Chapter 145

The operating room was already being prepared when Olivia entered.

Bright lights flooded the sterile space. Instruments were laid out in precise order on the table.

“Prepaparation’s done, Dr. Hilton.” A scrub nurse announced.

Olivia stepped into position after checking on the patient's vitals. She took a deep breath, letting her undivided attention fall into the patient.

“Scalpel.”

She felt the cold steel placed on her hand. Leaning in, her hands moved instinctively as though possessing a mind of their own.

The blade cut through the skin and subcutaneous tissue, blood oozed from the incision, tainting the metal with a deep crimson color.

“Suction.”

A gloved hand moved, placing the tip of the instrument into the concerned area. The low, wet sound of suction filled the air.

After successfully performing Craniotomy, the problem revealed itself fully. Olivia could see the damage was worse than she expected.

“Damn it.”

Time blurred inside the operating room. She felt keenly aware of everything, as though the world had slowed just for her.

She was almost done when suddenly—

Beep. Beep.

“BP dropping!”

Olivia slowly lifted her eyes to the monitor. The numbers are falling far too fast. She felt the fear slip through her.

What if the patient died under her hands?

Would she be able to live with that knowledge?

Could she wake each morning without that quiet, gnawing guilt settling in her chest? Could she close her eyes at night without replaying every moment of the day, wondering if there was something more she could have done that might have changed the outcome?

“Stop.”

The voice rang sharply inside her head like a slap that snapped her back to the present. She shook off the cobwebs of fear clinging to her thoughts, clearing them away with effort, and forced her focus back where it belonged.

“We’re not losing her,” she said firmly. “We are almost there!”

The monitor let out a long, incessant piercing tone.

“Doctor—the patient!”

Olivia’s eyes snapped back on the screen. Because the line on the screen. Had just gone completely still.

—

Olivia let the warm water rinse her soapy hands. Streaks of crimson lazily spiral down the drain until the color fades to pink, then to a translucent blush before disappearing entirely.

Three long hours passed inside the operating room and the surgery had been a success.

Olivia should have felt relief. But all she could feel was the memory of how close it had come.

The soft knock on the door startled her. She finished scrubbing out and walked out of the room.

Dr. Wilson was waiting outside. He approached her and smiled. “You saved both of them.”

“I almost didn’t.” Olivia responded weakly. “There was a moment of fear on my part. It could have killed the patient.”

“That happens, Olivia.” His voice was gentle, filled with such quiet understanding that it made her eyes sting with fresh tears.

No one understood her the way Dr. Wilson did.

“You think the best surgeon in the world doesn't feel fear? They do. The difference is… they keep going anyway.”

Dr. Wilson didn't hesitate, he pulled her into a warm, fatherly embrace, one she hadn’t realized she needed so desperately.

A tear slipped from her eye. Then another came. And another. Before she even realized it, the fragile composure she had been clinging to shattered completely. She was full on sobbing in his shoulder.

“I thought I was going to watch them die,” she managed between sobs, her voice breaking with each word. “I’ve operated on so many patients before—too many to count—but… there’s never been a baby involved.”

“The only thing that matters is that you saved them.” Dr. Wilson rested a hand on the back of her head, gently smoothing her hair.

Olivia closed her eyes. For a moment, she wasn’t Dr. Olivia Hilton—the brilliant surgeon everyone relied on. She was just a little girl again, desperate for someone to tell her she had done enough.

Finally, she lifted her gaze to meet him, she found him watching her with quiet awe, like a proud father, deeply moved by his child’s achievement.

“Thank you….” He said. There was warmth in his eyes, and something else too… gratitude. “Thank you for saving my niece and grandchild's life. They’re alive because you were there.”

—

Olivia watches Annalise Flynn's form, laying still beneath the hospital blanket. Her face was pale, but she looked much better now compared to when she was first brought to the hospital.

In fact, if someone walked in without knowing… they would think she was only asleep. Not a woman who had just spent three long hours on the edge of death.

“You have to wake up soon,” she mumbled, reaching out and gently tucked strands of hair behind her ear. “Your students came by earlier. They were asking for you. They wouldn’t stop talking about their teacher.”

Her hand paused for a moment before pulling away. “And maybe your husband will be here soon too,” she added quietly.

A short while later, Olivia stepped out of the patient’s room. Down the hall, she spotted Nurse Jessy approaching, a lunch bag swinging lightly from her hand.

“Dr. Hilton! Let’s take a break together.”

“Sure,” Olivia replied, offering a faint smile. “I’m starving anyway. I’ll just grab the mug I left in the car.”

“Your favorite one, huh?” she teased

“I need it today.”

They walked in comfortable silence down the hall.

Before they parted ways at the lobby, Jessy subtly tilted her head toward a woman standing near the entrance. “She’s the co-teacher who brought Annalise in.”

Olivia followed her gaze.

The woman stood with her back half-turned, phone pressed tightly to her ear. One hand sliced sharply through the air in agitation. Her lips pressed thin before parting again in what was clearly another heated remark. Even from a distance, the tension radiated off her.

Jessy gave her a small wave before heading toward the break room. She waved back, signaling she would follow soon.