The Weight of His Regret

When her father is doubled over with chest pain, a daughter waits three hours in the emergency department for his ECG results, only to be told to keep waiting for a bed. Desperate, she calls her boyfriend, Lucian Vance, the hospital's deputy chief of cardiothoracic surgery, and asks him to glance at the results. He refuses, accusing her of pulling strings, and hangs up.

Then she sees a post from Chloe Brooks: Lucian standing outside a private VIP suite, where Chloe's mother rests with a bouquet of white roses. The post is ten minutes old — posted exactly when Lucian said he was too busy following protocol. Her father spends the night on a metal chair in the hallway, apologising for the trouble, while Lucian walks the wards beside Chloe.

When Lucian later messages to ask for a light dinner because his ulcer is acting up, she tells him to see a gastroenterologist. She arranges her father's transfer to another hospital — and finally stops defending the man who never defended them.