The next morning brought more than a hangover.
It brought silence.
The kind that echoed even in a house so large, it swallowed echoes. Rose stepped out of her bedroom with her head pounding, her limbs heavy, and the distant memory of Dante's warmth but she was going crazy over it. The night had been raw. Reckless. Real. But she didn't have the luxury of dissecting it. Not today.
She took a deep breath, tied her hair into a messy bun, and pulled on a navy-blue sweater and jeans. No makeup. No armor. She didn't need it. What she needed now was truth—and a plan.
Her phone buzzed as she sipped coffee in the kitchen. A text from Lily.
"Where are you girl? I have important info for you."
"Home girl. Where else. Meet me at the café." She replied.
She grabbed her coat and keys and headed out.
The café was tucked into a quiet corner of downtown, far from the Salvadore estate's looming shadows. Lily sat in a booth at the back, laptop open, eyes sharp. As always, she looked like a storm bottled into a five-foot frame—messy curls, fierce eyeliner, and a heart that burned for justice.
Rose slid into the seat across from her.
"Girl talk."
Lily didn't waste time. She turned the laptop around.
The video file played with grainy resolution, but the audio was clear.
Dera's voice: "Yes Doctor. I'll do it. But you have to help me. I don't want to get blamed . Also keep your own end of the deal."
Rose stared at the screen, heart thudding. There was no evidence Tina was the one Dera was talking too. But it was a beginning point of evidence.
"How—?"
"Security cam from Tina's favorite café," Lily said." I knew she definitely met Dera put of the hospital. So I pulled some strings and checked out some cafes she often visited." Rose gripped the edge of the table. "This could really help me."
"It will."
They stared at each other for a moment. Then Rose smiled, a real one, for the first time in weeks.
"Thank you pookie you the best."
"Anytime girl I've been really busy and not checking up on you . This is the least I could do for not checking up on you dyring Bella's surgery." Lily replied.
That evening, they waited at Dera's apartment complex. Rose's arms were folded, Lily's foot tapping a silent rhythm against the concrete floor of the hallway.
When the door finally opened, Dera blinked at them. Her eyes narrowed. "Doc. What are you doing here?"
"Let's talk inside," Lily said calmly.
"Umm okay come in— what is it about , you had to come here."
"We have a video of you admitting on doing something wrong. We just don't have the complete video yet but you will testify." Rose said bluntly. "We can send it to the hospital board, to the ethics committee, to the local news. Or..."
Dera paled. "Or what?"
"Or you retract your statement. You say the truth. That Tina manipulated you. That you never received orders from me."
Dera looked between them, trembling slightly. "I'll lose everything. Tina has the power I don't . Plus there's no evidence she ordered me. I'll clearly take the fall ."
"So did I," Rose said coldly. "Now it's your turn to fix it."
Dera's lips parted, then closed. Finally, she spoke. "I can't do it Doc."
Then Rose used her intimidating tone to talk to Dera. She moved forward slowly. "Now listen to me, you know how influential my family is. I'll get suspended and easily get back on board. But you know if I'm able to prove I'm court with the little evidence I have , your license might be permanently banned. You don't want us going through all that trouble do you. And just so you know, Tina won't waste a second to throw you under the bus to survive."
Intimidated and scared, Dera replied. "Okay fine Doc. Please just promise you'll help me get a minimal punishment."
"I'll see what I can do."
Lily handed her a flash drive. "Upload this to the board and send a formal letter retracting your testimony. And if you even think about backpedaling—"
"I won't," Dera whispered.
Two days later, Rose was summoned back to the hospital.
It wasn't in a cold corridor this time. It was in the administrative boardroom, sunlight flooding through wide glass panels, every chair filled with stiff-backed professionals and senior physicians.
Her suspension was lifted.
Tina's Father was the CEO of the company which only led to her receiving little punishment. She was suspended for one month and asked to work for two months with no pay. Dera had a strike and when Rose intervened, she was given two weeks suspension since she had come clean and also acted under supervisions of her superior.
Rose stood silently as the chairperson apologized on behalf of the hospital. They offered her her old position back. They offered an official letter of apology.
She accepted with grace, head held high.
And when she walked back into her department, white coat buttoned, the staff erupted into quiet claps and a few whispered apologies.
Lily was waiting at her locker.
"Told you the truth would win."
Rose pulled her into a tight hug, tears prickling her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Anytime baby," Lily said.
Later that afternoon,
A gust of cool air swept into the room—and with it, a shadow from the past.
He stepped in slowly, scanning the pub, and then his gaze landed on her.
Time folded.
Smart.
The boy with the crooked smile. The debate team champion. The one who used to make her knees weak with one look.
He was older now. Sharper. Dressed in a tailored grey suit with a silver stethoscope peeking out from his coat pocket. His hair had that artful disarray that probably cost a fortune at some salon.
And he was walking straight toward her.
"Rose Salvadore," he said, smile blooming. "Well, I'll be damned. Still stealing all the oxygen in a room."
She blinked, caught between shock and breathless disbelief.
"Smart," she murmured. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Transferred," he said. "New hospital. New start. Apparently, we'll be colleagues. Again."
The music faded. The laughter in the background blurred.
All she could hear was the pounding of her heart.
Smar
t.
Here.
And suddenly, peace didn't feel so simple anymore.