Whenever I hit a wall in my coursework and wanted to ask him for guidance, he'd shake his head with that disappointed expression and walk away—then turn around and tutor Chloe instead.
Now I'd relied on myself to get here, and he actually...
My chest felt stuffed with cotton. Tears fell in heavy drops.
"Dad..."
"Enough. Keep making a scene, and it won't just be that this hospital never hires you—I, Nathaniel Gilbert, also don't have a daughter this senseless!"
The moment he finished, thunderous applause erupted around us.
"Bravo! Director Gilbert is truly selfless! A director like this is the people's director!"
"Exactly! With leadership like this, we can trust the hospital with our lives! This is real integrity!"
"As for his daughter—honestly, embarrassing. Trying to ride her father's coattails. Good thing he put her in her place!"
For the first time, I saw the father I'd worshipped as an idol and life mentor as a complete stranger.
Like a hero, he basked in their admiration with a smile, utterly indifferent to the contempt in their eyes when they looked at me—his biological daughter.
Something in my heart came loose.
I held back my tears, looked at the man being "praised" by the crowd, and spoke softly.
"Fine. Then starting today, we're done. Let Chloe be your daughter."
I left without looking back.
Outside the hospital, I found Mercy General's offer in my email and hit accept.
The call came almost immediately. The voice on the other end was polite but couldn't hide the excitement.
"That's wonderful, Alice. I really didn't expect you to choose us. Don't worry—our hospital may not match your father's in overall ranking, but our cardiology department is the best in the country. Once you're here, you'll thrive!"
"We need people right now. Can you start in three days?"
I smiled and agreed, then hung up.
Honestly, my father's cardiology department wasn't even ranked that high nationally. I'd only been so set on joining because I wanted to fight alongside him. Now that I no longer needed to... I could finally chase my own dream.
For days after, Dad never reached out—but the relatives did. First, my uncle.
"Alice, don't be so immature! Your dad is the Gilbert family's public face. If you—a little girl—cost him his career over some petty grudge, the whole family will never forgive you!"
Then my aunt.