Love Under Scalpel: My Ex, My Doctor

A faint tremor ran through Camila as a humorless smile twisted her mouth.

She was just some pathetic woman without parental love.

She had been eight when the Lawson family finally brought her home, but by then, they had already spent eight years loving and raising their adopted daughter. No matter what she did, she could never measure up.

That was why, seven years ago, she hadn't wavered when Andreas's mother dropped to her knees in front of her, weeping as she pleaded, "Andreas is going back to inherit the family business. He needs a woman who belongs in his world—not some fat girl he'd be embarrassed to introduce to anyone."

She had broken things off with him after that conversation.

If she could do only one thing for Andreas, it was make sure she never became an obstacle in his path.

And now, he had risen to the very top, surrounded by wealth, status, and everything success could offer. She, meanwhile, had sunk even deeper into poverty.

Heat flooded Camila's face, but humiliation left her with no choice except to cling to the lie. "I have no idea who you are. Please call Dr. Shaw."

"He's in the middle of emergency surgery, so he won't be able to examine you. Take off your pants, then lie down on that bed." Andreas pulled on a clean pair of gloves, misted them with disinfectant, then slowly stretched and curled his long fingers.

The familiar motions dragged Camila straight into memories she wanted buried—those intimate moments before they made love, when those same hands had coaxed her into trembling beneath him.

Except the man before her now showed none of that old desire. His gaze held nothing but icy ridicule.

At last, Camila dropped the pretense. "Andreas, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

A faint curve touched his thin lips, almost as though he had been waiting for her to finally give up the act. Contempt sharpened every trace of that smile. "So we're done pretending now? Tell me, Camila, why the hell would I do this on purpose? Just to look at something I've seen plenty of times already?"

Her hands curled into tight fists, every muscle in her body tense with strain. She bit down until blood spread across her tongue, then forced the words out. "What, you still couldn't handle the breakup? It's been seven years, and you're pulling something like this just to embarrass me. Is humiliating me really that entertaining?"

Andreas went perfectly still. Only then did his narrowed gaze lock onto her, cold enough to make the air between them feel brittle. "Still that full of yourself, Camila? Take a good look at yourself. What exactly makes you think you're worth my attention now?"

Camila knew his pride too well. After the way she had ended things, he would never forgive her, much less offer her anything resembling kindness. She didn't care. She just needed to get away from him. So she reached for the cruelest words she could find.

She sneered. "Fine. You want the truth? I regret ever being reckless enough to sleep with you. I'm about to marry into money, and now I have to put myself through all this trouble just to get the surgery. Families at that level have standards. To them, a virgin bride is worth more. Not like you. You got everything from me without paying a thing."

"Camila!" That was the moment Andreas's restraint finally snapped, a menacing darkness sweeping across his face.

The sheer force of his anger seemed capable of crushing anyone caught beneath it. Camila refused to flinch. She held his stare and dragged a smile onto her lips, even as her voice quivered despite her best efforts. "Make sure it's nice and tight. I'd hate for my future husband to be disappointed on our wedding night."

Under the scorching weight of his gaze, she crossed to the examination table. Her fingers had gone numb by the time they found the button of her pants.

Her resolve gave out at the last second. "Never mind. I'll find another hospital. My soon-to-be husband wouldn't exactly appreciate my ex-boyfriend putting his hands on me. And if that ruins the marriage arrangement, who am I supposed to cry to?"

With deliberate nonchalance, she scooped up her bag and made to leave. Andreas' hand snapped around her wrist without warning, squeezing hard enough to make her bones scream.

"Camila, do you have no dignity left? You'd rather degrade yourself just to marry into money than stay with me all those years ago?"

Seven years had passed, yet he was throwing the same question at her all over again.

Pain ripped through Camila's chest, sharp and merciless, like a blade had plunged into her heart and twisted.

Her teeth sank into her lower lip until she nearly tasted blood. For a moment, she said nothing. Then she lifted her face to his, wearing a smile colder and more cutting than the one she had given him seven years earlier. "Can dignity put food on the table? Andreas, don't tell me you're still hung up on me. What's wrong? Getting dumped once wasn't enough for you? You want me to do it to you again?"

Every word she threw at him was sharpened to wound. Cruelty was the only weapon she had left, and all she wanted was to get out of this agonizing situation.

Behind the vicious front, she was already crumbling. She bit down until the coppery tang of blood flooded her mouth.

Andreas' grip went rigid before his fingers finally released her.

Camila immediately marched for the door.

It swung closed at her back, severing the present from seven years ago—yet somehow, the two scenes still bled into one.

Not once did she turn around.

A low chuckle escaped Andreas as he stared after her, something dark and impossible to decipher stirring in his eyes.

Still hung up on her?

What a joke.

The day their relationship ended, he had torn Camila's name from his heart and buried every trace of her.

Now, with her standing before him again, emotions that had lain dead for years came roaring back with enough force to shake him.

So this was why she had managed to stay out of his reach all this time. She had lost so much weight that she was practically unrecognizable, just to disappear from his life and marry into some wealthy family?

A crushing pressure gathered behind his ribs, tightening with every breath until he felt ready to burst. Unable to endure it any longer, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Investigate Camila Lawson. I want to know exactly who she's arranged to marry."