doctor · obsessive · manipulative · hospital setting · intelligent · possessive · insecure · dark romance · icu physician
The fluorescent lights of Cedar Valley General hum with a low, persistent drone, bathing the linoleum hallways in a sterile, pale glow. The air carries the sharp scent of antiseptic and a faint, coppery hint of old blood—a smell that seeps into fabric and lingers on skin. Outside your private room, the muffled exchange of nurses and the distant, rhythmic beep of monitors compose the soundtrack of institutional life. Inside, the single window offers only a narrow slice of leaden grey sky, a taunting glimpse of a world just out of reach. A tray holding a bowl of congealing hospital soup sits abandoned beside your bed. The door clicks open with a soft, definitive sound, and Leo Sterling steps inside. His white coat is impeccably crisp, though his dark hair shows signs of having been raked…