Healing His Shadows

-POV Elara The OR lights were blinding as hell, like they were trying to drill straight through my skull. I blinked hard a couple times before I could steady my hands over the open chest. The patient’s heart was doing this weird fluttery s**t, skipping beats like it was pissed off at the whole universe. Same as me, honestly. “Clamp,” I muttered. The nurse slapped the metal into my palm and my fingers closed around it too tight. That familiar ache crawled up my wrist right away. Twelve straight hours, three emergencies before this one—my back was screaming, my feet felt like concrete blocks, but I kept cutting, stitching, coaxing that stubborn heart back into rhythm. The sharp antiseptic smell hit me again, sticking in my nose the way it always did after a long shift. I breathed it in anyway. It was the only thing that still felt real tonight. “Pressure’s dropping,” the anesthesiologist called out. I didn’t answer, just worked faster. My mind was already half out the door, drifting back home to that stupid diamond ring sitting heavy on my finger. The one Glenn had slid on six months ago like it was supposed to fix everything. I glanced down at it now, watching it catch the OR lights and throw little sparks across the sterile drapes. It looked expensive. It felt like a f*****g chain. The heart monitor finally settled into a steady beep. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “We’re good,” I said, my voice flat. The team started closing up. I stepped back, peeled off my gloves, and tossed them in the bin. My shoulders dropped just a little, but the knot in my stomach stayed right where it was. I showered quick in the doctors’ lounge, the hot water pounding against my neck like it could actually wash the whole damn day away. Scrubs off, jeans and hoodie on. I didn’t bother with makeup—who the hell was I trying to impress at 11 p.m.? Not Glenn. Not anymore. The thought slipped in before I could stop it. I shook my head, grabbed my bag, and headed out. Rain was hammering down when I reached the parking lot. I jogged to my car with my hood up, keys already in hand. The drive home was quiet except for the wipers slapping back and forth. My phone buzzed once in the cup holder—Glenn, just a single red heart emoji. I stared at it a second too long, then tossed the phone back down. “Yeah, right,” I muttered under my breath. The Voss mansion looked the same as always—big, cold, all marble and money. Glenn’s black Mercedes was still in the driveway, engine warm. I killed the lights and sat there for a minute, fingers drumming the steering wheel. Something felt off tonight. Not the usual tired-off. Something sharper. I pushed the front door open and his cologne hit me first—that woodsy, expensive one I used to bury my face in after brutal shifts. Glenn was in the foyer, tie loose, sleeves rolled up, whiskey glass in one hand. He grinned when he saw me, that easy smile that used to flip my stomach every time. “Baby,” he said, setting the glass down. He crossed the floor in three steps and pulled me in. His arms wrapped around my waist, warm and familiar. I let myself lean into it for a second even though my brain was screaming to pull away. My hands rested on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under the shirt—steady, maybe too steady. “You saved another one tonight, huh?” he murmured against my hair. “My hero doctor.” I gave a tired laugh. “Just another Tuesday.” My thumb brushed the collar of his shirt and that’s when I felt it—something sticky, a faint smear right near the second button. Coral pink lipstick. Not mine. Mine was always the cheap nude from the drugstore. This was brighter, the kind that stained everything it touched. My thumb froze there. I didn’t yank my hand back, just traced the mark again, slow, like I was checking a wound I already knew was infected. I’d seen that exact shade in a photo on Glenn’s phone three weeks ago when he left it unlocked. Gloria. My best friend, the one who’d been through med school hell with me. The name sat in my throat like bile. Glenn noticed me go still. He tilted my chin up with two fingers, eyes searching mine. “Long day?” he asked, voice all soft and concerned. But there was that tiny flicker in his gaze—the one he got when he was hiding something. I swallowed hard. “Yeah. Really long.” I stepped back just half a step, enough space to breathe. The ring on my finger suddenly felt like it weighed ten pounds. I flexed my hand, trying to shake the feeling, but it wouldn’t go. He closed the gap again, thumb stroking the diamond like he was reminding me it was still there. “You’re home now. That’s all that matters.” His phone buzzed on the console table behind him. Once. Twice. He didn’t look. I did. The screen lit up long enough for me to catch the name: G. Gloria. My pulse lagged for a second, then slammed hard against my ribs. I forced a smile anyway, the same one I gave patients right before delivering bad news. “Glenn… tomorrow’s the family dinner, right?” His face lit up like nothing was wrong. “Hell yeah. Mom’s been planning it forever. She wants to show you off to everybody.” He pulled me close again, lips brushing my forehead. “Wear that red dress I like. You look unstoppable in it.” I let him hold me. My arms went around his neck out of pure habit. But inside my head it was pure chaos. Why the f**k does this suddenly feel so fake? My best friend and my fiancé—the two people I trusted most. I kept smiling, kept nodding, but my mind was already replaying every little thing from the last few months. The late nights he called “work.” The perfume on his jacket that wasn’t mine. The way he’d kiss me quick and then immediately check his phone. The times Gloria had been “too busy” to hang with just me lately. His phone buzzed again, louder. He still didn’t reach for it. Just kept smiling down at me like I was the only thing in his world. “Tomorrow we’ll go to the family dinner, honey.” The words were warm. Normal. But I felt the diamond digging into my skin like it was trying to remind me of something I didn’t want to hear. I smiled back, small and tired. “Sure. Red dress. Got it.” He stepped away to grab something from the kitchen. I pulled out my phone fast, thumbs flying before I could overthink it. Me: You’re my bestie, right? Sent. The rain kept hammering outside. Then my phone vibrated almost right away. Gloria’s reply. No words. Just a photo. Glenn. Naked in hotel sheets. That same easy smirk he’d just given me, hair messy, looking straight at the camera. My stomach dropped like a stone. Fingers tightened around the ring so hard it hurt. What the actual f**k. End of Chapter 1