Incision of the Heart ?

The days following the surgery were a blur. The success of the procedure had been a victory not only for Emily but also for the entire team.

The attending surgeon, Dr. Marshall, had praised both her and Liam for their teamwork, their precision, and their composure in the operating room.

It was a moment of validation, one that they’d both longed for during their shadowing rotation at Johns Hopkins.

But while the praise was abundant, so were the unspoken tensions that lingered between Emily and Liam.

After the surgery, they exchanged pleasantries, but the closeness that had developed between them over the past few weeks was suddenly... off-kilter.

Emily couldn’t quite place what had shifted, but something had changed.

The warmth of their earlier interactions felt more like a distant memory than a present reality.

They had come so far—overcome so many barriers—and yet, there was something about the silence that had fallen between them that made her question everything.

That night, as Emily sat alone in her small apartment, reviewing her notes, her phone buzzed on the desk.

It was a message from Liam.

The text was simple, almost too casual: “Hey, can we talk later? Something’s been on my mind.”

Emily stared at the screen for a long moment. Her heart raced, her mind spinning with a thousand questions. What could he possibly want to talk about? They had been getting along so well, or so she thought. Was it about the surgery? Was there something that went wrong, something she missed?

She tried to shake off the nerves that were quickly settling in the pit of her stomach.

She’d have to deal with it sooner or later.

So, with a deep breath, she typed a quick reply: “Sure. I’ll be at the hospital tomorrow if you want to meet after rounds.”

The response came almost immediately: “Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

---

The next morning, Emily arrived at Johns Hopkins with a heaviness in her chest, the question of what Liam wanted to discuss hanging over her.

The hospital was its usual whirlwind of activity, but today, the chaotic energy felt like a distraction from the uncertainty brewing in her mind.

She made her way through the halls to the conference room for the morning rounds, the familiar faces of the medical team offering little comfort.

When she walked in, Liam was already there, standing near the large whiteboard, scanning through a patient’s case.

His posture was tense, his expression unreadable. He didn’t look up when she entered, but Emily could feel the shift in the air like the space between them had become charged.

She sat down at the opposite end of the table, trying to appear calm, even though her insides were churning.

They exchanged the briefest of glances, and for a second, she almost wished she hadn’t agreed to meet him.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk—it was just... she didn’t know what this conversation would lead to.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur.

The attending went over rounds, discussing various cases and patient updates, but Emily’s mind was elsewhere.

She couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was what Liam was going to say, and what it meant for their strange, complicated relationship.