Chapter 147
[ 482 words ]
Chapter 147:
But as Caroline stared at the cooking eggs, a cold, heavy knot of guilt twisted in her stomach. She was resting in the arms of a man who would burn the world down for her, and she had just fed him another perfect lie.
Hours later, the sterile smell of bleach replaced the scent of burning butter.
Caroline pushed through the swinging doors of the Washington United Medical Center breakroom. She was dressed in her crisp, white nursing scrubs.
The moment she stepped inside, the low hum of conversation instantly died.
Four nurses sitting at the table snapped their mouths shut. They looked at Caroline with wide, complicated eyes. Ever since Melanie had been fired and Jarrod’s black armored SUV had parked outside the hospital, the malicious bullying had completely stopped.
Now they looked at her with a suffocating mixture of deep fear and forced, awkward politeness.
𝖬𝘰s𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝘢𝗱 𝗍𝗵𝗶𝘴 𝘄𝖾𝖾k оn 𝗀а𝘭n𝗼𝗏𝗲𝘭𝘀.со𝗺
Caroline ignored the heavy silence. She kept her face completely blank. She walked straight to her metal locker and shoved her purse inside.
Just as she slammed the locker door shut, the breakroom doors swung open again.
Dr. Julian Croft walked in. His white coat was perfectly pressed. His blond hair was neat. The moment his blue eyes landed on Caroline, a bright, genuine smile broke across his face.
He ignored the staring nurses. He walked directly up to her.
“Caroline,” Julian said, his voice warm and easy. “How are you holding up today?”
Caroline felt the tension in her shoulders ease slightly. Julian was the only person in this building who had stood by her when everyone else wanted her destroyed.
“I’m doing okay, Julian,” Caroline smiled back. “Thank you. For everything you did during the hearing.”
Julian waved his hand dismissively. He lowered his voice, leaning in slightly closer. “I couldn’t let them ruin a good nurse with a stupid lie.”
He paused. His eyes scanned her face, lingering for a second too long. The professional boundary in his gaze shifted into something distinctly personal.
He cleared his throat, a faint blush touching his neck.
“Listen,” Julian started, his tone suddenly nervous. “There’s an independent theater downtown replaying a classic French film this weekend. I know you’ve been under a massive amount of stress lately. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me? We could grab dinner afterward.”
The invitation hit Caroline’s brain like a bucket of ice water.
Her stomach dropped. An image of Jarrod’s cold, furious gray eyes instantly flashed in her mind.
Jarrod’s possessiveness was absolute. If he found out she had agreed to go on a date with another man, the fallout would be catastrophic. He would likely destroy Julian’s career just to make a point.
Her mouth opened to say no. She needed to invent a shift schedule conflict immediately.
But she looked at Julian’s hopeful, kind face. He had risked his own job to save hers. He was a good, normal man offering her a piece of a normal life.
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