Page 1 of Medical Malpractice

Prologue

GABRIELLA

Twenty-six years old…

I smoothed my hands down my tight black dress, ensuring that I looked immaculate.

It was the night I was going to admit my feelings to Leonardo.

I had built up my courage one brick at a time, and since we were coming to the end of our postgraduate Doctor of Medicine program, I knew I had to grab life by the metaphorical balls and jump.

It had been four years since the day I ran into the troublesome duo of Leonardo and Nico—best friends who were so starkly different, they regularly clashed in personality and nature.

However, they had always said that once they met me, they found their counterweight. That I was the one person who equalised their conflicting sides. And I was inclined to believe them.

Since our forced group assignment together, us three musketeers were inseparable. Leonardo was the serious one, always keeping us in line with his rigid stance and unwavering disposition. Nico was the fun-loving jokester who sometimes pushed his unpredictability a little too far. And me? I was the glue that meshed them together, my character a healthy mixture of both.

Due to our ingrained dynamic, I was hesitant to break that bond by admitting my love for Leonardo. And god, did I love him.

It was sudden and gradual at the same time. I didn’t even know I was falling until I had already hit rock bottom, my heart cracked open at the feet of my best friend.

I cultivated that treasure and kept it secret for over three years, hoping and wishing he felt the same. It could have been my imagination—or pure, blind hope—that I picked up on subtle signs and minute tells that made me think he was experiencing the same torture I was.

I couldn’t know for sure, but I owed it to myself to try.

However, there was one other emotion that always took root when I thought about him.

Guilt.

When I admit my feelings, how will that affect our relationships as a group? If Leo rejects me, will I lose Nico as a friend too? Am I being selfish, putting my own feelings above the two most important people in my life?

By going through with my plan, I was risking everything. That was why it had taken me so long to get to that moment.

Was my love for Leo worth the risk? Yes. He was worth it all.

The heavy bass from the house party vibrated through my frame, shocking me back to the present. It was late, partiers spread everywhere, and I had to squeeze through sweaty, gyrating bodies to reach the other side of the room.

My eyes roamed the crowd. Where are you?

A firm hand grasped my elbow, and a familiar voice tickled my ear. “Shit, Gabs, you look hot,” Nico said.

I turned and gave him a shy, self-conscious smile. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

He bent and gave me a peck on the cheek, the alcohol on his breath threatening to knock me over. “It’s the last party before we graduate. Of course it’s not too much. You’re beautiful.”

I didn’t usually put so much effort into my outfit, hair and makeup. Or anything to do with my appearance, really. I was lazy… Unlike the gorgeous Anna, who was currently hanging off Leo as if he were the only reason she remained upright. Her perfectly manicured hands roamed his chest, arms, shoulders—fucking all over.

Anna was in some of our classes and bragged regularly about how they were a “thing”. Leo always denied her self-made rumours to Nico and me, but I wasn’t sure if the rest of campus had received the memo.

They were in the kitchen, their backs to us, facing the opposite side.

Umph. The air whooshed out of my lungs as I watched her press onto her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, then she retreated down the corridor towards the bathroom.

“Gabs, you alright?”

“Huh?” I had completely zoned out and forgotten to guard my useless emotions against Nico, whose intoxicated eyes read me so well that there was no denying where my mind had been.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to hide anymore. I know,” he said, his stare severe and looking the most serious I’d ever seen him.