CHAPTER FIVE:THE HEARING
796 Words
Ethan’s POV
The silence in my apartment has teeth. It chews at me with every passing hour.
Three days since the video went viral. Three days since I’ve stepped foot inside the hospital.
And still, my phone won’t stop buzzing. Colleagues I barely know are sending clipped
messages: “Hang in there.
” “Praying for you.
” “Sorry, man.
”
The world outside has already tried and convicted me. Headlines scream Doctor Crosses Line
With Patient’s Girlfriend. My name trends like a disease. Memes, hashtags, judgments that I
probably deserve. Everyone has an opinion, and none of them are kind.Amidst the whole chaos, all I can think of is how Maya is coping.
I managed to find her social handles, but I knew that the last thing she’d want is me texting her
and making her life much more complicated than it already is.
It took me quite an effort not to send a text, but I knew it was the wise decision to make.
And through it all, the board summons me. A hearing. My fate, boiled down to a meeting room
and a panel of stone-faced professionals deciding whether I ever wear a white coat again.
⸻
The hospital boardroom feels like a courtroom. A long mahogany table. Seven chairs filled with
people who used to be my colleagues, now my judges. Dr. Hollingsworth sits at the head,
expression unreadable.
“Dr. Ethan Cole,
” she begins, tone sharp as a scalpel.
“You understand why you’re here.
”
“Yes,
” I manage, my throat dry.
“You’ve been accused of gross misconduct—engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a
patient’s partner. How do you plead to this?”
“I—there was no relationship. No s****l involvement.
”
“Yet there is a video,
” one of the board members cuts in.
“A video that clearly shows you kissing
Ms. Maya Grant while her partner lay comatose in the same room.
”
My chest caves. The air feels thin.
“It was a mistake. A lapse in judgment. Nothing more.
”
Another member clears his throat.
“For the record, the Blake family has informed us they are not
pressing charges. They wish to avoid further scandal and have asked that the matter be
handled internally.
”
Relief flickers in me—brief and fragile—but Hollingsworth’s stare douses it instantly.
“Even so,
” she says,
been compromised.
”
“the evidence remains. The video exists. The hospital’s reputation has
Her words slice through me.
She exhales slowly, then delivers the verdict: “Effective immediately, Dr. Ethan Cole, you are
suspended. Pending further review.
”
The words hit like a gavel. Final and crushing.
Suspended. Not fired, at least not yet. But close enough to taste ruin.“Gather your belongings,
” Hollingsworth adds.
board reaches a final decision.
”
Just like that, it’s over.
“Leave the premises. We’ll contact you when the
⸻
Walking through the hospital corridors feels different now. Every glance, every whisper feels
sharper, heavier. Some look away quickly. Others don’t bother hiding their judgment.
My stethoscope feels like a dead weight in my pocket. I wonder if I’ll ever wear it again.
At the elevator, a nurse carrying a bouquet nearly bumps into me. The roses spill red and white
between her arms, vibrant and alive in a place that smells of disinfectant and frail hope.
“Who are those for?” I ask, voice hoarse.
She smiles softly.
“A patient asked for them. He’s planning to propose to his girlfriend today.
”
Something twists in my gut.
“Propose? Which patient?”
“Oh—you probably know him. Adrian Blake. He woke up yesterday. Fully conscious.
” She
adjusts the bouquet, oblivious to the way my entire world tilts.
“He said he’s grateful to be alive,
and ready to make things official. Wants to surprise her.
”
My pulse stutters. Adrian. Awake. Proposing.
I nod mutely, forcing myself to step aside as the nurse walks past. The elevator doors slide
open, but I can’t move.
The image slices through me: Adrian on one knee, slipping a ring onto Maya’s finger, the whole
room clapping, the family cheering. Maya smiling through her exhaustion, saying yes.
And me—on the outside. A suspended doctor. A mistake she can’t afford to remember. Makes
sense why she never made an effort to reach out to me since the scandal. I was just a
distraction from her reality, and my use is no longer needed.
The elevator closes without me. My chest tightens until it hurts.
For the first time since this began, I feel the truth settle like lead in my bones.
Maya was never mine to want.
- Writer
