Chapter Three: The Woman They Chose for Him

The name on the schedule stayed with Iris all morning.

Personal supervision: Dr. Nathaniel Hale.

She stared at it longer than necessary, her fingers tightening around the clipboard. It shouldn’t have mattered. It was training. That was all. Yet her pulse refused to slow, her chest humming with nervous anticipation she didn’t understand.

By nine a.m., she was already in the cardiology unit, reviewing patient vitals. The nurses’ station buzzed with quiet chatter, but the moment Nathaniel walked in, the sound dipped instinctively.

“Miss Moore,” he said, stopping beside her. “You’re with me today.”

Her throat went dry. “Yes, sir.”

They started in the catheterization lab.

Nathaniel explained the procedure carefully, showing her how to prep the patient, how to monitor heart rhythms during catheter insertion, how to watch for subtle changes that could mean everything. He was precise, focused, all sharp intelligence and control.

But there were moments.

Moments when his hand brushed hers as he reached for equipment. Moments when he lingered just a second too long, correcting her posture, guiding her fingers with quiet patience. Moments when their eyes met, and something unsaid flickered between them.

“You’re learning fast,” he said after the procedure.

“Thank you,” Iris replied softly.

His gaze held hers. “Cardiology suits you.”

Something warm spread through her chest.

Then the hospital doors opened.

The sound of heels echoed down the corridor, confident and unhurried, cutting cleanly through the sterile calm of the ward. Iris looked up just in time to see the woman walking toward them.

She was stunning. There was no gentler word for it.

Tall, elegant, perfectly put together, she moved like she belonged everywhere she stepped. Her lips curved into a knowing smile when she spotted Nathaniel.

“Nathaniel,” she called sweetly.

Iris felt it before she understood it.

The shift.

The tightening in his shoulders. The way his jaw set, almost imperceptibly.

“Selena,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

Selena reached him and kissed his cheek, deliberately slow. Her gaze slid to Iris, assessing, sharp.

“I came to see you,” Selena replied. “Is that a problem?”

“This is a hospital,” he said evenly. “And I’m working.”

Selena smiled wider. “You’re always working.”

She turned fully to Iris then. “And you must be…?”

“Iris Moore,” Iris said, forcing steadiness into her voice. “I’m a trainee.”

Selena’s eyes flicked to her badge. Then back to her face.

“How… admirable,” she said softly. “Working so closely with Nathaniel already.”

Something about her tone made Iris’s skin prickle.

“She’s under my supervision,” Nathaniel said firmly.

Selena looped her arm through his. “Of course she is.”

The nurses were watching. Iris could feel it. Every glance felt like a pin pressed into her back.

Selena stayed.

Too long.

She hovered through the ward, interrupting conversations, asking Nathaniel questions that had nothing to do with work. When he tried to focus, she tugged at his attention, her presence a silent declaration.

I belong here. You don’t.

Later, as Iris assisted with patient documentation, a nurse leaned toward her.

“That’s Dr. Hale’s girlfriend,” the nurse whispered. “His family adores her.”

Another added quietly, “She’s practically already Mrs. Hale.”

Iris’s chest tightened.

During lunch break, Selena cornered her near the vending machines.

“You’re very quiet,” Selena said, sipping coffee. “I like that. Quiet girls usually know their place.”

Iris met her gaze. “I’m here to learn.”

“Good,” Selena replied. “Just don’t learn the wrong things.”

The warning was clear.

By the end of the shift, Iris felt drained in ways that had nothing to do with work. When Nathaniel finally called her to his office, she hesitated outside the door.

“Come in,” he said.

She stepped inside.

He looked troubled.

“I’m sorry about today,” he said. “She shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

“It’s fine,” Iris replied quickly.

“It’s not,” he said. “And it won’t happen again.”

Something in his voice made her heart race.

Before she could respond, there was a knock.

Selena’s voice floated through the door. “Nathaniel? We need to talk.”

Nathaniel looked at Iris.

Then at the door.

Then back at her.