Second Chance With Dr. Dreamy

Nina's pov “Sign it, Daniel! It’s a divorce paper, and you’re out!” Selene's voice cut through the antiseptic drone of Lenox Hill Hospital hallway, her voice twice as cruel. Her bleached hair glittered in the harsh, fluorescent lighting as she held a bunch of papers out towards Dr. Daniel. Her eyes flashed not just with lust, but with a cold, calculated fury I’d seen far too often. The restraining order that she clutched hung in her other hand and waved like a flag of victory under his nose. “You’ll never see Maxine or Alex again. I’ve made sure of that!” I froze standing behind the nurses’ station, gripping a patient chart so hard the corners crinkled. My heart was pounding, every thud a painful reflection of how badly I wanted to intervene, to protect Daniel from Selene’s poison. His broad shoulders drooped, his piercing blue eyes — so steady, until now — hazed over with shame as the nurses and workers tried not to gawk. The hospital was alive with whispers. They all knew Selene Blake, the influencer whose meltdowns were as public as her curated i********: feed. And now she was shredding Daniel in front of all of us. I wanted to cover the ten feet that separated us, tell her to stop, knock that smug look from her face. But I couldn’t. Not after what happened three weeks ago. The recollection seared. Selene had burst into the hospital back then accusing me of stealing medical supplies and — worse — making her children sick. Maxine and Alex, those sweet kids with their big, trusting eyes, stuck in their mother’s chaos. It was a lie, of course. I’d heard her assistant, a White boy named Mike, muttering about how she was “pretending to be sick for a chronic illness post” to up her online clout. To millions, she had played the victim card, and I was simply some collateral damage. The hospital board had investigated me for days, and my reputation was hanging by a thread, but they found no evidence. But the harm was already done — whispers haunted me, and Selene’s guilt ridden accusations stuck with me like a diagnosis. I bit my lip, inching back as much as I could. Daniel didn’t need to get into anymore trouble on my account. Every single person at Lenox Hill knew I was in love with him. It wasn’t something they were supposed to know, but that sly best friend of mine, Aria had blabbed it to another nurse on a late shift. “Nina’s obsessed with Dr. Handsome” she’d told me, laughing, she thought it was funny. It was less than a day before the gossip, spreading had reached Daniel. For weeks, I’d felt a burning in my cheeks, especially when his eyes caught mine in the break room. I could not stand the idea of Selene using my own emotions as yet another tool against him. She’d already wreaked enough havoc, parading her lies and her restraining order as if they were trophies. It was Daniel’s low rough voice that brought me back from my reverie. “Selene, please. Let’s discuss this privately.” His dark hair, that was turning gray at the temples, was tousled. He had already looked older than his thirty-five years that was the price of her never ending drama. The papers were strewn on the ground, where she had thrown them, and he bent to pick them up, slowly, in defeated motion. “Privately? I wouldn’t do that either,” Selene said. “You’re no longer allowed to hide from this, Daniel. You are a terrible father, a terrible husband. I’ve got proof!” She waved the restraining order, her voice growing louder so that every nurse, doctor and patient within earshot could hear her. “You assume you can talk your way out of this? Sign the papers, or I’ll see to it everyone finds out what you really are.” My stomach twisted. She was lying again — Daniel was not a saint, but he loved Maxine and Alex. I had seen him with them, his face softening as he read them stories in the hospital lounge when Selene dumped them here to “work.” Those children confided in me, too, about their mother’s wild swings, hiding when she shouted at her assistant or knocked back one more drink. I wanted to scream at Selene, to scream at her to leave him alone, but my feet were glued to the spot. If I got involved, I’d only be feeding into her version of the story that I was a home wrecker on the prowl to take her husband from her. The thought hurt my chest, and not just for me, but for Daniel, still standing there and letting her hit him like a man who’d forgotten how to fight for himself. I looked down at my chart — Mrs. Tanner, Room 154, necessary vitals — but I couldn’t concentrate. I thought back to the first time I saw him, two years ago, walking into Lenox Hill with that air of authority, his white coat so clean, his smile so warm, though fatigued. I’d been a nurse here for a year at the time, still finding my feet, and his kindness — checking in on patients after hours, thanking me for staying late past my shift — lured me close. My crush had grown silently, on stolen glimpses and small moments, such as when he brought me coffee on a double shift, our fingers grazing. Now, as I watched Selene humiliate him, I could feel that crush turn into something bigger, more desperate. I wanted to shield him, but I couldn’t. Selene ranted on. “You’re nothing without my family’s money!” Two diamond rings on her finger glinted as she jabbed it at him. “Sign this, or I’ll tie you up in court until you’re crying.” Daniel clenched his jaw, but said nothing, just stared down at the papers on the floor as if his entire future were written there. I edged away from the nurses’ station, hazel eyes flitting to Aria, who was standing near me with her red curls bouncing as she faked filing. She looked over at me and mouthed, “She’s nuts.” I nodded, but my throat was choking up. If Selene knew my treacherous feelings and thoughts, she’d fashion it into another sordid headline, a new way to break Daniel’s heart. I couldn’t let that happen. He was falling to pieces already, his hands shaking as he shuffled the divorce papers together. Then Selene whirled on her heel, designer coat swishing angrily as she walked toward the exit, her assistant Mike at her heels like a shadow. “You’ll regret this, Daniel!” her voice echoed down the hall as she called over her shoulder. Daniel stood with the papers against his chest, his face a study in agony. I wanted to approach him, to speak but the weight of the whispers, the memory of Aria’s betrayal, and Selene’s warnings all weighed me down. Returning to my work, I picked up Mrs. Tanner’s chart and walked to Room 154. My hands went through the motions — taking vitals, tweaking the IVs — but my mind was far away. Selene’s voice echoed in my mind. What did he think right now? Blaming himself, as he always did when Selene struck out? Did he have any idea how much I cared, how I wished to purge his life of her poison? I couldn’t get the broken image of him, his defeated stance. I put my pen to the chart and in that moment, all I could think about was the impossible desire to see what Daniel was thinking. -- My evening shift was over, the drama of Selene’s earlier outburst already fading into a bad dream. With a pile of patient files whose corners were worn from my anxious grip in my arms, I made my way to Dr. Daniel office. I said to myself I was just dropping off paperwork, but inside I was making sure he was okay. I was almost at his office when a muffled noise stopped me up short — muffled sobs, feral and ragged, escaping the closed door. My heart twisted. And I should have turned back, left the files open but my feet wouldn’t carry me away. Daniel was crying, and I was drawn forward by the idea of him alone in that suffering. I tapped lightly, then pushed the door open before I could talk myself out of it. Daniel sat at his desk, hanging, his shoulders square shaking. He started, looking up, his bright blue eyes glistening. “Nina?” He wiped tears off his face with a swipe of his hand but couldn’t stop them from coming out. He looked so forlorn that my chest hurt. “I… I have these files,” I stammered, holding them up before me. But there he was, I couldn’t help myself. “Daniel, what’s it going to be?” Accidentally, the question escaped out of my mouth big and unfiltered, even catching myself off guard. He blinked, astonished, and then gave a sad chuckle that pierced my heart. “Be?” he repeated, speaking with a heavy defeated tone. “I can’t even begin, Nina.” I didn’t think. I just moved. Before I realized what I was doing, I was across the room, throwing my arms around him. I embraced him, clutching him so tight I could feel the heat from his white coated body. We both froze for a moment, the air heavy with shock. It was like I felt half like breaking it, that he would recoil and throw hospital gossip or Selene’s threats at me but he didn’t. Instead he pulled me into his arms, hesitantly at first, then fiercely, as if I were the only life raft around. Daniel’s face was pressed into the hollow of my neck, his breath hot against my skin. His sobs were sharper now, raw and uncut, shaking us both with each. I held him, my hands stroking his back, my tears of my own stung. After what seemed like forever, his sobs softened, and I drew back just slightly to talk. “Are you okay now?” I whispered, my voice shaking. He raised his head and his blue eyes met mine, still glistening with tears but softer now, fragile. I don’t know what happened to me — whether it was the look of pain in his eyes, or the years of hidden longing suddenly surfacing — but before I knew it, I’d tipped forward and kissed him.