The cafeteria at Sterling Medical was bustling. Dr. Kaius Reed sat opposite Maya, sharing a sandwich and a story about a surgery he performed in a blackout in Sudan.
Maya laughed, the sound genuine and light. “You really used a flashlight?”
“A headlamp, actually,” Kaius grinned, his blue eyes warm. “But it adds to the drama. You should have seen the nurse’s face.”
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “You look happy today, Maya. It suits you.”
“I feel… lighter,” Maya admitted. And she did. Kaius was uncomplicated. He was safe.
Down the hallway, leaning against a vending machine, Dr. Julian Sterling watched them. He saw the way Kaius touched her hand. He saw Maya didn’t pull away.
His chest ached with a hollow, crushing grief. He wanted to walk over there. He wanted to tell her that Kaius didn’t know how she took her coffee, or that she hummed when she was reviewing charts.
But he stayed put. He remembered Dominic’s threats. He remembered the look of horror on Maya’s face when he confessed his identity.
*I am poison,* Julian thought bitterly, pushing off the wall. *She deserves the light.*
He turned and walked toward the elevator, leaving the woman he loved in the safety of a man who wasn’t at war with the world.