"Lily isn't like you. She's innocent. No connections, no safety net. She's barely surviving in this department."
"As her mentor, what's wrong with looking out for her? Why are you making this into a scandal?"
A soft knock interrupted us.
A head poked through the door—Lily Fox.
Drowning in an oversized white coat, she looked fragile and sweet.
"Senior… am I interrupting?"
She glanced between us, timid, then raised her hand. A faint red mark on her index finger.
"I nicked myself opening an ampoule. It really stings."
Adrian's icy demeanor melted instantly.
He crossed the room, cradled her hand in his, voice impossibly gentle.
"How could you be so careless? Let me see."
"Tsk, the skin's broken. Let the nurses handle this kind of rough work. Those hands are meant for a scalpel."
I stood frozen, watching the scene unfold. Utterly absurd.
Three years ago, when a violent patient rushed at Adrian with a knife, I didn't hesitate. I threw myself in front of him.
The blade went straight through my left palm. Severed the nerves.
What did Adrian say back then?
At my hospital bedside, peeling an apple without looking up, his voice cold:
"Useless. Your hand's ruined. You're stuck doing paperwork now."
No comfort. No tenderness. Just disgust that I'd lost my value.
And now? Lily had scraped off a tiny bit of skin, and he acted like the sky was falling.
"Skip tonight's surgery. Go rest."
Adrian carefully applied a Band-Aid to Lily's finger. When he turned to me, his gaze went ice-cold.
"Wendy, I'm taking Lily to get familiar with Medical Affairs procedures tonight."
"Cover my overnight shift."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"My dad is still in the ICU. I need to stay with him—"
"The ICU has dedicated doctors and nurses. What are you going to do there, act as a ventilator?"
Adrian cut me off. No room for argument.
"Besides, the department's short-staffed. If you don't step in, who will?"
"Don't forget—you're just a paper-pusher now. Scheduling you at all is doing you a favor."
Lily peeked out from behind Adrian, giving me an innocent smile.
"Wendy, sorry to trouble you. Adrian said he's going to teach me so much tonight—it's really important."
"Oh, and that cake..."
She pointed at the chestnut cake on the table.
"Could you put it in the fridge for me? I'm worried it'll go bad."
Adrian wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder and walked out without a backward glance.