bChapter /b66

b“/bbWell/bb, /bbwell/bb, /bblook /bbwho /bbit /bis.” Genevieve bgave /bbCharlotte /bba /bbslow /bbonce/bb–/bbover/bb, /bbher /beyes boozing /bwith disdain. b“/bbIf /bbit /bisn’t Charlotte thepdog.”

bTricia /bcould hardly hide her delight as Genevieve trashed Charlotte bin /bbfront /bbof /beveryone. Every new person who despised Charlotte made her day a blittle /bbrighter. “Why’s Dr. Sterling being called apdog?”

“No idea…”

Two nurses at the station gossiped in hushed voices, but when Charlotte nced their way, they quickly ducked their heads and hurried back to work.

Genevieve, arms folded and lips curled into a smirk, took in the scene. “What’s wrong? Embarrassed now? Maybe you should’ve thought of that before making a spectacle of yourself.”

Charlotte pulled her gaze away, her tone t. “Miss Howard, are you here to defend your friend’s honor?”

“Dr. Sterling, you’ve got it all wrong,” Tricia replied, feigning innocence, as if she were the real victim here. “I didn’t even know you and Genevieve knew each other, let alone had any issues…”

Genevieve stepped protectively in front of Tricia, shoving Charlotte back. “You’ve got some nerveing after Tricia like this. When my brother had to break up with her, you swooped right in, desperate to win him over–wouldn’t leave him alone. Now that Tricia’s back in town, do us all a favor and stay away from him!”

The nurses who’d been eavesdropping looked stunned.

“Her brother? Wait, is she Mr. Howard’s sister?”

“Oh my god, Dr. Sterling dated Mr. Howard?”

“No wonder things always seemed weird between them–I couldn’t quite put my finger on it…”

12

“Genevieve, that’s enough,” Tricia tugged on her friend’s arm, looking thoroughly ufortable. “Dr. Sterling and I are just colleagues. I don’t want you to make things harder for her at work–she still has to face everyone here at the hospital.”

Genevieve rolled her eyes, trying to exin, “Tricia, you’re too nice. Seriously, why bother? She’s just apdog.”

bThen/bb, /bbwith /bba /bbsneer/b, bshe /bbjabbed /bbat /bbCharlotte /bbagain/b. “Besides, as blong /bas iny brothe bkeeps /bbworking /bbwith /bbMetropolitan /bbGeneral /bbon /bbequipment /bbprojects/bb, /bbshe’ll /bnever leave bShe’s /bblike /bba /bbstray /bbmutt/b–bclingy /bband /bbImpossible /bbto /bbget /bbrid /bbof/b.”

bEvery /bbone /bbof /bGenevieve’s words hit below the beltb, /bmaking beven /bbthe /bbbystanders /bbwince /bbon /bCharlotte’s behalf.

The nurses nced at Charlotte, now with a tinge of sympathy in their beyes/b.

But what they didn’t know was that Charlotte had heard it all before–so many times, in fact, that the words no longer stung. After years of wounds and heartbreak, something inside her had simply gone numb. Sometimes, you chase after something so long, getting battered and bruised along the way, only to realize that letting go is just a single thought away. And once you have that thought, bit /bturns out, letting go is surprisingly easy.

Charlotte looked at Genevieve and suddenly smiled, arching a brow. “Are you finished?”

Genevieve faltered, caught off guard. She was used to Charlotte crumbling whenever she brought up her brother and Tricia–used to seeing her look stricken, unable to muster even a word in her own defense before hurrying away in shame. But today, Charlotte didn’t seem hurt at all.

“First of all, this is a hospital,” Charlotte said calmly. “If you want to fight your friend’s battles, you’ll have to wait until my shift is over. Right now, you’re holding up patients and staff.”

She checked her watch. “Second, I have a surgical conference in thirty minutes. My

If time is valuable, and I don’t intend to waste another second on either of you. there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

She turned to leave, but Genevieve snapped out of her daze and rushed to block her path. “You’re not going anywhere! Charlotte, what’s your problem? How dare you ignore me!”

Charlotte didn’t miss a beat. “Miss Howard, this is a hospital. Please try to act like an adult.”

“You think you can tell me what to do?” Genevieve’s face twisted with rage as she raised her hand, ready to p Charlotte across the face.

b09:49 /b

bChapter /bb67 /b