Married by Mistake to Dr. Sullivan

Mia’s phone blared from across the office. “Wants a car， wants a house， wants commitment， wants emotional support too. What else does she want? The sun pulled down from the sky?” Morning handoff had not started yet. Since Ryan was the only other person in the residents’ office， Mia sat there with half a bagel in one hand and her phone in the other， watching short videos without a shred of guilt. The volume was turned all the way up. The door was wide open. Ava Wynn could hear the echo from the hallway. The moment the hem of her white coat swept past the door， Mia nearly jumped out of her chair. She slapped her phone face down on the desk. The bang was loud enough to wake the dead. Ava looked over. “Morning.” “Morning， Ava.” Mia clutched her chest and exhaled hard. “You scared me. I thought you were Dr. Grant.” Ava smiled and checked the time. “Relax. Chairman Whitaker is here. Dr. Grant just went to the dean’s office.” Mia’s eyes lit up. “Thank God!” She immediately did the math in her head. Even if Dr. Grant came back later， he probably would not make it in time to lecture them during morning handoff. Disaster avoided. Mia relaxed at once. She pushed off with her feet and rolled her chair backward， bumping into the back of Ava’s chair. “Ava， aren’t you going on setup dates lately? You need to see this. The dating market is a disaster.” She tapped the screen and replayed the video. The man in the video was ranting about a woman he had just met through a setup date. He was twenty-seven， worked some stable city government job， and clearly thought that made him a prize. When he talked about the woman， his voice was full of contempt. “Guys， I tested the dating market for you. Hard pass. Women these days are crazy. If they’re even a little pretty， they think they deserve everything. First meeting， and she already had the nerve to ask whether I had money saved for a down payment.” He clicked his tongue. “These women love shouting online about being independent. If they want equality so badly， why are they still expecting men to pay for the wedding， the ring， and the house?” The comment section was even worse. Men were agreeing with him as if he had exposed some grand truth. Apparently， a man with a government job was such a high-quality candidate that any woman asking for basic financial responsibility was being greedy. Mia watched until her blood pressure nearly exploded. “So now men want to pay nothing， flash a stable job， and trade that for a wife， a baby， and a free live-in nanny? Preferably one with long legs and a tiny waist?” She pointed at the screen. “Please. He passed an exam. He didn’t get chosen by NASA. Why is he acting like he came with a Nobel Prize?” Then she scoffed. “Does this man own a mirror? Or does even his mirror refuse to work overtime?” Ryan， the only man in the room， laughed. “Guys like that are usually either broke and bitter， or ugly and bitter.” That hit the target. Mia’s anger eased instantly. She rolled her chair over to Ryan and patted his shoulder like a proud teacher praising a student. “Not bad. Men with self-awareness are rare these days.” Then she nodded with full seriousness. “Exactly. Money is there to make up for lack of charm. If an unattractive man wants a beautiful woman， he needs to spend money. Same logic as me liking handsome men. I also have to spend money.” She turned around. “Ava， don’t you agree?” Ava had been in three surgeries last night. She was rubbing the back of her neck when she turned her head. Her face was pale from exhaustion， but somehow it only made her look cleaner and softer. No makeup， no effort， still delicate enough to make people stare. “What did you say?” Mia paused. Then she swallowed and shook her head. “Never mind. I forgot. Beautiful women don’t have these problems.” Ava looked at her and held back a smile. “Done watching videos? Then I have news for you too.” “What news?” The moment Mia smelled gossip， her eyes brightened. Ava opened the drawer beside her and pulled out the new monthly schedule. She handed it to Mia. “Congratulations， Dr. Quinn. You have eight night shifts this month.” “Eight?” Mia nearly stopped breathing. That number was lethal. She collapsed back into her chair with a miserable whine， as if all life had left her body. “Dr. Wynn， save me.” “I can’t.” Ava smiled faintly. Her eyes were clear， her expression calm， and somehow that made Mia even more upset. As fellow victims of medical training， Mia stared at Ava and clicked her tongue. “Unfair. This is so unfair.” Ava glanced at her. “What now?” “Dr. Lee from cardiac surgery became Chief Cardiology Fellow one month after you， right?” Chief Cardiology Fellow. The title sounded nice. In reality， it meant the hospital owned your life. Ava was on call constantly. She handled schedules， rounds， charts， consults， emergency cases， and every disaster that landed in the department after midnight. A day off was never guaranteed. At a place like Northbridge University Hospital， one of the top cardiac centers in the country， rest was not a right. It was a rumor. Ava did not understand where Mia was going with this， so she looked at her. Mia said dramatically， “Do you know what I saw yesterday? I passed Dr. Lee in the hallway， and his hairline looked like it had filed for resignation.” Then she pointed at Ava. “But you， my beautiful Ava， stay up all night and still look like a rose that refuses to die.” Ava laughed and tapped Mia lightly on the forehead. “Enough. If you have time to flatter me， you have time to review your charts. Don’t let Dr. Grant catch you unprepared again.” Dr. Grant’s temper was terrifying. Except for Ava， almost everyone in the department had been scolded by him until they cried at least once. Fear crawled up Mia’s spine. She let out a small sound， shrank her neck， and turned on her computer. While waiting for it to start， Mia suddenly remembered something. She rolled her chair back to Ava’s side. “Wait. Mr. Whitaker Sr. isn’t due for a checkup yet， is he?” “Not yet.” Ava shook her head and pushed a straw into her iced coffee. She had five procedures scheduled today. This might be the only peaceful thing she ate all day. “Chairman Whitaker is probably here for the foundation，” Ava said. The Whitakers were one of the most powerful families in Northbridge. A few years ago， Mr. Whitaker Sr. had suffered a sudden heart attack in the middle of the night. Dr. Grant had operated on him personally and saved his life. After Mr. Whitaker was discharged， his grandson， Julian Whitaker， began supporting the hospital’s charity programs. So Chairman Whitaker coming to meet the dean today was probably about the next round of funding. Mia clearly did not agree. She glanced at Ava and lowered her voice. “I think Julian Whitaker has another reason.” Ryan got up to throw away his trash. Now there were only two people left in the office. Mia no longer bothered whispering. She bumped Ava’s arm with hers. “Ava， what exactly do you think about Julian?” Ava did not answer. “And don’t tell me it’s just about the foundation.” Mia stared at her. “It’s just us here. Be honest. I don’t believe you can’t tell he likes you.” Then she leaned closer. “Do you think he heard you’ve been going on setup dates lately and got nervous? Maybe that’s why he came today.” Ava remained silent. Mia studied her face， then spoke more softly. “Ava， I’ve wanted to ask you this for a while. Julian has liked you for years. Why are you still meeting other men? I think he’s actually pretty good—” “Mia.” Ava interrupted her. “I was just about to tell you something.” Mia blinked. Ava looked at her calmly. “I’m married.” Mia froze. For several seconds， she could not make a sound. Then she finally found her voice. “...When did that happen?” “Yesterday.” Ava’s tone was steady， almost too steady. “Dr. Sullivan’s appearance and career both fit my standards， so we got married.” “Married? Dr. Sullivan?” Mia shot up from her chair. The reaction was so violent that her chair rolled backward. “Which Dr. Sullivan?” Ava did not understand why Mia looked so shocked. “The Dr. Sullivan your mom introduced to me.” Mia’s voice started shaking. “...The Dr. Sullivan my mom introduced? You married him?” Ava nodded. “Yes. What’s wrong?” What was wrong? Mia’s face went pale. “...But my mom told me this morning that Dr. Sullivan never went to meet you.” Ava stilled. Mia stared at her in horror. “Ava， did you marry the wrong man?”