Chapter 1

The charge nurse changed her tone and gave my back a deliberately gentle pat.

"Grace Walker, you know the hospital has always been short-staffed.

"You're a senior employee here. That means you should set an example and cooperate with the arrangement."

I stared at the eight excellence certificates on my desk and said nothing.

The first certificate was earned after spending six months on the pandemic front line.

The second came from assisting in nearly a thousand surgeries without a single mistake.

The eighth came from working the overnight shift every New Year's for eight straight years.

I had already set enough examples. I had already cooperated enough.

When I looked up again, my voice was very quiet.

"I'm going to speak to the director."

The charge nurse finally stopped smiling. Her face turned cold.

She said, "Suit yourself. The result will be the same anyway."

I took a breath and knocked on the door of our department director, Martin Blake.

Dr. Valerie Stone was actually inside.

She was a doctor from the department next door. What was she doing in my department director's office?

But I soon had my answer.

Valerie placed two bags of gourmet coffee on Martin's desk and gave a light laugh.

"Uncle Martin, this is gourmet coffee from back home. Try it.

"My dad said this is your favorite."

Martin wore a kind expression I had never seen on his face before.

"My cousin knows me best.

"Valerie, go back and get some rest. I've already arranged for you to have fewer shifts.

"Early pregnancy needs careful care. I'm still waiting to start a college fund for my grandnephew."

Valerie turned around. As she brushed past me, she glanced at my stomach as if she were looking at a piece of dead meat.

"Grace, what are you doing here?"

Martin immediately returned to his official tone.

"Director Blake, I think the hospital's decision to make me terminate my pregnancy is unreasonable.

"Dr. Stone and I do not have overlapping duties. She isn't in our department, and I'm the only pregnant employee in ours. The schedule can be arranged."

But Martin only lifted his eyelids lazily.

"Grace, this is the hospital's decision. There's nothing I can do."

I clenched my fingers.

"Then why am I the one who has to terminate? Why not Dr. Stone?"

The moment I mentioned his niece, Martin shot to his feet.

"Grace, what is that supposed to mean?

"Dr. Stone is a properly educated physician, a rising star at this hospital. Her pregnancy is perfectly natural.

"Who told you to wait until your age to have a child? Aren't you embarrassed?"

But he knew better than anyone why I had not tried earlier.

When I was younger, I had thought about having a baby.

He was the one who said the hospital was short-staffed. He was the one who said I was the most reliable. He was the one who told me to dedicate myself to medicine.

I listened.

And what did I get in return?

I grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open a crack.

"If you won't handle this, I'll ask the hospital administrator for an explanation."

Martin said nothing. His face was very calm, too calm.

When I knocked on the administrator's office door, I finally understood why.

On the administrator's desk, two bags of the same gourmet coffee were sitting in plain sight.

They were exactly the same as the ones Valerie had given Martin.

Before I could speak, the administrator pulled out a chair and spoke to me in an earnest tone.

"Grace, I know you're here because of the pregnancy issue, but my hands are tied too."

"The hospital does have a rule. Only one internal pregnancy slot per year. After all, we save lives here, and we don't have enough staff."

"Then why isn't Valerie Stone the one terminating?" I asked again.

The administrator frowned, as if he thought I was being completely unreasonable.

"Dr. Stone is a young backbone of the hospital, highly educated and highly skilled. How can a nurse like you compare to her?"

"Grace, you're an experienced employee. Be sensible. Have some spirit of sacrifice."

I spoke calmly.

"Is it because Valerie Stone is Martin Blake's niece?"

The administrator immediately snapped.

"Grace, what nonsense are you on about?

"Our hospital has clean practices. We do not engage in nepotism. You had better not make unfounded accusations."

"Fine. I understand."

I stood up.

"Mr. Dalton, I won't terminate the pregnancy. I agree to transfer to logistics."

The administrator pushed up his glasses. I could not see his expression clearly.

"Have you thought this through? Is it worth ruining your career over a child?

"If you want a baby that badly, I can specially approve next year's slot for you."

I said nothing and left his office.

He had misunderstood.

Transferring to logistics was not surrender.

It was a declaration of war.

Since they all looked down on nurses, I could guarantee one thing.

Within a week, the department would fall apart.