A little farther away were photos. Small, minimalist frames. Jasper at medical conferences, with colleagues, with influential people.
She didn’t know who he’d been twenty-two years ago, but now—Jasper Garth, the perfect surgeon, the pride of the country.
Who would believe that this man was her personal nightmare?
That the hands saving lives today had once been the instruments of her pain?
Nina lowered herself into his chair. It smelled like him. She had no right to sit there, no right to be in his space at all—yet she stayed. She intruded into his world.
The feeling was strange. As if she’d stepped into a private corner of his life—one he’d never reveal willingly. But for some reason she remained. Studying. Absorbing. Trying to understand what drove the man who had once been her executioner.
Her fingers rested on the edge of the desk, sliding across it as if searching for something wrong. A crack. A flaw in this perfectly constructed life.
But when she looked up again—at the awards, the photos, the orderly rows of his world—she realized there were no cracks. He’d built a flawless life.
And she…?
The thought hit her with a sharp, aching twist inside her chest.
Time crawled. She leaned back in the chair and pulled out her phone. Scrolled through her feed until boredom settled like sand. She opened a book instead—a romance novel she’d downloaded months ago and never started.
She had always loved stories like that. Simple. Genuine. Painless. Where love was perfect, men were strong and devoted, and women were cherished and wanted. She used to disappear into those fictional worlds for days, hiding from reality. Sometimes those books felt like her only chance to remember what happiness might feel like.
Now they were just a way to kill time.
She drifted into the pages, losing track of everything else. The battery drained slowly; a warning blinked on the screen.
Damn. Almost dead.
She lowered the phone and glanced at the closed door. Jasper still hadn’t returned. Two hours had passed. Her gaze swept across the office. Maybe he kept a charger somewhere?
She carefully opened the top drawer of his desk. Papers, office supplies, a few notepads. And there was a charger. Relief washed through her.
She was just reaching for it when the door burst open.
Nina flinched, her hand frozen midair. A young woman rushed in—wearing the clinic uniform, holding a takeout bag from a restaurant. She stopped short when she saw Nina.
It was Lynn. Nina recognized her instantly.
CHAPTER 30
Time seemed to stop.
They stared at each other like two strangers who were never meant to meet.
A cold wave ran through Nina. She pushed the drawer shut with a useless motion; it clicked softly. Then she met Lynn’s eyes.
What was she supposed to say?
What could she possibly do?
Lynn stood frozen. Her gaze was frightened, guarded—like she’d caught Nina doing something… questionable. First came surprise, then confusion. And suddenly… recognition.
“Oh my God,” she breathed, her voice trembling.“You’re… the woman who saved me!”
Nina went rigid. Her mind refused to process the words. Lynn shut the door behind her and stepped closer, slowly.
Nina was still sitting in Jasper’s chair, unable to form a single sentence.
