I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 156

She raised her voice, every word tipped with ice.

"Compare yourself to Paxton? He doesn't have a girlfriend, nor is he about to get married to anyone. Being friends with him won't cause any misunderstandings. You want me to be your friend? Could I ever navigate that cleanly? Do you want me to be the other woman?"

By the time she finished, her voice had unconsciously peaked in volume.

The sheer force of it sent a jolt of alarm through Finn's chest.

"Where is this coming from? I've told you, Chloe and I are not like that. She is my parents' foster daughter. I have zero romantic involvement with her. I've explained this to you so many times, I just don't understand why you always..."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. Sienna reached straight into the pocket of her white coat, pulled out her phone, pulled up the photo, and shoved the screen mere inches from his face, cutting off his desperate defense.

"In exactly one month, you are marrying Chloe. The wedding invitations have already been mailed out. And you're standing here telling me there's nothing between you two?"

Finn stared at the photo on the screen, utterly dumbfounded.

Sienna snatched her phone back.

"Honestly, whatever you have going on with anyone is none of my business. You don't need to explain yourself to me, and you certainly don't need to prove anything. The relationship between us is barely better than strangers anyway."

She turned on her heel and walked away.

This time, Finn didn't follow her.

At ten o'clock, the routine staff meeting commenced.

Sienna walked into the conference room. Director Dayton was seated at the head of the table, flanked by two other hospital executives, all sporting grim, severe expressions.

Director Dayton was the first to speak.

"Dr. Sterling, you have thoroughly disappointed this hospital!"

Sienna looked at him.

"I don't understand what you mean."

Director Dayton pushed a document forward. The paper slid across the polished wood and came to a stop right in front of her.

"During your time in Africa, the hospital nominated you for the Outstanding Young Physician Award. The quota for this award is highly restricted, and the board gave our only slot to you, hoping you would bring honor to our institution. Yet, on the day of the commendation ceremony, you failed to show up. The hospital leadership waited for you all morning, and you didn't so much as make a single phone call."

She had treated countless casualties and saved numerous lives, and the hospital couldn't care less.

Sienna never expected the hospital to champion her cause, but at the very least, she expected them not to actively persecute her.

Yet here she was, facing such blatant, sickening injustice.

She looked down at the document in front of her.

It was a disciplinary notice. A formal demerit, stripping her of all eligibility for annual performance evaluations.

The stated reason: unexcused absence from the commendation ceremony and failure to obey organizational arrangements.

The final clause stated she was to be transferred to the remote Willow Creek rural clinic for a mandatory three-month deployment, effective immediately.

Sienna's heart turned completely to ice.

"Do you have any objections, Dr. Sterling?" Director Dayton asked.