Chapter 1806

At the time, Wilfred had already guessed that this had everything to do with Harley and his mentor, Professor Zeller.
“You and your so-called association don’t focus on benefiting patients. Instead, you spend all your time trying to monopolize everything. And now you want to turn me into one of you? Keep dreaming.” Wilfred’s tone was filled with disdain, his eyes cold with contempt. The smug smile on Harley’s face slowly faded.
With a sneer, Harley’s voice turned bitter. “You know what I despise most about you? That self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude of yours. I was offering you advice, but if you don’t want to hear it, fine. There’s nothing more to say. After all, if the surgery fails-” Before he could finish the word “fail,” the surgical light outside the operating room flicked off.
Clack!
The sliding doors parted, and Karina burst through, her face flushed with emotion. She didn’t even notice Harley. Her focus zeroed in on Wilfred.
“Wilfred!” Her voice trembled with exhilaration as she rushed toward him, unable to contain her joy. “I did it! I really did it. The surgery was a success!”
Wilfred caught the ecstatic young woman as she nearly bounced into his arms. With a steady hand, he supported her, his expression softening into an incredibly gentle smile. “Hmm. You did great.” Those simple words of affirmation felt like a reward that made every ounce of her exhaustion and effort worth it.
It wasn’t just recognition. It was validation of her ability and potential. After countless setbacks and frustrations, Karina had unconsciously begun to doubt whether she was truly cut out to be a doctor.
That hidden insecurity, buried deep within her, now dissolved completely. The shadows of doubt and inferiority vanished, leaving her standing at the start of a bright, new chapter in her life.
“I have so much to tell you! During the surgery…” Karina’s words trailed off as her gaze landed on Harley.
Under his intense stare, she became
acutely aware of how inappropriate
her current position might
look-clinging to Wilfred like that. He
wasn’t officially anyone to her
anymore, just her former director.
swnve
Her face flushed instantly, and she quickly stepped away from Wilfred. “I’m sorry! I got carried away.”
Under normal circumstances, Harley would have seized the opportunity to make a snide remark, thoroughly enjoying the awkwardness his words might cause.
But this time, his mind was elsewhere, consumed by a single, incredulous thought.
Karina had completed the surgery?
How was that even possible?
How did she pull it off?
“How did you do it?” Harley demanded, grabbing her wrist tightly. His voice was sharp, almost menacing. “This surgery was so complex, even my mentor couldn’t guarantee success. How could someone as unknown as you, a junior doctor with only a few years of experience, possibly pull it off?”
Karina winced at the pressure on her wrist but met his glare head-on. “Does it matter how? I did it. And if reputation is all that matters, then tell me why didn’t your esteemed mento even try? Even if he didn’t have a 100% chance of success, surely he had 50%, maybe even 30%. But he didn’t take the risk? Why? Because he didn’t dare to.”
Harley’s eyes darkened, and his grip tightened. “How dare you insult my mentor?”
The intensity of his glare made Karina instinctively step back, but she quickly steadied herself. She wasn’t going to back down. The kind-hearted always get walked over.
If they saw her as an easy target, she needed to make it clear that she wasn’t someone to be messed with.