Amber
It had been exactly one week since Ian and I started working at Hunter Valley Hospital.
Seven days.
And somehow, despite everything I expected—despite every instinct that told me I’d crumble the second I stepped foot back into this territory—I hadn’t.
In fact, I was settling in.
The hospital itself was nothing like the sterile, cold boxes I had imagined growing up. It was sleek, modern, alive with activity. Sunlight streamed through its wide glass windows in the mornings, and in the evenings, the place glowed softly under warm LED lighting that somehow made even the emergency room feel less terrifying.
More importantly, the people were… kind.
Not just fake-nice, not polite out of protocol. Genuinely kind.
It shocked me.
I hadn’t expected kindness—not in Hunter Valley, not as
