Mia's POV
It had been hours since Ryan disappeared into the OR. I told myself I was too busy to care. I had back-to-back appointments, follow-up charts, and a handful of restless toddlers in the waiting room to keep me occupied.
But it didn't matter.
My mind kept drifting.
To him.
To the calm confidence in his voice.
To the way he said I looked rested, like it mattered.
To the unspoken warmth in his eyes, even behind all that cool, distant exterior.
I had seen that look before. On tired mothers watching their children. On young couples clinging to something delicate. On grieving husbands trying to stay strong.
But never from someone like him.
Not from Ryan Saint.
And maybe that's what scared me most—because I felt it.
I felt it in my chest when he looked at me.
I felt it in my stomach when his voice dropped low.
I felt it in the quiet between words—when he didn't have to say anything at all.
After my last patient left, I sat alone in the staff lounge. The fluorescent lights hummed above, and the vending machine made a faint clunk in the corner. I sipped from a lukewarm paper cup of tea, barely tasting it.
Then I whispered the words I hadn't dared to say—not even to Paula.
"I'm falling for him."
It echoed in the silence like a confession in a cathedral.
And the moment I said it—I knew.
I wasn't just falling.
I was already in deep.
It wasn't just attraction. It wasn't about his looks or his power or his damn expensive cars.
It was how he held his nephew like he was made of glass.
How he protected his family like a secret.
How he looked at me like I was something… he couldn't quite figure out, but couldn't ignore either.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady the flutter there.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
We were in a contract.
A temporary agreement.
A lie dressed as a marriage.
But my heart didn't seem to care about the rules anymore.
And that terrified me.
Because falling in love with a man like Ryan Saint—
A man who didn't believe in love—
Wasn't just dangerous.
It was asking to be broken.