Chapter 732

“It hurts?” Aaron asked, though the answer was beyond obvious.

Lena nodded, all obedient and small, which was so not her usual vibe. Normally, she was sharp and in control, but around Aaron? She turned into this quiet version of herself. It was weirdly funny, especially since she wasn’t even that much younger than him.

“Yeah, so stop moving my arm around,” she said, trying to pull away.

Aaron, of course, ignored her and tightened his grip just enough to keep her still. “You need an X-ray.”

Lena’s eyes widened, practically screaming, ‘An X-ray? For this? It’s just a bruise!’ Her reaction was pure drama.

She sighed. “I’m fine. That’s not necessary.”

“If you were fine, it wouldn’t hurt. Pain means something’s wrong.” His tone was all log, zero budging.

Standing in the doorway, I had to bite back a laugh. Watching Lena flail against Aaron’s unrelenting CEO energy was a whole mood. I’d always thought Lena and Nate were a cute match, but now? Watching her and Aaron was… interesting. Total domineering-CEO-meets-flustered-bunny-girlfriend energy. I had to admit, it was fun to watch.

“Uncle Aaron,” Lena said, her tone shifting to something soft. “I just got punched. If I go get an X-ray and my colleagues hear about it, I’ll never live it down.”

Honestly? Fair point. But the way her voice softened, like she was trying to sweet-talk her way out of it, was next-level. Even I had a hard time resisting it, and it clearly hit Aaron too. His expression shifted, like he might actually give in.

“Are you really okay?” Aaron asked.

“Really. Look.” She tried to demonstrate by moving her arm, but the second she did, pain flickered across her face, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Stop moving it,” Aaron muttered.

Lena froze and obediently cradled her arm, gently massaging it. The silence that followed was thick, almost… weirdly intimate.

“This isn’t serious. Don’t you have work to do? You can go,” Lena said, clearly fishing for a polite way to shoo him off.

Aaron shrugged but didn’t budge. Instead, he said, “Families in cases like this act irrationally. Don’t get involved again. And about the shift swap—this was between you and Dr. Dale. You’re not responsible for the outcome, so stop blaming yourself.”

Chapter 732

He was right. Even if this went to legal review, Lena wouldn’t be held accountable. The guilt she carried? Totally unnecessary.

Lena stayed quiet, but guilt still flickered across her face. She knew logically it wasn’t her fault, but swapping shifts had put Dr. Dale in the crosshairs, and that wasn’t easy to shake.

“If anything happens, call me,” Aaron added, finally heading out. At the door, he gave me a quick nod—wordless but polite—then walked away.

As soon as he left, I darted over to Lena, tilting my head with a teasing grin. She rolled her eyes and halfheartedly tried to swat me, but the movement made her wince, sucking in a sharp breath.

“Alright, alright, won’t mess with you,” I said, holding back a laugh. “But seriously, are you good, or just pretending? If it gets worse, you need an X-ray. That arm’s your scalpel MVP—you can’t mess around.”

“It’s just muscle pain,” she said, shaking her head.

“Uh-huh. Your uncle seemed pretty worried,” I teased.

She rolled her eyes. “Stop making stuff up.”

I grinned mischievously, and Lena smiled back, but her smile was clearly half-hearted. Thinking back to the scene outside, I asked, “What’s up with that family?”

Lena walked to the window, staring out. “The patient was 39 weeks and 2 days—full term. She hadn’t felt any labor signs and stayed home. Then, the past couple days, she noticed the baby wasn’t moving as much. She came in for a check-up yesterday.”

She paused. “It was bad. Almost no amniotic fluid, and the baby wasn’t getting enough oxygen. They did an emergency C-section, but during surgery, she developed eclampsia. She didn’t make it. And the baby… The baby was stillborn after too much oxygen deprivation.”

Chapter 733