Page 104 of Doctor’s Forbidden Match

My stomach drops. “How does he even have that?”

“I don’t know. Someone took it and got it to him. Could be a paparazzi who’s been camped near your place, could be anyone.” His voice drops. “Doesn’t really matter who took it. What matters is Peltz wanted it. He’s been looking for a reason since the day he assigned me to you.”

“This is insane. You were doing your job. You were helping me.”

“I know. He knows too, but he doesn’t care. He told me my father always said I was too arrogant for my own good. That he’d clear the review, but it would cost me the Senior Surgeon title and would mean I have to start over.”

Anger bubbles within me for him. “That’s not justice, that’s leverage. He’s punishing you for something that isn’t a real violation, just so he can control you.”

“Pretty much,” he sighs. “And the worst part is, some of it’s working. I keep hearing my father’s voice every time Peltz says it. Like I’ve spent my whole life trying to prove I’m not just Dwight Sterling’s son, and one photograph hands him the exact ammunition to put me back in that box.”

“You’re not in that box,” I say firmly. “You’re the person who noticed I was in pain before I said a word about it. Who pulled down my laundry detergent from the high shelf without being asked and made me tea the exact way I like it without me having to tell you twice. You sat with me through the worst days on set and never once made me feel like a liability.” My voice catches slightly. “You handled Yolanda with more composure than most people could manage seeing an ex on the street, without warning, in front of someone you were trying to protect. And you’ve spent this entire assignment putting my recovery and my career ahead of what it’s cost you.” I take a breath. “That’s not Peltz’s version of you, nor your father’s. That’s just who you are.”

He goes quiet on the other end. “Thank you for saying that.”

“I mean it. And I want to actually help. If you need a statement, if going public about how this assignment actually went would help your case, I’ll do it.” I don’t give him a chance to talk me out of it. “I don’t care what it does to my own press for a few days. You’ve shown up for me every single day. Let me show up for you now.”

“Hannah—”

“I’m already doing it,” I say. “I’ll talk to my manager tomorrow. You just focus on clearing your name.”

“Okay. Thank you. You’re nothing like that article says either. Not demanding, not difficult. You’re the kind of person who makes everyone around them feel like they matter. The crew, the couples on set, Genevieve, Channing. Me.” His voice drops lower. “Especially me. Don’t let any of it make you doubt that.”

My eyes flutter closed, a knot loosening in my heart. I needed to hear that more than I realize.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “That means more than you know.”

“I should probably go eat something.”

“Same. Though I’m mostly going to demolish the rest of those cookies.” I smile even though he can’t see. “I’m going to attempt baking them myself. So next time I see you, you can taste mine and tell me exactly how badly I failed.”

“You want me to critique your baking?” There’s a hint of amusement and lightness in his voice that makes my heart squeeze. “I can absolutely do that. I’ll be brutally honest.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” There’s a long pause before I ask one thing I’ve been dying to know but too scared to ask before now. “When do you think this will actually be resolved?”

I hold my breath because the answer matters more than I want to admit. If it drags on, if he stays suspended, stuck waiting, I have no idea what that does to him long term. If it resolves fast, that’s good for him, but it also means there’s no more reason for him to be tangled up in my recovery. No more excuses to talk every day. No more reason for any of this to continue once filming wraps.

“I don’t know yet. Depends on whether I fight it or take the deal he’s offering.”

My heart sinks. Either way, there’s a version of this where it resolves right around the same time filming wraps. Which means we won’t have a reason to see each other anymore.

The thought has panic tightening my chest.

“How are you managing on set without me?”

I want to say I’m not, and I can’t stop thinking about you, but I don’t think that’ll help either of us.

“I’ve got the girls and Channing helping. It’s only for a couple more weeks anyway.”

“Right,” he says quietly. “Then you’re finished.”

The unspoken words hang heavy between us.

“I should let you go.” Even if it’s the last thing I want. “Eat something. Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” he says. “And thank you. For calling and… for all of it.”

“Always.”