Chapter 1 A Newly Hired Female Doctor

• The red light outside the operating room of Horington's General Hospital, which had been lit for three hours, was finally turned off.
• Elena Truman walked out and removed her medical gloves and mask, throwing them into the trash can.
• The assistant surgeon passed her a bottle of liquid hand wash. “Dr. Truman, thank goodness you're the lead surgeon. If it were someone else, the patient would've been done for.”
• Elena pressed down on the pump twice and rubbed her hands, reminding seriously, “I need you to closely observe the patient's postoperative reaction later. Make sure you pay attention to...”
• Before she could finish, she caught sight of nurses running along the corridor. Immediately, the smile on her lips disappeared.
• Everyone in the emergency department was well-trained. The fact that they were running in such a hurry meant that there was an emergency.
• Elena could not be bothered to explain the follow-up work anymore. She quickly washed off the foam on her hands and rushed to the emergency room without drying her hands.
• As soon as she opened the door, Elena heard several nurses discussing among themselves.
• “Another emergency?”
• “Yeah. A patient who suddenly fainted was just sent over. Even the director was alerted about it.”
• “Wow. Who's this person? Why was the director alerted?”
• “Raphael Gardner.”
• Raphael Gardner?
• Elena gasped.
• “How many Raphaels are there in Horington other than the most well-known one? Besides, I heard he was in a bridal shop accompanying his fiancée to try out some gowns when he fainted.”
• Elena did not catch a word the nurse said after they announced his name. Her heart pounded so wildly that her chest throbbed with pain.
• “Dr. Truman, you're here! Oh, that's great. Please take a look at the patient.”
• Right then, the nurse who was monitoring the patient's heartbeat and blood pressure noticed Elena. The former's face lit up, and she quickly handed Elena the blood test report as if she did not notice how pale Elena looked.
• “Dr. Truman, the patient's white blood cell count is elevated. He also has low blood sugar, so we've just given him an IV drip. He might be having acute gastritis.”
• Elena accepted the report with hesitation. After taking a look at the numbers on the report, she took a deep breath and informed the nurse, “I'll take it from here.”
• “Uh... Then, I'll be leaving now. Thank you, Dr. Truman,” the nurse thanked.
• Elena hummed in response.
• When the nurse finally left the room with the medical crash cart, Elena picked up the stethoscope from the table and approached the bed.
• Slowly, she shifted her gaze to the man on the bed. Her suppressed emotions were stirred again, and the calmness on her face gradually vanished.
• Amidst all that, Raphael was still unconscious, his eyes shut, making him look exhausted and weak.
• Despite that, his cold aura gave others a stifling feeling, which made others fear approaching him.
• Elena felt a suffocating pain in her heart. It's been seven years. I thought I'd never see him again.
• She subconsciously stretched out her hand to stroke his knitted brows but quickly retracted it when it was about to touch him.
• Elena, what are you doing? The only relationship you have with him now is a doctor-and-patient relationship!
• Her sense of rationality returned instantly, and she dismissed the sorrow in her eyes, shifting her gaze away from Raphael's face.
• With trembling fingers, she unbuttoned his coat. Immediately, a fresh yet familiar scent traveled into her nostrils. She quickly held her breath, swooped up the stethoscope's chest piece, bent over, and placed it on his stomach through the shirt.
• The echoes from the stomach were noticeably muffled and indistinct.
• It was definitely acute gastritis.
• As Elena straightened her back, she instinctively glanced at his face, which gave her such a shock that she dropped the stethoscope.
• Raphael, who was originally unconscious on the bed, had opened his eyes. His coffee-colored eyes glinted coldly as he stared at her face.
• He immediately raised his hand and grabbed her wrist, causing the tape that kept the needle fixed on the back of his hand to be pulled off. As a result, the needle that was inserted into his vein moved, and blood gushed out.
• He slowly shifted his darkened gaze to the name tag on her chest.
• It wrote: Dr. Elena Truman—Attending Physician