Chapter 4

Chloe's POV

Over the next few days, the three of us fell into a silent routine.

As long as the surgery wasn't overly complex, Maya took the role of First Assistant.

I stepped back to Second Assistant.

Nobody found this weird, even though Julian still had no idea I was resigning.

This afternoon, right after I finished my rounds, I heard a loud commotion coming from around the corner.

Dr. Sarah Miller, my closest colleague, was being cornered and screamed at by a heavily built male relative of a patient.

"My mom has been in this hospital for a week, and she's only getting worse! You guys are just trying to scam us! You useless hacks!"

Beside him, a woman with curly hair screamed hysterically, "Exactly! She was fine before, just some chest tightness! You guys intubated her and hooked her up to machines, and now she's dying! You did this on purpose!"

Sarah's eyes were bloodshot, and she tried desperately to explain. "The patient has severe aortic stenosis. When she was admitted..."

"I don't care about your excuses!"

The man refused to listen. He grabbed Sarah by her collar and raised a fist to punch her.

I rushed forward and stepped right between them.

"Sir, please calm down. We can sit down and discuss this. Violence won't solve anything. We can call the attending physician to explain the situation to you. If you continue to disrupt the hospital, we will call security and the police immediately."

"Who the hell do you think you are, lecturing me?!"

The man redirected all his fury toward me.

He grabbed a heavy metal IV pole nearby and swung it violently at my head.

Sarah screamed, and the surrounding crowd gasped and scattered.

There was no time to dodge. I could only grit my teeth and close my eyes, bracing for the impact.

But the expected pain never came.

A body shielded me, locking me into a tight, solid embrace.

It was Julian.

The heavy metal pole slammed hard against his back with a sickening thud.

I stared in shock as cold sweat broke out on Julian's forehead.

He gasped in pain, but his arms remained locked around me, protecting me completely.

Security rushed in and tackled the man to the ground.

The hallway was a chaotic mess, with people running everywhere.

Julian finally let me go. His expression had already returned to his usual cold mask, showing no signs of pain.

I stood frozen, my heart hammering against my ribs.

In my eyes, the way Julian looked right now, silhouetted against the hallway lights, overlapped with a memory from fifteen years ago.

Back then, my family had just moved next door to Julian's.

As a new transfer student, I didn't have any friends, and I always walked home alone.

One day, at the corner of an alley, a group of older students blocked my path and demanded money.

I was terrified. I couldn't even speak; I just stood there sobbing.

One of the bullies sneered, "Is this girl mute? Maybe a few punches will make her talk."

I closed my eyes, waiting for the blows, but a thin, teenage boy stepped in front of me.

The bullies' fists and kicks rained down.

But that boy held me tightly in his arms, never letting go for a second.

When they finally got tired and left, cursing, the boy slowly released me.

I burst into loud tears.

The boy, sweat dripping down his cold, handsome face, just muttered, "So annoying," and walked away.

I followed him blankly, only to realize we lived next door to each other.