The Fire in her Heart: A Lesbian/Sapphic Medical Romance

The Fire in her Heart Emily Hayes Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Epilogue Also by Emily Hayes VIP Readers List 1 Kristi was staring into her black bitter coffee. She was trying to catch her breath midway through her shift and was relieved that the doctor’s lounge was empty. The night shifts sometimes felt never- ending and tonight was one of the rare evenings that she couldn’t wait to get home and get into bed. It wasn’t that she was physically tired but when she was sleeping, she could forget about reality for a few hours. In the silence that surrounded her, she could clearly hear two nurses gossiping right outside the lounge door, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t ignore them. It wasn’t that they were trying to be loud, but at this hour sounds and voices carried further in the silence. Kristi felt as if humiliation was waiting for her around every corner of the hospital, and she knew from her years working as an Attending Burns Specialist Doctor at Forest Vale Hospital that the nursing staff thrived on gossip, especially when it involved a renowned surgeon, like her ex-husband. It’s been three months since their divorce was finalized, and Kristi thought that by now the hospital staff would have gotten bored with her tragic tale, but the torture and daily reminders was incessant. Not only did the stories and sympathetic looks remind her of the heartbreaking deceit and painful divorce but having to work in the same hospital as her ex-husband meant that there was no way of avoiding bumping into him or his new girlfriend on a regular basis. Whenever she saw either one of them, she would put on a brave face and not show any signs of the pain and anger she was carrying inside her. They did not deserve to see the damage they caused. Kristi got married young, maybe too young some would say, but she was smitten with the handsome doctor since she laid eyes on him during her first week of residency. He was well spoken, super intelligent and ambitious, unlike other men her age—not to mention his movie star good looks. Any woman would have to be blind to not agree on that. She always thought that their marriage of 21 years was happy and that she was one of the chosen few to have found her happily ever after. Kristi never would have thought that her marriage would ever be filled with lies and deceit, like so many others, until the day she walked into her husband’s office to get a patient chart and found him seated at his desk with his secretary’s head bopping up and down in his lap. Looking back on her failed marriage, Kristi was relieved that they never had children together. It wasn’t that she didn’t want any children of her own, but there never seemed to be a right time for them to start a family. They were both experts in their fields and they shared a passion for what they did. With conflicting schedules and long working hours they never got around to having children and today that seemed to be a blessing in disguise. Kristi felt that she was barely strong enough to pull herself through all of this; she couldn’t imagine having the added responsibility of being strong for anyone that would be dependent on her. Some days Kristi wished that she could just pack up her things and start over somewhere else, but she did not want to throw away the life that she built for herself in Forest Vale. The only family she had was the friends she made here, and she was a well-liked and respected member of the community. No matter how hard things were, Kristi couldn’t imagine leaving everything behind to start over, especially since she didn’t do anything wrong. When she heard the door open, she quickly pretended to be busy on her phone. She didn’t want whoever was coming through the door to think that she was eavesdropping on the gossip. “Good evening, Dr. Lowen,” the young nurse said, blushing as she realized that Kristi might have overheard her talking to another colleague outside. “Good evening, Carla. How are you doing?” Kristi replied, faking a smile. It was the same fake smile that she practiced so many times over the last couple of months that it appeared on her face without her even thinking about it. Kristi could see that the nurse was uncomfortable, and she avoided eye contact with Kristi as she quickly said, “I’m good, thank you. I was just looking for Nurse Jones. Hope you have a good night, Dr. Lowen.” And without waiting for a reply, Carla left and closed the door behind her. Kristi let out a sigh. It was moments like these that made Kristi feel even lonelier. In the past, hospital staff would have stayed and engaged in polite conversations, but since she caught her husband red handed, people seemed to be uncomfortable in her presence. Sometimes she wondered if maybe some of them knew about the affair before she found out and that was why they were avoiding her. Her loneliness wasn’t only because people at work avoided her; she was also withdrawing from her friends as well. She just never seemed to have the energy for social events, and more often than not, something would remind her of her painful divorce, or she would feel that a social invitation was extended out of pity. Kristi’s friends have been trying to set her up on a few dates since her divorce, but she just couldn’t get herself to agree to meet someone new. Dating was the furthest thing from her mind right now and really, she couldn’t see herself dating ever again. How could she