Chapter 43

• Jessie’s POV
• The automatic doors of the hospital slid closed behind me with a familiar whoosh, the cool evening air rushing to greet my flushed cheeks. My bones ached—not from the physical toll of my twelve-hour shift, but from the emotional weight that lingered after spending the day comforting grieving families and guiding scared patients through uncertain diagnoses. As I crossed the parking lot, I let out a long breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
• This was my daily ritual—giving everything I had and then finding the strength to return home and still have something left to offer. Or at least, trying to.