Essie walked quickly down the crowded corridor of the private Manhattan hospital. Her blue scrubs felt a size too big on her thin frame.
She had her stethoscope draped around her neck. A cheap beige band-aid was hastily slapped over the angry red burn on the back of her hand.
Essie reached the emergency department nursing station and swiped her badge. The machine let out a sharp beep.
She walked behind the counter and stood in front of her computer monitor. As soon as she logged in, she heard the hushed, excited whispers of her coworkers.
Maureen, another nurse, was excitedly tapping her phone screen. "Did you see the news? Dr. Adelle Watts is engaged!"
Essie's fingers froze over the keyboard. The letters on the patient chart blurred into a meaningless gray smear.
At that exact moment, the automatic glass doors of the ER slid open.
Adelle walked in. She wore a perfectly tailored white lab coat over a designer dress, her high heels clicking sharply against the linoleum. She looked like royalty holding court.
Adelle raised her left hand to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. The massive, flawless diamond on her ring finger caught the harsh fluorescent lights, throwing blinding sparks across the room.
The doctors and nurses immediately swarmed her, offering loud congratulations and showering her with compliments.
Essie was forced to stand up with the rest of them. She kept her head down, her fingers gripping the edge of a plastic clipboard so hard her knuckles turned white.
Adelle smiled and thanked everyone. Her smile was picture-perfect, without a single flaw.
Suddenly, the heavy, rhythmic sound of expensive leather shoes echoed from the far end of the hallway. The noisy nursing station instantly went dead silent.
Kieran walked into the ER. He was wearing a pitch-black bespoke suit. In his hand, he held a massive bouquet of incredibly expensive Ecuadorian white roses.
The nurses let out suppressed gasps, quickly parting to make a wide path for the billionaire.
Kieran's deep, predatory gaze bypassed everyone in the room. Like a heat-seeking missile, his eyes locked instantly onto Essie, who was hiding at the back of the crowd.
Essie felt his icy stare hit her. A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out across her spine.
Adelle's face lit up. She walked forward, naturally wrapping her arms around Kieran's neck, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Kieran didn't push her away, but his eyes never left Essie's pale face.
Essie's stomach violently churned. Acid rose in her throat. She bit down hard on her back teeth and forced herself to look away.
"I booked a table downstairs," Kieran said in a low voice to Adelle. "I came to take you to lunch."
Adelle playfully swatted his chest. She turned her head toward the nursing station and spotted Essie.
Still wearing her perfect smile, Adelle walked up to the counter. "Essie, could you hand me the physical file for the VIP patient in Room 3?"
Essie took a deep breath. She pulled the thick folder from the rack and stepped out from behind the counter.
She held the file out toward Adelle with both hands. Her fingers were trembling.
Kieran suddenly reached out his long arm. He snatched the file right before Adelle could touch it.
In the split second the file transferred hands, Kieran's rough thumb deliberately and forcefully scraped across the band-aid covering Essie's burn.
Essie gasped sharply in pain. She yanked her hand back. A clear fluid seeped out from under the bandage, where the blister had torn, sending a blinding sting up her arm.
A faint, cruel smirk touched the corner of Kieran's mouth. He handed the file to Adelle, wrapped his arm around his fiancée's waist, and turned away.
Essie stumbled backward into the nursing station. She hit the cold wall and slid down slightly, gasping for air as if she had just been pulled from underwater.
