Ring On My Finger, Crown On My Head

The evening shift at Meridian Hospital was winding down when Khloe Todd walked back into her office, fresh out of surgery.

She'd barely set down her chart when her phone buzzed-a text from Vernon Harrison.

"Swamped tonight-can't make dinner. Don't wait up; get some rest."

That day marked the third anniversary of their relationship.

She'd planned to go home, cook dinner, and wait for him so the two of them could celebrate their anniversary together.

She'd also prepared a surprise: a project he'd chased for six months with no luck-and she'd just secured it for him.

Still, he was occupied.

For three years, running the Harrison Group had kept him perpetually busy. She was used to his frequent absence by now.

Because of that, she hadn't even told him that she had been temporarily assigned to Meridian Hospital.

Just as Khloe was about to clock out, an emergency room nurse hurried into her office.

"Dr. Todd! We just got an emergency-ruptured corpus luteum with internal bleeding. She's deteriorating fast!" the nurse said breathlessly.

Khloe's face immediately grew solemn as she instinctively got to her feet.

Walking briskly beside the nurse, she asked, "Any idea what caused it? Trauma or spontaneous?"

The nurse hesitated, clearly awkward. "Uh... apparently from... really rough sex."

Khloe didn't ask anything further. She simply quickened her pace.

As an OB-GYN, situations like this were nothing new to her. She had treated plenty of young couples whose enthusiasm had exceeded their caution. It wasn't an uncommon emergency.

The instant she entered the emergency treatment area, an angry male voice rang out above the commotion.

"Where the hell is the doctor? She's barely conscious from the pain! Is someone going to treat her or not?"

Khloe stopped in her tracks. A sharp ache clenched her heart.

Her eyes swept past the rushing medical staff and surrounding equipment before settling on the tall, broad-shouldered man standing stiffly beside the stretcher.

It was Vernon, the boyfriend who had claimed he would be working late and had no time to celebrate their anniversary.

Yet here he was, panicked-his eyes glued to the woman writhing on the stretcher, barely conscious from the agony.

The room seemed to spin around Khloe as the noise of the emergency department faded into a piercing buzz in her ears.

"Doctor's here!" the nurse said, oblivious.

Vernon immediately turned toward the entrance. His eyes landed on the woman standing there in surgical scrubs with a mask covering her face.

Seeing that she hadn't moved, his face darkened with anger. "What're you waiting for? Save her! If she dies, I'll hold this whole hospital responsible!"

Khloe looked at him in silence. The man whose expression had always been gentle and affectionate whenever he was with her now wore nothing but panic and fury, all for the sake of another woman.

She stood motionless, her nails digging painfully into her palms.

She didn't remove her mask or confront him. Instead, she turned to the team, her voice flat. "Type and cross-OR One, now."

Vernon scowled. That voice... it sounded familiar. For a brief moment, it reminded him of Khloe. But that couldn't be right. Khloe worked at Evergreen Health Center-she had no business being here.

The thought disappeared as quickly as it had surfaced. In the next instant, every bit of his attention returned to Ruby Bailey, who lay on the stretcher, groaning softly through the pain.

The red operating light above the theater door remained illuminated.

Under the OR lights, Khloe took a breath and gripped the scalpel.

An hour passed before the operation was successfully completed.

Khloe walked alongside the medical team as they pushed the stretcher out of the operating room.

The doors had barely opened when she saw Vernon leap from the bench, rush to Ruby's side, and press a kiss to her cheek.

"Ruby... you're okay now," he whispered softly. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Khloe shot Vernon a cold look, then turned and walked away.

Once she was back in her office, she reached into her bag and took out the contract. One page after another, she ripped it into tiny pieces and watched them drift into the trash.

After changing out of her scrubs, she called a cab and made her way to the home she and Vernon had once planned to share as husband and wife.