Page 102 of Yours to Keep

She stayed silent, just letting me speak. “If my dad had had access to the kind of tech Sullivan’s pushing for, they might’ve caught his condition early. He might never have had his heart attack. My entire life would’ve been different, and I wouldn’t ever even have known what I was missing.”

Liana’s expression softened even further, but she still didn’t interrupt.

“I can’t pretend that doesn’t matter,” I said, my voice rough and thick. “It does. It matters a lot. The hospital does need to evolve. I get that. We can’t just keep doing things the way we always have. The equipment he brings to the table is incredible. What we could do with it…”

“But?” she prompted softly when I trailed off.

“But I can’t work here anymore. I can’t be part of it. I’m standing in the middle of something that’s tearing people apart. It’s tearing me apart.” I laughed bitterly. “I keep wishing there was a way to keep the people and bring in the tech. Like, there has to be some middle ground, but I don’t see it.”

Liana studied me carefully. “You might not have the full story anymore, Bree. Things have changed.”

I shook my head immediately. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It might.”

“No,” I said, a little more confidently than before. “I can’t stay here hoping things might get better while it hurts this much just walking through the front doors. I love him, Liana. I do. I just can’t be with him. I can’t condone what he does or how he thinks. So yeah. I love him, but he loves business more.”

Her lips pressed together like she wanted to argue, but she exhaled instead. “Okay. I hear you.”

“I just need someone to keep me strong long enough to do this,” I admitted. “Because if I think about it too much, I’m going to fold.”

“I’ve got you,” she said instantly. “You don’t have to do it alone.”

Relief loosened some of the tension thrumming in my chest. “Thank you.”

She stood and held out her hand. “Do you want me to walk you to HR?”

“Yeah,” I said, taking it as I stood. “I’d like that.”

We went back out into the hallway together. Liana stayed close, her presence steady as we moved through the hospital. She chatted lightly about nothing in particular, but about halfway down the corridor, she slowed slightly, pulling out her phone.

“Sorry,” she said casually, her thumbs moving quickly across the screen. “I need to answer this.”

“No problem.”

She slipped the phone back into her pocket almost immediately, flashing me an encouraging smile. “All set. Are you still okay?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“You’re stronger than you think,” she said quietly.

“I don’t feel strong.”

“You don’t have to feel it for it to be true.”

We reached the administrative wing sooner than I wanted to, the HR sign looming ahead like a final checkpoint I couldn’t turn back from. My grip tightened on the folder. “This is it.”

Liana squeezed my shoulder. “I’m right here.”

We took the last few steps together, stopping just outside the frosted glass door. My pulse roared in my ears, drowning out everything else. I drew a shaky breath and reached for the handle.

“Bree, wait!” The voice echoed down the hallway, urgent and breathless.

I froze, every muscle locking as I turned toward the sound. Sullivan was sprinting toward us, his hair disheveled and panic written across every strong line of his face. He slowed when he reached us, his chest heaving and the expression in those devastating blue eyes as raw as I’d ever seen it.

“Stop, Bree,” he said, or maybe pleaded was more accurate. “Don’t quit. Please just give me one minute to explain. Just one, Bree. Please?”

CHAPTER 38