"You're leaving?" He stepped closer, his shadow swallowing me whole. "Just because I was two hours late?"
A dry laugh scraped up my throat.
"This is the tenth time, Adrian."
"Ten times you've stood me up for Zoe Preston."
"Last time, you claimed she was exhausted from researching my case. So you stayed at her apartment all night to *care for her*."
"The time before that, you said a patient's family slapped her because she was trying to find me a heart donor. So you abandoned me to *comfort her*."
"And this time?" I tilted my head. "What's the excuse today?"
The temperature around him plummeted. "Fiona Mason, do you have no heart? Zoe is my junior. Everything she does—everything *we* do—is for *you*."
*Ding.*
The elevator doors slid open. Zoe Preston rushed out, her face arranged into a mask of frantic worry. Her gaze ping-ponged between us, and her expression shifted—disapproval dripping from every pore.
"Fiona, I heard you arguing. Please, don't fight with Senior Brother because of me. I can explain. He was reviewing your charts with me all day, and yesterday he performed surgery until dawn. You shouldn't be so—"
"The hospital shift ends at six." My voice cut through her rehearsed speech like a scalpel. "Dr. Preston, your acting surpasses your medical skills."
She froze.
She thought I didn't know the hospital had released staff early today. She thought I didn't know Adrian wasn't even on the schedule.
They used "my health" as a shield for their affair, performing this noble act while stabbing me in the back.
The color drained from Zoe's face. We both turned to Adrian.
"Adrian." I gestured between them. "Miss Preston clearly thinks the world of you. Why hesitate? Sign the papers. Consider it my final gift—making room for the two of you."
*Slap.*
The force snapped my head to the side. My cheek erupted in heat, a dull throb spreading through my jaw.
"Fiona! Apologize to Dr. Preston! *Now!*"
Zoe gasped, one hand flying to cover her mouth. Her eyes darted between Adrian's fury and my stinging face.
The performance was flawless.
The silence stretched, thick enough to suffocate. It seemed the sting of his own hand against my face finally reminded him who I was.
Not just his wife.
His *patient*.
"Senior Brother!" Zoe grabbed his arm. "Fiona has a heart condition! How could you hit her?"
*Bravo.* But I was done being the audience for this particular melodrama.