"One more thing..." Juniper said, sitting down in a nearby chair and looking at


    Felton. "Could you please pick J up after her exam this afternoon and bring her here?"


    A surgery this major wasn''t something she could keep from J.


    "Of course, Ms. Payne," Felton replied respectfully and left to make the


    arrangements.


    The hallway fell silent. Shanley walked over to Juniper and crouched down in front of her. "Are you hungry?" he asked softly.


    Juniper shook her head, not in the mood to eat.


    "Drink some water, then," Shanley said, not pushing her. He opened a bottle and gently coaxed, "Just a little."


    Juniper shook her head again, tilting her chin up to look at him, her eyes tinged with red. She looked so small and helpless, it made his heart ache.


    A few secondster, she suddenly stood and burrowed into his arms, resting her forehead wearily against his shoulder.


    Shanley''s body went rigid. He didn''t dare to move,pletely caught off guard by her sudden embrace. She was only eighteen, and she had already lost someone so close to her. The guilt from failing to save Lemuel still weighed on her. To Juniper, Saskia was just as important as Lemuel had been. She must be terrified of watching another loved one die, powerless to stop it.


    Juniper pressed her head deeper into his chest and murmured, her voice muffled, "Saskia''s going to be okay."


    This time, she would save her family!


    "She will be," Shanley whispered, his mind full of questions about her medical skills. But the words caught in his throat. It felt wrong to ask now. If she wanted to tell him, she would.


    Just then, hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed down the hall. Jimmie and Melvin, having heard about Saskia, had rushed to the hospital.


    Saskia wasn''t their sister''s biological


    aunt, but she was family. She had not only saved Juniper but had per but had also


    taken her in when she was kicked out of the Sherwin family. The brothers were eternally grateful.


    But as they rounded the corner, they saw the very man who imed he would treat their sister with t the utmost respect holding her tightly in his arms.


    Jimmie froze. Melvin stopped short.


    "Ahem," Flint coughed, seeing the two men. "Boss, Ms. Payne''s brothers are here."


    Shanley turned his head and saw them staring at him, their expressions as cold as ice. He


    pressed his lips together a


    instinctively opened his hands as to prove his innocence.


    if


    Jimmie and Melvin remained silent, their expressions unreadable. From their angle,


    it really did look like their sister was the one clinging to him.


    "Juniper, your brothers are here," Shanley said softly, patting her head. "You should probably let go. I''d like to live a few more years."


    Juniper nced at him and released her hold, and they stepped apart.


    "Juniper, are you okay?" Jimmie and Melvin''s faces softened as they rushed to her side.


    "Saskia''s still in the ER. Surgery is this afternoon," Shanley exined, pulling a piece of candy from his pocket and giving it to her.


    "I heard her condition is critical, that no doctor is willing to operate," Jimmie said, his brow furrowed in confusion.


    "That''s true," Shanley paused for a second before adding, "which is why Juniper will be performing the surgery herself."


    "What?" Jimmie and Melvin eximed in unison.


    Juniper knew medicine? Seriously? They came from the same mother, how did her brain turn out so different?