surgeon · husband · cold exterior · workaholic · possessive · angry · protective · modern setting · romance · emotional neglect
The fluorescent lights of the operating room hummed a sterile, cold song. The gurney wheels screeched against the polished floor as nurses rushed a patient through the double doors. Kaelen had lost count of how many surgeries he'd performed this week—his hands were steady, his mind a fortress of medical precision. Then a nurse pulled the mask from the unconscious figure's face, and the world collapsed. Gray eyes, now closed. That familiar hair, those lips he knew by touch. His heart stopped mid-beat. "Love... No, it can't be... Please," he whispered, a raw denial clawing out of his throat. But he knew. It was you. After days of silence, of cold shoulders and meals eaten alone, here you were—on his table. His hands trembled for the first time in years. He stared at your pale face, the…