Sophie had just returned from the restroom, her eyes still red and puffy despite her efforts to wipe away the tears. She barely had time to sit down at her desk when a group of colleagues swarmed around her like moths to a flame.
They loomed over her, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and barely restrained anticipation. Questions hung in the air, unspoken but loud, written all over their faces like signs. Then finally, someone broke the silence.
"So… how is he?"
The voice was cautious, almost reverent. The others leaned in, eyes wide, eager for an answer.
How was the doctor? The one hailed as the future of medicine? The world's number one prodigy?
To them, he was a legend in making.
But to Sophie, he had become something else entirely.
She looked up slowly, her stomach twisting as the memory surfaced again. Just a short while ago, she had been exactly like them: fascinated, starstruck, desperate to be near the brilliance everyone couldn't stop talking about. She had pleaded for the opportunity to become his assistant, believing she was stepping into greatness.
Instead, she had stepped into a nightmare.
Behind Devon's charming smile and perfect reputation lay something far darker. A predator cloaked in genius. A monster dressed in accolades.
The hope Sophie once held had curdled into hatred. The admiration into revulsion.
"Sophie?"
The voice pulled her back. All eyes were on her. But the words caught in her throat.
Sophie stirred from her daze the moment she heard her name. Her gaze lifted slowly, meeting the eyes of a brunette woman standing closest to her. For a heartbeat, Sophie hesitated then forced a brittle smile that barely touched her lips.
"He's okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, and quickly looked away.
That single phrase was all it took. Excitement bloomed across their faces like a spark catching dry grass. The group leaned in closer, the air between them charged with anticipation, as though Sophie were a gatekeeper to something sacred.
"What did he say to you?"
"Did you talk about us?"
"What's his favorite meal? I heard he's a vegetarian, is that true?"
"Did he mention his next thesis? Anything about work?"
"What are his plans for the weekend?"
The questions tumbled over one another, it was simply unrelenting. A barrage of curiosity.
Sophie didn't answer. She couldn't. Her eyes stayed fixed on the desk, fingers restlessly shuffling the same two books over and over as if reordering them might somehow settle her nerves.
She had wiped the tears from her face, but the damage lingered. Her eyes were still red and swollen, a quiet testimony to whatever had just happened behind closed doors. She avoided their gazes with silent desperation, hoping none of them would notice how hollow she felt inside.
Then a gentler voice pierced the noise.
"Sophie, are you okay?"
The voice cut through the noise like a lifeline.
It was Helena.
Sophie looked up just briefly and Helena's expression instantly changed. Her brows knit together, and a storm of protectiveness rose in her chest. She didn't need to ask another question. She saw enough in Sophie's eyes to know something was very wrong.
Helena turned to face the crowd, her voice crisp, each word deliberate.
"Can you all please give us a moment? I need to speak with Sophie. Alone."
The group hesitated, taken aback by her sudden shift in tone.
"Why?" someone muttered.
"At least let her answer a few more questions," a middle aged man added, folding his arms. His tone was impatient, borderline dismissive. "We've all been waiting—"
Helena's gaze snapped to him like a whip. Her voice dropped lower, colder.
"Please give us a minute." She pleaded again.
As everyone took a step back apart from Clint, the frown on Helena's face became deeper.
"Doctor Clint," she said, ice threading through her words. "If you don't step away from this desk right now, I'll remind the entire department how you were caught plagiarizing a grant proposal three years ago. Don't test me."
A tense silence fell over the group. Clint's mouth opened as if to argue, but no sound came out. His face flushed with anger and shame as he turned on his heel and walked away without another word.
The others followed, murmuring among themselves, casting curious glances back as they dispersed. Helena didn't say another word until the last one had rounded the corner and the space was finally theirs.
She turned back to Sophie, her voice softening as she knelt slightly to meet her eye level.
"Talk to me," she said gently. "What happened in there?"
Sophie's lips parted, but no sound came. Her throat felt like it was lined with shards of glass. For a moment, she stared blankly at Helena, as if unsure whether to speak or scream.
Helena reached out and took her hand, steady and warm. "It's just me now. You don't have to be afraid."
Sophie blinked, and the first tear broke loose.
"He's not who they think he is," she whispered, voice cracking.
She took several deep breaths before she began recounting everything that had happened to Helena. As the details spilled out, Helena was frozen in place.
Her face was unreadable at first, but with every new detail, a flicker of something stirred behind her eyes. Shock, disbelief, pity, then disgust. And finally, a quiet, simmering rage that began to rise until it seemed to radiate off her skin.
Sophie hadn't even finished speaking when Helena suddenly turned and stormed off toward Devon's office.
"That bastard!" she shouted. "I'll cut off his testicles and deep fry them."
Her voice shook with fury, and the look on her face made it clear she wasn't bluffing.
Sophie rushed in front of her, blocking her path. "Please, no. He's going to ruin my life," she pleaded, her voice trembling.
But Helena barely heard her. "Who does he think he is?" she snapped. "I'll rip him to shreds. Just watch me."
Before Helena would get to the door she was quickly pulled away by Sophie. Tears gushing out of her eyes. "Please." Sophie muttered, her voice breaking.
As her friends pulled her into a tight hug the tears oozed out of her eyes even more. Rubbing her back softly, Helena comforted her friend. "It's alright."
"I know what to do." She added.
Sophie pulled out of the hug very quickly. "What is it?"
As Helena's open mouth to speak, the door opened gently, and Devon stepped out. His eyes immediately turned to the two women who were standing in front of the door, he seized the both of them, before his gaze finally landed on Helena.
"Nurse Helena isn't it?" Devon asked, and as she responded with a nod, he continued. "We need to be in the OR in five minutes. Can you lead the way?"