Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I walked into the trauma department the next morning with a knot of anxiety twisting in my stomach. Ethan had dropped me off a block away so we wouldn’t be seen arriving together, but I could still feel the ghost of his hands on my skin from the night before. My body felt more sensitive, more alive, even with the lingering ache in my ribs and leg.

The floor was already humming with more energy than usual. Nurses clustered near the station, talking in low, excited voices and glancing toward the main entrance. I clocked in, grabbed my tablet, and tried to focus on my assignments when I overheard it.

“Dr. Sophia Langford started today. She’s been assigned to trauma.”

My heart sank. I looked up just as she walked down the hallway like she belonged there—slim, elegant, with sleek dark hair and an effortless confidence that turned heads. Her white coat fit perfectly, and she greeted everyone with warm smiles and easy handshakes. Then she spotted Ethan emerging from a patient bay, and her entire face lit up.

“Ethan!” she called, her voice smooth and familiar. She closed the distance quickly and pulled him into a hug that lingered far too long. “It’s so good to be back. I’ve missed this place… and you.”

Ethan stiffened but returned a polite smile. “Sophia. Welcome to Mercy General.”

I turned away quickly, pretending to study a chart, but my cheeks burned with humiliation. She was exactly what everyone whispered about—polished, professional, the kind of woman who looked like the perfect match for a man like Dr. Ethan Black.

The morning only got harder. Sophia dove straight into work, assisting Ethan on a complicated trauma case while I handled routine tasks. Every time I walked past them, I heard her laugh and saw her hand brush his arm. “Remember that difficult case in Chicago?” she said, loud enough for me to catch. “We always made such a great team.”

Jealousy and insecurity clawed at me. During my break, I slipped into the locker room to catch my breath. My phone buzzed almost immediately. Unknown number.

See how good they look together? You’re just a temporary distraction.

I deleted the message with shaking fingers and tried to pull myself together. When I stepped out, Dr. Ryan Hayes was waiting with two coffees.

“Hey Lila, thought you might need this after the morning rush,” he said kindly, offering me one. “You okay? You seem a little off.”

“Thanks,” I replied, managing a small smile. He was genuinely nice, easy to talk to, but I kept the conversation short.

Ethan appeared around the corner a moment later. His eyes narrowed at the sight of us. “Hayes. Don’t you have consults waiting?”

Ryan excused himself with a friendly nod. The second he was gone, Ethan guided me into the medicine room and locked the door behind us.

“I saw you with him again,” he said, voice low and tight.

“He was just being friendly,” I answered quietly, unable to hide the hurt in my voice. “Unlike Sophia, who can’t seem to keep her hands off you.”

Ethan stepped closer, his expression softening as he cupped my face. “She means nothing to me anymore. My father arranged her transfer to try and push us back together, but I made it clear yesterday—it’s over. For good.”

I looked up at him, my deepest fears spilling out. “She’s everything I’m not, Ethan. Slim, elegant, successful… the kind of woman people expect to see on your arm. What do they see when they look at me? The curvy nurse you’re sneaking around with?”

His eyes darkened with intensity. He backed me gently against the counter, his hands sliding under my scrub top to rest on my soft belly. “They see the woman I can’t stop craving,” he said fiercely. “The one with the softest curves I love to worship. These full breasts that drive me wild… this belly I can’t keep my hands off… these thick thighs I dream about every night. You, Lila. Only you.”

His words sank deep, soothing some of the raw ache inside me. He kissed me then—slow, deep, and full of promise. His fingers traced reverent circles over my stomach as heat built between us.

The rest of the shift was pure tension. Sophia kept finding excuses to work near Ethan. During rounds, she leaned in close, whispering something that made his jaw tighten. Later, she “accidentally” bumped into me near the nurses’ station.

“Oh, you must be Lila,” she said with a sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ve heard so much about you. Quite the dramatic recovery story. Dr. Black has always been… very dedicated with certain patients.”

The implication was clear. Whispers exploded behind me as she walked away.

By the end of the shift, I was emotionally drained. Ethan caught me in the parking lot and pulled me into his car without a word.

“My place. Now.”

The moment we stepped inside his apartment, he locked the door and backed me gently against the wall. “I hate seeing you doubt yourself because of her,” he said, voice rough. “Let me remind you exactly who I want.”

He held me there for a long moment, forehead pressed to mine, hands stroking down my sides as if he could physically push the insecurity out of me. We moved to the couch, where he pulled me into his lap and simply held me, his palm warm and steady over the soft curve of my belly.

“Sophia is my father’s pawn,” he said quietly. “I’m choosing you. Every single day.”

I traced patterns on his chest, letting his warmth comfort me. “The threats are getting worse. And now she’s here, feeding the rumors. What if administration finds out?”

“We’ll be careful,” he promised. “But I’m not hiding how I feel about you forever.”

My phone rang on the nightstand. Unknown number. Ethan put it on speaker.

“Sophia will help us finish what we started,” the distorted voice said coldly. “Stay away from the doctor or both of you will end up like those patients in the drug trials—silent and gone.”

Ethan ended the call, his body tense with anger. He pulled me closer, his hand protectively covering my belly. “They’re getting desperate. Tomorrow we start looking for real evidence. Quietly.”

I nodded against his chest, but fear lingered. Sophia’s arrival had turned the hospital into a minefield. Our secret was becoming impossible to hide, and Richard Black’s reach seemed to grow every day.

Yet in Ethan’s arms, I felt a spark of strength I hadn’t known I possessed.

For now, that would have to be enough.