Incision of the Heart ✓

Chapter 24: The Calm Before the Storm

The days after the conversation with Liam passed in a blur.

Emily found herself going through the motions—attending rounds, observing surgeries, and taking notes on cases, but her mind was never fully present.

It wasn’t that she was distracted by the usual demands of medical school, but the weight of the unspoken words from her conversation with Liam lingered.

She couldn’t stop thinking about what he had said, what they had shared in those fleeting moments of vulnerability.

Was it truly just the stress of the rotation? Or had there been something real between them—something that was too complicated to acknowledge?

For the most part, Emily and Liam kept things professional after that conversation.

They spoke only when necessary, and their interactions were cordial but distant.

Liam was his usual reserved self, offering the occasional nod or brief comment, but there was an underlying tension between them, one that neither of them addressed.

It was like a subtle undercurrent in the air that neither of them could escape.

Emily was good at compartmentalizing.

She had to be. Medical school wasn’t kind to distractions. But the problem was, no matter how hard she tried to push her thoughts about Liam aside, they kept creeping back. And when they did, they always seemed to come back with a vengeance.

It was a Wednesday afternoon when the storm finally hit.

Emily had just finished observing a complex procedure—one that had left her mind buzzing with excitement—and she found herself wandering the hospital’s quiet hallways in search of some fresh air.

She had a few moments before her next set of lectures, so she took the opportunity to clear her head.

As she turned the corner near the nurses’ station, she nearly collided with Liam.

He was standing in the hallway, looking down at his phone, and for a split second, neither of them spoke.

They simply stared at each other, neither knowing quite what to say. But then, just as the awkward silence began to stretch between them, Liam spoke.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, his voice low and firm, his eyes meeting hers with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. “Now.”

Emily’s breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t the first time he’d said something like this, but there was something different about his tone this time—something urgent, something almost... desperate.

“Liam, I—I don’t think now’s a good time,” she replied, trying to backpedal. The last thing she wanted was to confront whatever emotions had been building between them, especially not in the middle of the hospital.

But Liam shook his head, his jaw clenched. “No. It’s not just ‘a good time’—it’s the time. You’ve been avoiding me, Emily. And I don’t want to pretend anymore. I can’t. We need to talk.”

Her heart hammered in her chest.

She had never seen Liam like this before. Normally so composed, so controlled—now, he looked like a man on the verge of breaking.

And for a brief, fleeting moment, Emily wondered if she had been wrong. If she had underestimated how much this connection between them meant.

But before she could speak, Liam grabbed her wrist gently, not enough to hurt but enough to make her look at him.

His grip was firm, and the intensity in his eyes was unmistakable.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Liam continued, his voice barely a whisper now. “That we can’t do this, that it’s too complicated, that we’re just ‘rivals.’ But I don’t believe that anymore. And I need you to hear me out. Please.”

Emily’s thoughts were racing, her mind filled with a thousand responses, but she couldn’t find the words.

She wanted to pull away, to tell him that it was too much, that they had crossed a line they couldn’t uncross. But something about the way he was looking at her—so raw, so vulnerable—stopped her.

They had been through so much together already. The rivalry. The awkwardness. The unexpected moments of connection. And now this—this raw honesty that seemed to break through the walls both of them had so carefully built.

“Liam, I…” Emily started, her voice faltering as she tried to gather her thoughts. “I can’t do this. Not now. We can’t just—“

“You don’t get it, do you?” Liam interrupted, frustration creeping into his voice. “I’m not asking for now. I’m asking for a chance. A real chance. Because I think we could be something more than just two people who happen to be in the same place at the same time. I think we could be more than the rivalry, more than whatever walls we’ve built around us.”

Emily felt a lump form in her throat. She wanted to argue, to push back against the intensity of his words. But deep down, part of her wondered if he was right. Was she just running from something real, something worth fighting for?

Before she could respond, Liam released her wrist, taking a step back.

His eyes never left hers as he spoke again, his voice softer this time, almost pleading.

“I don’t want to keep pretending like nothing’s there, Emily. But I need you to be honest with me. Are you willing to even try? Or is this just something you don’t want to deal with?”

The question hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. And for the first time, Emily realized that the decision was no longer just about what she wanted. It was about what she feared.

She wasn’t ready to admit it—wasn’t ready to give in to the vulnerability he was asking of her. But at that moment, she couldn’t deny that something inside her had shifted.

The truth was that Emily didn’t know what she wanted anymore. All she knew was that Liam’s words had cracked something open inside of her, something she hadn’t even known was there.

“I don’t know, Liam,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched between them like an impossible chasm, both of them standing on opposite sides, unsure how to cross it.

Finally, Liam nodded, his expression one of resignation. “I get it,” he said quietly. “You don’t have to be ready. But just know this, Emily: I’m not going anywhere. Whether you want to admit it or not, something has changed. And whether we like it or not, we can’t go back.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Emily standing in the hallway, her heart in her throat, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the air.

As she stood there, her mind reeling with everything that had just happened, she realized one thing: the calm before the storm was over. And the storm—whatever it might look like—was coming.