“Again, that’s not going to happen.”
“Damn you! If you’re walking out on me, don’t you think you at least owe me an explanation?”
“Just consider yourself lucky. I’m doing you the biggest favor of your life.”
She closed the distance between them and grabbed his arm. “I don’t know what’s going on or what’s happening. But one thing I do know is that you love me.”
He groaned. “Don’t, Amanda.”
“Don’t?” She heard her voice rise to a hysterical level, but she couldn’t stop it any more than she could stop her heart from dying inside her. “Is that all you have to say?”
“Yes,” Noah said again, shifting his gaze while holding himself stiff and untouchable.
“Fine. I’ll accept this cock-and-bull explanation, if you can look me in the eye and tell me you’ve stopped loving me.”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything, which rejuvenated her heart. “See, I knew—”
“I don’t love you anymore.”
The soft but emphatically spoken words fell into the room with the force of an exploding bomb. She wanted to scream; she wanted to attack him physically; she wanted to hide from the pain he was inflicting.
She did nothing. Instead, she stepped back and stared at him like he was the scum of the earth, which was exactly how she thought of him. Who the hell did he think he was to walk into her house out of the blue and calmly tell her he wasn’t going to marry her, that he no longer loved her?
A first-class bastard who didn’t deserve her.
Amanda jutted her chin and fought back the tears. She would rather have died than let him know how deeply his unexpected attack had wounded her. “All right, have it your way.”
“Amanda—”
“No! Don’t say another word.” She pulled off her ring and threw it at his feet. It bounced off one booted foot and landed on the carpet.
He didn’t move.
“Pick it up, damn you, and get out! I never want to see you again.”
Without taking his blue eyes off her, he leaned over, scooped up the ring, straightened, then headed toward the door. Only after he closed it behind him, did it hit her what had actually happened.
In the blink of an eye, her life had changed. Noah was no longer a part of it. She had sunk to floor and cried until she had no more tears to cry.
To this day, she still had no idea why he had walked out on her. The following morning at work, she had learned that he’d taken a one-year personal leave of absence from his duties as staff surgeon.
Somehow, with the help of close friends, she had managed to keep on living and functioning, despite the devastation done by Noah’s betrayal.
Then he had come back. A few months earlier than expected.
“Why, you bastard?” she whispered, digging her nails into her palms. “Why did you even come back?”
Chapter Four
Amanda felt the jiggle at her side. Her smart phone was going berserk. She should have known the short respite was too good to be true.
ER was calling, but that was good. She needed to work. A few minutes later she was striding through the automatic double doors.
“Trauma one, Doctor!” an attendant called out.
Harold Epps. Something had obviously gone wrong. Upping her pace, Amanda dashed into the room. Dr. Sloane and a male nurse were holding the man down on the bed; he was in the throes of a violent convulsion.
“What happened?” Amanda demanded in a controlled but firm voice. She then stepped up to the gurney.
Dr. Sloane was clearly upset. “I…turned my back just for a second. That’s when I heard that terrible noise and knew he was having a seizure.”
Amanda issued orders. “Get something to put into his mouth so he won’t swallow his tongue.”
While that was being taken care of, Amanda used her tiny light and peered into his eyes. They were rolled up toward the top of his head.
“Harold! What’s wrong with my husband?”
Ignoring the frantic voice behind her, Amanda gave another order. Within seconds, Harold settled down, but was soon wheeled to X-ray for extensive testing.
She turned then and looked at the white-faced and pregnant young woman who hovered inside the room next to the door. One of the ER nurses on duty, Liz Roberts, stood beside her.
After letting the woman see that her husband was sleeping peacefully, Amanda asked her to sit down, then told her what had happened.
“Oh, God,” the woman whispered, tears filling her eyes. “Is…is he going to die?”
An alarm went off in Amanda’s head. “Why do you ask that?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Amanda asked, the alarm blaring.
“He…he has epilepsy.”
“Why wouldn’t he have told us?”
The woman bit down on her lower lip and looked scared out of her wits. “Because he’s like that. Always puts on a happy face so he won’t have to miss work.” Tears spilled from her eyes. “You…you see, we don’t have much money, and I’m not able to work, with the baby coming and all.”
She was sobbing in earnest now, and Amanda said, “He’s going to be all right. You dry those tears and soon I’ll let you see him. Meanwhile, Liz will accompany you to the waiting room. If need be, we’ll talk later.”
“Thanks, Doctor,” she said with a gulp.
After leaving orders to be kept apprised of Harold’s condition, Amanda checked on two other patients who remained under observation, then went back to her office, where she realized she was trembling.
Those two young people had gotten to her. One of these days, she feared, she was going to get tough and not care. If that ever happened, she would turn in her license. An uncaring doctor wasn’t worth his salt.
Sitting at her desk, Amanda placed her head in her hands, only to flinch as another streak of lightning danced across the sky, followed by a mean rumble of thunder. Would this mess ever stop? she wondered, feeling more and more uneasy by the minute. Bad weather usually had no affect on her, maybe because she was used to dealing with crises. Possibly her childhood had as much to do with that as being a doctor, for it had been as traumatic and vicious as this storm.
But she knew why her nerves were seemingly resting on the outside of her skin. Noah. There was a God, however, as she hadn’t yet encountered Noah face-to-face. But then, she’d made it a point not to see him, though it hadn’t been easy. She was lucky she hadn’t passed him in the hall, or worse, ended up sitting beside him in a staff meeting.
Of course, she hadn’t avoided him because she still cared. She didn’t. Noah had destroyed her love by his flagrant violation of her feelings. Not only that, he’d undermined her newfound trust in the opposite sex.
“Don’t do this to yourself!” Amanda whispered, taking a deep breath, which somewhat slowed her racing heart. She’d made a new life for herself. That was the key to survival.
She had found a new man.
Gordon Bishop was a woman’s dream come true, a man who knew how to love a woman, and he did love her. He was an investment broker with a fat bank account, although that wasn’t important to her. Though not wealthy, she made a good