Chapter 254
[ 468 words ]
Chapter 254:
Sitting directly across the table was Dr. Evans, the head of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Dr. Evans slowly lowered his whiskey glass. His eyes dragged over Caroline’s cheap leather jacket and faded jeans. His upper lip curled into a sneer of pure, unfiltered disgust.
Two senior charge nurses sitting next to him exchanged a knowing, malicious smirk.
The rumors at the hospital had mutated into a toxic virus. Everyone believed Caroline was sleeping her way to the top, acting as a high-priced escort for a powerful politician.
A female anesthesiologist leaned forward, resting her elbows on the sticky glass table.
“Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence,” the doctor said. Her voice was loud and dripping with venom. “I’m surprised you have free time, Caroline. Doesn’t your… mysterious sponsor require your services on a Friday night?”
The insult hit the table like a live grenade.
The air in the booth turned to ice.
Julian’s face flushed dark red. His jaw clenched. He slammed his glass down on the table, preparing to shout at the anesthesiologist.
Caroline moved faster.
C𝗵𝘪nе𝘴е n𝘰𝘷e𝘭𝘴 𝗍𝗋𝘢ո𝘀l𝘢𝘵e𝗱 oո g𝘢𝗹nоv𝗲𝗅𝘴.𝖼𝘰𝗺
She reached under the table and placed her hand firmly over Julian’s knee, squeezing hard to stop him from escalating the fight.
Caroline did not flush. She did not look away.
She picked up her virgin mojito, took a slow, calm sip, and looked directly into the anesthesiologist’s eyes.
“I clock out at five, Doctor,” Caroline said. Her voice was flat, cold, and perfectly polite. “I leave my work at the hospital. I don’t have your extensive experience with… late-night shifts.”
The implication was brutal and direct.
The female doctor’s face turned a violent shade of purple. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She huffed angrily and turned her back to the table.
Brenna quickly jumped up, clapping her hands loudly.
“Alright! Let’s toast to Julian’s new medical paper!” Brenna yelled, desperately forcing a subject change.
Glasses clinked. The conversation slowly resumed.
But the damage was done. The entire group deliberately turned their shoulders inward. They talked over Caroline, completely ignoring her existence. It was a flawless execution of adult social isolation.
Caroline leaned back against the velvet cushions.
She looked at the fake smiles and expensive watches. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. This petty, venomous high-school bullying was somehow more exhausting than Jarrod’s physical intensity.
Julian noticed her staring blankly at the table.
He leaned in close. The music was deafening, so he had to put his mouth right next to her ear.
“I am so sorry about them,” Julian whispered. His warm breath brushed against the shell of her ear.
Caroline’s nervous system violently rejected the contact.
Her brain instantly flashed to the blinking red light of Jarrod’s Code Black system. The phantom feeling of a sniper’s laser dot resting on Julian’s forehead made her stomach drop.
Caroline flinched. She jerked her body backward, sliding a full foot away from Julian on the sofa.
Julian froze.
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