Page 113 of The Love Operation

He turns and walks away.

And I just stand there, vibrating.

With rage. With longing. With grief.

I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to disappear.

Instead, I run to the OR.

Because it’s the only place where I still know what to do.

Chapter 28

No One Leaves It There

The second I step into the OR, the rest of the world cuts out. The chaos of my life has no home in this sterile domain. No more memories. No more what-ifs. Just light. Cold air. Focus. The hum of machines. The steady rhythm of monitors.

My vision narrows. My breath evens. My hands remember who I am.

I am calm. I am Cordelia Wren, MD. I am in charge.

In here, I do not fall apart. In here, I put things back together. The scalpel slaps against my palm, and I don’t think. I know.

But when I step out of the OR . . . It’s another story. I am a woman conflicted.

I’m in love with you, Cordelia Wren.

My mind wants to reject it outright. Because how can that be so? Instead of making me swoon, it simply makes me angry. Though it did cause some fluttering.

Then I think of Isaac’s tight jaw. I told him I’d come to his office between surgery and clinic, but I’d been caught off guard. And I can’t keep having personal conversations at work. Not when the stakes are this high.

Not when the thing getting crowded out is the one thing that can’t: chief.

I slip into my office, shut the door, and pull out my phone. This situation warrants a call.

He answers on the first ring.

“Isaac,” I say.

“Are you done with surgery?”

“Yes, but I think we deserve more than a rushed conversation between obligations. Will you come to my house tonight? I can make you dinner.”

“No,” he says, flat and final.

I swallow into the silence, but before I can formulate a response, he says, “But you can come to mine.”

I smile in spite of myself. His turf.

“Okay. I’ll text you when I’m done.”

If he says anything in response, I don’t hear it, so I add, “See you tonight.”

Barely above a whisper, he says, “Yeah.”

Then I head to do rounds so that after clinic, I can head straight to Isaac’s.

I save Wilton for last, mostly because I don’t want to run into Benedict. When I step into the room and find Wilton alone, I breathe a small sigh of relief.