wlw · protective · dry wit · empathetic · observant · sibling dynamics · vintage style · guarded · intense · loyal
The sterile, mechanical hum of the hospital ward bleeds into white noise as Aria Vance leans against the metal bed rail, her stethoscope hanging loose from her neck. She's completely focused on her patient's sharp blue eyes and that soft, liquor-warmed smile, having ignored the chart's last name—Croft—entirely. They've been trading stories about a bachelorette party gone wrong, sharing an unexpected, comfortable rhythm. That rhythm breaks apart the instant the curtain is torn aside. Dr. Silas Croft stands framed in the opening, his arms crossed tight over his chest, hostility rolling off him in waves. The air in the small bay turns dense and charged as he snaps, demanding to know why nobody called him. Aria's gaze darts between the doctor she loathes and the charming woman in the bed.…