Page 10 of Shattering

Gray was inside. And he wasn't alone.

Vanessa Seymour stood close to him, her willowy frame accentuated by the curve of her white coat. Her dark hair shimmered under the fluorescent lights as she twirled a loose strand around her fingers, a coy smile playing on her lips.

"Mrs. Calloway's scans came back," Gray was saying, flipping through the notes on his tablet. "Pathological fracture, neck of femur. Secondary to breast cancer metastases."

Vanessa sighed, folding her arms. "Sixty-five, frail, limited mobility already. Not exactly the ideal candidate for surgery."

Gray nodded, rubbing his jaw. "Aye, but she's in agony. Conservative management isn't cutting it. We could pin it, but she's got mets in her spine as well. She might not tolerate the recovery."

Vanessa tilted her head thoughtfully. "We could bring it up at MDT—see if oncology thinks she's got enough life expectancy to make it worthwhile. But if she's already this fragile..."

"Exactly." Gray exhaled, shaking his head. "Her daughter asked me outright if it was worth it. If it was worth putting her through all of it. I didn't know what to tell her."

Vanessa reached out, squeezing his forearm lightly. "You always take these cases too personally, Gray. It's why you're a great surgeon, but you've got to let go of what you can't control."

Gray gave a tired chuckle. "Easy for ya to say. You don't get teary daughters asking ya if their mum will ever walk again."

Vanessa's expression softened .

"You're impossible, Gray," she teased, her voice smooth. "Always so serious. When was the last time you actually relaxed?"

Gray chuckled lightly, shifting his stance. "Depends what ya mean by relax, Vanessa. But I don't get much time for it these days."

"That's a shame," she murmured, tilting her head. "I could help with that, you know."

Cadi's stomach turned to lead.

Cadi's stomach clenched at the shift in tone.

Gray didn't shut her down. He didn't laugh it off or tell her to stop. He just smiled.

"Maybe I should take ya up on that offer," he said, his voice lighter than it had been at home in weeks.

Cadi felt a rush of heat crawl up her neck, her breath hitching painfully. She should walk in. She should call his name. But she couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

Vanessa reached up, brushing a hand through her hair, and a loose strand fell across her cheek. Gray's expression softened as he lifted a hand and gently tucked it behind her ear.

It was such a small gesture. So careful. So intimate.

Then, for a split second, Vanessa leaned forward, her eyes locked onto Gray's. Cadi's pulse pounded in her ears, her fingersgripping the doorframe to steady herself. She willed him to step back, to move away. To tell Vanessa no.

But Gray didn't step back. He didn't move away.

Instead, he leaned down.

Cadi's chest constricted, her pulse hammering in her ears. Every fibre of her being screamed at her to move, to burst in, to stop it. But her legs wouldn't cooperate, rooted to the floor as if she were trapped in a waking nightmare.

Vanessa tilted her chin up, her lips parting just slightly, expectantly. The air between them crackled, charged with something undeniable.

And Gray—her Gray—wasn't pulling away.

Cadi felt something inside her crack, the weight of betrayal slamming into her so hard she nearly staggered.

Her vision blurred, the fluorescent lights suddenly too bright, the hallway closing in around her. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps. She needed to leave. Now. Before she broke down completely.

Spinning on her heel, she turned and fled.

She barely made it to the corridor before her balance wavered. The walls seemed to tilt, her stomach roiling. A wave of dizziness crashed over her, sending her stumbling forward. She gripped the wall, blinking rapidly, struggling to ground herself. But nothing could steady the chaos spiralling inside her.

---