bowing to her arrival.Sarah inhaled deeply.So this is what peace tastes like.For forty-five years, she had chased excellence like
The sun woke her gently.Filtered gold spilled through the sheer curtains, painting her skin in a warmth she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in years. Sarah blinked into the morning light, surprised by how deep she had slept, no alarms, no pager, no nightmare of losing a patient mid-operation.Just rest.Precious, unfamiliar rest.She lay there for a moment, listening to the ocean’s breathing, a slow, rhythmic reminder that life didn’t have to always race.Today, she told herself, she would try living at a different pace.She sat up, ran her fingers through her hair, and caught her reflection in the balcony door’s glass. Soft waves of dark hair framed her face, a few silver strands catching the sunlight elegantly. Her bare skin looked alive, not drained.She touched her cheek, almost surprised by the woman looking back at her.I forgot she existed.The morning air wrapped around her lovingly as she walked along the resort path, a yoga mat slung over her shoulder, guided by a staff memb
The ocean wind hit her first.Warm. Salt-sweet. Alive.Sarah stepped out of the airport and froze beneath the soft glow of Bali’s night, the chaos of planes and passengers dissolving behind her. The sky above her was velvet-dark, stitched with unfamiliar constellations. The air tasted like freedom humid, lush, and tinged with the scent of frangipani.Her chest rose, shakily. For the first time in days, maybe in years, she inhaled fully.Her mind was still loud, the echoes of panic still fluttering beneath her ribs, but her surroundings… they were gentle. Soothing. A stark contrast to the sterile white walls and rushing alarms of Hamilton Medical City. Here, the world didn’t rush. It didn’t choke. It simply existed. And invited her to do the same.She clutched the strap of her luggage as she walked toward the car service bay, heels clicking against the pavement.Her phone buzzed inside her pocket, likely dozens of missed calls and messages she refused to check. Not right now. Not here.
Her pulse still hadn’t slowed.Sarah didn’t even remember how she made it through the hospital exit, whether she nodded at anyone, whether she breathed. Everything was a tunnel. A blur. A heartbeat. A single, frantic thought echoing in her skull. Get out.She stumbled into the parking lot, keys already clenched so hard in her hand they left red marks on her palm. The cold air slapped her cheeks, grounding her just enough to unlock her car door with trembling fingers.The engine roared to life.Her breath didn’t.As she pulled out of her parking space, her vision simmered, lights bending, lines on the road warping. The panic clawed again, tightening around her throat. She stepped too hard on the gas. The tires screeched. For a split second, one horrifying, suspended second, she thought she was going to crash in the middle of the road. Her lungs collapsed.She corrected the wheel sharply, heart hammering as the world snapped back into focus. The hospital grew smaller in her rearview m
The elevator doors hadn’t even fully closed before Sarah stumbled out, breath jagged, chest tight. Her legs felt weak, unreliable, her heartbeat a chaotic rhythm beneath her ribs. Every inch of her skin was still alive, nerve endings buzzing, aching, desperate, remembering him.God.She had wanted him.Not just a little.Not an accidental spark.She had craved him.And that truth, the rawness of it terrified her.She forced her steps faster through the hospital corridor, her shoes striding in uneven beats against the polished floor. She tried to ignore the familiar smell of disinfectant, the beeping monitors in the distance, the low voices of nurses and doctors she had worked with for years. This place was her sanctuary. Her pride. Her entire life’s work.And now it was a battleground contaminated by the very thing she wasn’t supposed to feel.Her breath hitched, the humiliation burning. How could she? How could she let herself unravel in his hands, no, not even his hands, in his pres







