Chapter 7
513words
Vivian Woods.
Her hair wild, eyes feral, a kitchen knife clutched in her white-knuckled grip.
She'd followed him here, tracking his desperate search for me, her resentment festering with every mile.
"You murderous bitch!" she shrieked. "You killed my baby and now you're stealing Ethan! I'll kill you!" She lunged, blade flashing in the sunlight.
Time slowed. I stood frozen, watching death arc toward me.
"Sophia!"
A body slammed into mine, arms wrapping around me protectively.
*Thunk.*
The sickening sound of steel meeting flesh.
Warmth spattered across my face.
Ethan's body jerked against mine. A groan escaped his lips, but his arms never loosened their shield.
Vivian stared at the bloodied knife in her hand, then at Ethan crumpling to the ground. Her scream pierced the air like a siren.
Chaos erupted—shouts, screams, running footsteps, someone calling for an ambulance.
I caught Ethan as he collapsed, my hands trembling. His face drained of color as blood poured from the wound in his side.
His right hand—those famous "miracle hands" that had saved countless hearts—lay mangled at the wrist, tendons severed, bone gleaming through torn flesh.
He looked up at me, his eyes clearer than I'd ever seen them—filled with guilt, regret, and something like peace.
"Sophia..." he whispered, blood bubbling at his lips. "I'm...sorry..." Then his eyes rolled back.
I watched the paramedics take him away, rooted to the spot, my emotions too tangled to name.
The knife missed his heart by inches but destroyed his surgical hand. He would never hold a scalpel again.
Vivian was arrested on the spot. Despite her lawyer's insanity plea, she was found competent enough to stand trial and sentenced to prison.
Ethan survived his injuries but emerged with a permanently damaged hand. His surgical career was over.
But the court of public opinion had only begun its verdict.
Someone leaked the story to the press—how the hospital had desperately tried to reach him while his pregnant wife lay dying, how he'd ignored calls to comfort his mistress.
"STAR SURGEON IGNORES DYING WIFE FOR MISTRESS"
"DOCTOR'S OATH BETRAYED: KOSTERS UNFIT FOR MEDICINE"
Overnight, he became a pariah. The hospital, bowing to pressure, terminated his contract.
Ethan lost everything—his career, his reputation, and the woman he'd realized too late was the love of his life.
Karma had collected its debt in full.
None of it concerned me anymore. I left that coastal town for somewhere much farther away.
My body scarred, but my heart finally at peace.
Sometimes I hear snippets about him from old colleagues.
He's struggling—living alone off his savings, his hands useless, his medical career dust. All his former glory vanished like morning mist.
I listen, and feel nothing.
He belongs to another lifetime.
In my new hospital, in my new city, I continue bringing babies into the world, one miracle at a time.
Life kissed me with pain, but I answer with song.
Outside my window, sunlight dances on new leaves.
My future stretches before me, infinite with possibility.
