Third person's POV
Tabitha had been his most promising student. As a freshman, she'd become his assistant, shadowing him in clinics and even observing surgeries.
He had placed his highest hopes in her, demanding perfection during her training.
To him, Tabitha was a once-in-a-generation talent—he was merely her starting point, not her ceiling.
Dr. Fairbanks had been both a mentor and father figure to her. And she had let him down.
"Is Dr. Fairbanks… doing alright?" Tabitha asked quietly.
Alban's voice turned cold. "No. He says he once had a student who made him proud—until she threw away her future for a man."
Tears welled up in Tabitha's eyes.
She still remembered the day she submitted her withdrawal letter. Dr. Fairbanks rushed to the school, still wearing his surgical scrubs with a scalpel clutched in his hand.
At first, he thought something catastrophic had happened—had her family gone bankrupt?
Was someone threatening her?
He offered to secure her a full scholarship and promised to fast-track her into surgeries. If her family wanted her to quit medicine and inherit some business, he even vowed to confront her father, John.
That day, sweat dripping down his face, he pleaded, "Don't throw your life away. You've got such a bright future. Whatever the problem is, tell me. Let me fix it."
When Tabitha confessed she was dropping out to marry a man, his glasses nearly slid off his nose. He wondered if the hours in the OR had made him hallucinate.
"Has that man brainwashed you? How could you say something so absurd?"
Everyone had reacted the same way.
Dr. Fairbanks had begged, bargained, even stormed into Derek's office.
Derek had been polite, but no one could change Tabitha's mind.
Dr. Fairbanks made multiple efforts and, in the end, looked at Tabitha with a disappointed face, saying, "I hope you won't regret this."
At that time, Tabitha was still young. She said, "Dr. Fairbanks, I chose my own path and will definitely not regret it."
The day Dr. Fairbanks finally gave up, cicadas screeching in the summer heat, his shadow stretched long in the sunlight as he walked away.
Tabitha still felt that guilt like a knife twist. She made him regret ever taking her on.
Years flew by in the blink of an eye.
Tabitha wiped her tears. "I abandoned medicine, bet everything on a man, and got burned. Classic fool's move."
Alban handed her a business card. "Who knows the right path at the start of life? You've bled enough to learn. If you want to come back, it's not too late. He never gave up on you. Don't become his greatest regret. Genius shouldn't be wasted like this."
The card read, "Obsidian Medical Alliance."
Though obscure, any group with doctors like Dr. Weaver couldn't be ordinary.
Tabitha tucked it away and returned to the car, where Derek finished his conversation with Alban.
Behind the soundproofed windows, Derek bowed slightly. "Thank you for saving my life, Dr. Weaver."
He didn't tell Tabitha how close he had been to death that night—a shard of glass millimeters from a critical artery. Only Alban's steady hands had pulled him back from the edge.
"Thought you had grown up these past years," Alban grumbled, sharp but not unkind. "Still as reckless as ever. Stealing that girl? Serves you right. Ozzie chewed my ear off for weeks! Chased me with a scalpel until I swore you'd return her."
"I appreciate your help."
Alban waved him off. "Did it 'cause the girl's got spine. Waste of time otherwise. You sure you're letting her go? Old men like me don't have energy for your drama."
"I've learned," Derek said quietly. "Loving someone isn't about chains. It's about setting them free."
"Took you long enough." Alban clapped his shoulder. "Watch your back now that your cover's blown."
"Okay."
"Just leave. Don't come back again."
"Thank you, Mr. Weaver."
As Derek slid into the car, Tabitha studied him. He seemed different—lighter, like a weight had lifted. She didn't know what they discussed, but for the first time in years, hope flickered in her chest.