Page 27 of The Surgeon's Secret

And then, there was Josephine.

Lexi spotted her half-sister as she entered the break room. Josephine stood with her arms crossed, talking with one of the senior doctors. She looked every bit the hospital’s formidable leader—confident, composed, and totally in control. Lexi felt a pang of guilt as she watched her, knowing that what could have been a budding sibling relationship was slipping through her fingers, and she had no idea how to stop it.

As Lexi entered the room, Josephine’s eyes flicked to her, but there was no warmth in the glance. It was cold, impersonal, like she was seeing a colleague instead of a long-lost sister. Lexi’s chest tightened. Despite their shared bloodline, they were still strangers to each other, and that stung more than she wanted to admit.

Trying to shake off the growing tension, Lexi approached the coffee machine and poured herself a cup. Her hands were shaking slightly, and she cursed herself for it. She needed to keep it together. But Josephine was watching her, her eyes never leaving her as Lexi moved about the room, trying to act casual, as if they weren’t both keeping secrets from their coworkers.

The silence between them felt suffocating.

Finally, Josephine spoke, her voice cutting through the quiet like a blade. “You’re off today, Lexi,” she said, her tone clipped and her expression unreadable. “You’ve been distracted lately. That’s not like you.”

Lexi’s stomach twisted as her pulse quickened. She wanted to deny it, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she settled for a half-hearted shrug. “I’m fine,” she said, even though they both knew it wasn’t true. “Just a lot on my mind.”

Josephine’s gaze remained steady and unimpressed. “That’s not an answer,” she said coolly. “And we both know why.”

Lexi tensed. The argument from weeks ago still lingered between them like an open wound, neither of them willing to touch it again. But Josephine wasn’t going to let this go. Not this time.

Before Lexi could respond, Josephine’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she excused herself to take the call. Lexi exhaled sharply, but she knew this conversation was far from over.

Lexi’s nerves gnawed at her as she made her way to Josephine’s office for their noon appointment. The weight of the conversation ahead felt almost unbearable—too much to face, too much to explain. She’d hoped for more time and space to make sense of everything, but now it was inevitable. The tension between them had already grown too thick to ignore. Josephine had seen the cracks, and now Lexi was walking straight into the storm. Every step toward the office felt like it pulled her deeper into the mess she’d created, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that no matter how she tried to explain herself, it wouldn’t be enough.

When Lexi knocked on Josephine’s office door, she was greeted with a curt, “Come in.”

Josephine’s office was as pristine and controlled as ever. Not a single file was out of place. Lexi lowered herself into the chair across from her sister, doing her best to mask the exhaustion creeping in.

Josephine folded her hands on the desk, studying Lexi like a puzzle she didn’t have time to solve. “I’m not going to waste either of our time pretending I don’t know what’s going on and you are putting me in averyawkward position expecting me to keep your secrets.”

Lexi’s jaw tightened. “Then why are we having this conversation?”

Josephine leaned back slightly, exhaling. “Because I need to hear you say it,” she said, her tone almost clinical. “Are you really planning to keep this going? Because whatever you think this is with Catherine, it’s only going to end badly.”

Lexi clenched her fists in her lap. “You don’t know that.”

Josephine arched a brow. “She’s married, Lexi. And not to you.”

Lexi swallowed hard, her throat burning. “I know that,” she muttered. “You think I don’t know that?”

Josephine sighed, rubbing at her temple. “Look, I don’t approve of this. I won’t pretend to. But more than that, I don’t want to watch you get dragged into something that will ruin you.” Her voice was steady, almost detached, but Lexi heard the steel underneath it. “You think she’s going to leave him for you?”

Lexi didn’t respond, because she wasn’t sure she knew the answer. Catherine might be sleeping in her bed, but she certainly hadn’t officially left her husband in any way.

Josephine let the silence stretch for a moment before speaking again. “You’re my employee, and I have to separate that from…whatever family stuff is between us. But you shouldknow that if this starts affecting your work, I won’t look the other way.”

Lexi flinched. “You don’t have to threaten me.”

Josephine’s expression didn’t change. “I’m being honest. You need to figure out what you’re doing before this blows up in your face.”

Lexi exhaled sharply, looking away. “And if I don’t?”

Josephine studied her for a long moment. “Then that’s on you.” She paused, her fingers tapping lightly on the desk. “But if you’re willing to be smart about this—to put it behind you—I’m willing to move forward. We don’t have to keep fighting. We can…try to figure this out.”

Lexi’s chest tightened. “Figure what out?”

Josephine hesitated for the briefest second before saying, “Being sisters.”

Lexi looked up sharply, searching for any sign of softness in Josephine’s face. There wasn’t one. But the fact that she’d said it at all meant something.

The air between them was still tense, but there was something else there too—an unspoken offer, a line drawn in the sand.

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