The tenderness in his eyes didn’t match the steel in his tone. “You shouldn’t have to walk into that room alone.”
I swallowed hard. “I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good,” he said simply, pushing off the wall. “Then I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Robert exchanged another glance with Kevin, as if they’d just realized that the man I married was not the sort of person anyone argued with, before sliding his gaze back to mine. “Um...”
“What is it?”
His eyes flicked to my badge, and then quickly away like the sight burned. “I’m so sorry,” he said, “but I have to...take that. Hospital policy. Until all this is cleared.”
“Oh. Right.”
My fingers drifted to the lanyard, clumsy and numb. Six months ago, I sat in this very office and debated whether becoming a doctor to spite my mother made me a healer or a thief. Whether my white coat was a symbol of purpose or a disguise—a costume I’d slipped into before anyone could stop me. I used to joke that one day someone would realize I didn’tbelong here, that helping people had been nothing but a crime of opportunity.
I never actually thought that day would come.
As I unhooked the badge, something inside me recoiled. It felt like peeling off my own skin, like I was being stripped down to the parts of me that had always been called a mistake.
The plastic was warm with years of my sweat, my blood, my tears, my entire life and identity poured into that one stupid rectangle. I felt like a dirty criminal, like every insecurity she’d ever carved into my soul had finally crawled up my throat to gloat:See? I told you so.
Khalifa stepped closer, as if he could sense every jagged thought before it pierced too deeply. “Is that really necessary?”
Robert opened his mouth—probably to trip over some legal explanation—but I cut in before he could speak.
“Yes,” I said, pressing my pride, my work, my dignity into Robert’s open palm. I kept my chin up, eyes dry, spine straight—the holy trinity of surviving womanhood.
“I’ll keep it safe,” he promised.
I nodded, even though safety wasn’t the fear. Losing it was.
“And don’t worry,” Robert added, clearing his throat. “I already told the board that he attacked you and ripped your scarf off. That’ll—”
“Hewhat?” Khalifa’s voice sliced through the room.
I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth for half a heartbeat before meeting his stare. The realization unfurled—slow at first, then sharp, then devastatingly clear.
“Your neck,” he murmured. “That cut, those red marks—” He swung his attention to Robert, jaw ticking. “So you watched him put his hands on her and did nothing?”
Robert stiffened. “Dr. Nasser—”
“That’s assault,” Khalifa snapped. “Why wasn’t he arrested?”
“Well—”
“Well,nothing,” he bit out. “What kind of hospital just lets some racistboywalk away after violating one of their finest doctors?”
“Enough,” I said firmly.
Both men froze.
I looked at Khalifa first. “Settle down.” Then I turned to Robert and Kevin. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. You can leave.”
Once the door clicked shut, Khalifa’s gaze lingered on me. “Are you okay?”
“I just got sued for trying to save someone’s life. So no, not particularly.” I gave a torrid laugh. “Her husband hated me the moment he saw me. He questioned every single decision I made, every call, every test, every dose. You could see it on his face, theshockwhen he walked into my office for the first time in eight months and saw me wearing a hijab. He couldn’t reconcile the two—his wife’s doctor and his idea of what a Muslim woman should be.”
His eyes hardened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
