Dr. Ward, a colleague from his department, stopped Aiden Shaw in the hallway. He held out his phone and asked with a probing look, "This is you in this photo, right?"
Aiden Shaw took the phone and glanced at the screen. His deep, dark eyes showed no reaction—neither pleasure nor anger.
"When did you get together with my goddess?" Dr. Ward asked, his voice tinged with jealousy.
"Your goddess?"
"She's not just *my* goddess. Millions of men are probably secretly pining for her."
Aiden Shaw's cool, detached gaze turned imperceptibly colder.
'So this girl is being pined for by so many men.'
"Hey, so are you really dating her or not?"
'Even though I knew a goddess was someone to be admired from afar, untouchable.'
'But seeing her in another man's arms still shatters my heart completely.'
'Besides, I can't even compare to him. We're worlds apart.'
"It's a private matter. I'd rather not say."
'What a thing to say! The curiosity is killing me.'
After returning the phone to Dr. Ward, Aiden Shaw strode to the break room.
........
After finishing her work, Hannah Hale went to Laura Lowell's hospital room.
The whole way there, all she heard was gossip about Dr. Shaw and Laura. Unable to resist, she pulled out her phone to check for herself.
"Holy crap... Laura Lowell, you've really outdone yourself."
Hannah Hale stared at the photo of Laura initiating the kiss, so excited she nearly jumped for joy.
'What kind of genius move was that?'
'But still, the two of them... they do look really good together.'
Hannah Hale practically ran into the hospital room. She looked at the girl sitting on the bed, slightly out of breath. After a moment, her breathing slowly evened out.
"Laura Lowell, you two are moving fast! And here I was, actually believing you when you said nothing happened that night."
"Can I just say that I didn't even know this whole thing happened?"
Laura Lowell blinked, her expression a mix of innocence and misery. 'I'm being totally framed here, okay?'
"Oh, cut it out. I'm not falling for it this time."
"Yeah, yeah! I don't believe it either," Peach quickly chimed in.
The two of them then dramatically high-fived.
'Have they formed an alliance already?'
Laura Lowell leaned back against the headboard and sighed wistfully. "Fine, believe what you want. I swear on my life, I had absolutely no idea I did something so... so outrageous to Dr. Shaw."
Hannah Hale sat down next to Laura, grinning. "By now, everyone in our hospital knows about you and Dr. Shaw. I can't imagine how many men and women are on the road to heartbreak."
"Even your hospital knows?"
"Even though it's only Dr. Shaw's side profile in the picture, we're all colleagues. It was easy to recognize him at a glance."
"Oh, that must have caused a lot of trouble for him."
Laura Lowell paused. "Should I apologize to him?"
'After all, she was the one who got drunk and caused a scene. Otherwise, none of this would be happening.'
"You already kissed him, what's there to apologize for? Besides, if he wasn't okay with it, he wouldn't have let you stay the night at his house."
Hannah Hale analyzed the situation with great conviction. The more she thought about it, the more she felt the two of them were a match made in heaven.
On her phone, the group chat with Hannah Hale, Laura Lowell, and Zachary Redgrave was buzzing nonstop.
[HOLY SHIT, Laura Lowell, you actually threw yourself at him.]
[I really underestimated what you're capable of when you're drunk.]
[You're all over the major news headlines with this scandal. I bow to your greatness.]