Incision of the Heart ✓

Chapter 18: Crossroads

The hospital lounge was quiet, the usual hum of bustling students and residents replaced by a palpable silence that seemed to settle over the room.

Emily arrived first, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she paced the length of the room.

The message from Liam had left her with a mix of excitement and dread—what did he want to talk about?

She had tried to push it out of her mind for the past twenty minutes, but her thoughts were like a whirlwind, her heart beating just a little faster with every passing second.

She could hear footsteps approaching, and she turned quickly, her breath catching when she saw Liam step through the door.

He looked different today—his usual confident stride was replaced with a kind of hesitance that she wasn’t used to seeing.

His face was unreadable, his eyes dark with something unspoken.

“Hey,” he said, his voice low but not unfriendly.

“Hey,” Emily replied, trying to sound casual, though she was keenly aware of the tension that lingered between them. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter, refusing to meet his eyes.

There was a moment of silence before Liam cleared his throat and took a few steps closer. “I… I wanted to talk about what happened. In the hallway. Earlier.” His gaze flicked to hers briefly, then dropped to the floor.

Emily’s heart thudded in her chest.

She couldn’t breathe.

The last time they’d spoken, there had been an unspoken truth between them—an acknowledgment that things had shifted, and neither of them knew how to navigate it.

She had been hoping that maybe, just maybe, the conversation would blow over, that it would fade into nothingness. But now, with Liam standing before her, she knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“I don’t know how to say this,” he continued, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “But I’m not sure I can keep pretending like nothing’s changed. The surgery… and everything since… it’s messing with my head, Emily.”

Her breath hitched.

She was quiet for a moment, letting his words settle in. “You’re not the only one who feels that way,” she replied finally, her voice sounding rougher than she’d intended. “This thing between us, Liam—it’s… it’s complicated. It always has been. But I’m not sure I know how to deal with it either.”

Liam looked up, his eyes searching hers as though he were trying to read her, understand her in ways he hadn’t before. “So what do we do?” he asked, his voice almost a whisper. “Do we just keep pretending everything’s normal? That we’re still just rivals? Or… is there more to it? Because I can’t just keep going on like this.”

Emily stared at him, her mind racing. He wasn’t wrong. They couldn’t just go back to being competitors—those lines had already been blurred, and the pressure between them had shifted into something more. But how could she make sense of it? How could she navigate the way she was feeling when she hadn’t even begun to understand it herself?

“I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “I wish I had an answer. But I don’t.”

Liam let out a long breath as if the weight of his thoughts had finally caught up with him.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his expression a mixture of frustration and something else—something that hinted at vulnerability. “You know, it’s never been just about the competition for me, Emily. I thought it was. I convinced myself that it was. But the more I’m around you… the more I realize it’s not. It’s… it’s more than that.”

Emily blinked, taken aback. “What do you mean?” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “Are you saying you… feel something? After everything we’ve been through?”

Liam shifted uncomfortably, his hands finding their way into his pockets as he looked at her. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I think I do. I’ve been trying to ignore it, to push it aside, but it’s there. And it’s been there for a while now. Maybe even from the beginning. I don’t know. But I can’t keep pretending like it’s just about beating you anymore. I don’t even care about that, Emily.”

Emily’s mind was spinning.

It felt like the floor beneath her had just shifted like the foundation of everything she had known was crumbling.

She had always seen Liam as the competition—the one she had to be better than, the one who stood between her and her goals. But now… Now it was as if all the roles had reversed, and she didn’t know who she was in this strange, uncharted territory.

“What are you saying, Liam?” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. “Are you saying you want something more? After all of this? After everything?”

Liam’s eyes darkened, and he took a step closer to her. “I don’t know what I want, Emily. But I know I don’t want this—this tension, this… this thing between us. I don’t want to keep pretending like it’s all about grades and competition and proving who’s better. I want to figure out what this is. Whatever it is.”

For a moment, Emily felt like the world had stopped spinning.

There was a part of her that wanted to reach out, to close the distance between them. But another part of her—one that had been trained to keep a wall up, to never let anything interfere with her goals—held her back.

She wasn’t sure what to do with his confession, wasn’t sure if she even wanted to acknowledge it. But the part of her that had been fighting this attraction for so long was losing its battle.

Liam seemed to sense her hesitation, and he took a step back, his eyes falling to the floor. “Forget it. Forget I said anything. I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” Emily interrupted quickly, her voice sharper than she intended. “It’s not that. It’s just… it’s all so much to process.” She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. “I’ve spent so long keeping myself locked in this mindset, focused on one thing—getting into med school, proving I belong here. And now everything’s… changing.”

“I get it,” Liam said softly. “I do. I don’t know what this is, but I don’t want to walk away from it. Not yet.”

Emily met his gaze, searching his face for any signs of insincerity. But all she found was honesty—a rare commodity between them. “I’m not sure I can do this, Liam,” she said quietly. “Not when everything else is so uncertain. Not when I still don’t know if I’m ready to give up the competition—give up the thing that’s defined me for so long.”

Liam nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I don’t expect you to have all the answers. I don’t even have all the answers. But I can’t pretend like nothing’s happening anymore. So, if you want me to back off, I will. But if you want to see where this goes… then I’m here.”

Emily’s heart pounded in her chest.

The weight of his words, the intensity of his gaze, it all felt overwhelming.

She wanted to say something—anything—but the words didn’t come.

The only thing she could think about was the tangled mess of emotions inside her, and how, for the first time in years, she wasn’t sure where she stood.

“I don’t know, Liam,” she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “But maybe… maybe we can figure it out together.”

Liam’s eyes softened, and for the first time in their entire relationship, he smiled—not the competitive smirk that he usually wore, but something real, something honest. And it made Emily’s heart flutter in a way she couldn’t explain.

“Maybe we can,” he agreed.