Dark Heart, Gentle Hands
Chapter 22: See you in the future

Chapter 22: See you in the future

Enzo’s POV

The sheets were cold when I woke up.

For a moment, I lay still, eyes blinking against the soft light streaming in through the blinds. The warmth of the night before clung to my skin like a second layer a memory that hadn’t fully faded. My body ached in all the right ways, pleasure lingering in my limbs, but there was a dull throb too. An emptiness. A strange, quiet hollowness that settled in the pit of my stomach as I turned and found the other side of the bed empty.

Alaric was gone.

No note. No sound. No trace but the lingering scent of his cologne on the pillow.

The sting of it was sharper than I expected. I sat up slowly, dragging the sheet with me. My heart beat a little too fast for no good reason. I wasn’t some lovesick teenager—God, no. But still, it stung. After everything he’d said. After everything he’d done. Worship, he’d called it. Like I was something holy. And then he vanished like none of it mattered.

"Don’t be stupid," I muttered to myself, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

I padded to the bathroom and turned the shower on. The water hit me like a wall—hot and grounding. I stood under the stream for a long time, hands braced against the tiles, letting it wash away the disappointment and the ghost of Alaric’s touch.

By the time I got to work, I’d buried it. Or tried to.

The hospital lobby was buzzing as usual. Phones ringing. Nurses passing clipped updates to one another. Monitors beeping somewhere in the distance. I moved through it all like muscle memory. White coat. Clipboard. Focus.

But when I stepped into the hallway by the resident lounge, I saw Dr. Olivier.

He stood with his back to me, chatting too closely with a young intern smiling that smooth, predatory smile I’d seen before. My gut clenched. And just like that, Alaric’s voice echoed in my mind:

""You really are clueless, aren’t you? Trusting a man like him. I warned you. The night you went out drinking with your coworkers he brought you back here. You were drunk out of your mind. He tried to rape you. But I stopped him before he could."

A chill ran down my spine, this time not from cold but rage.

I hadn’t remembered much about that night. I’d chalked it up to being drunk. Being stupid. But now that memory surged up like bile the way Dr. Olivier had cornered me, the pressure of his hands, the way he didn’t stop when I said no, just kept pushing, smiling like he was doing me a favor.

I felt sick. And furious.

Without another thought, I turned on my heel and headed straight for Human Resources.

The woman behind the desk raised a brow when I walked in. "Can I help you, Nurse Enzo?"

"I need to report something. A serious violation," I said, voice cold, clipped.

She straightened. "You can make a formal statement. Do you want to speak to the director of compliance?"

"Yes," I said. "Now."

It wasn’t easy. Reliving it. Admitting I hadn’t fought back harder. That I hadn’t even known how close it had gotten to something much worse.

But I told them everything.

And when they asked if anyone else knew, I said no because I couldn’t drag Alaric into this.

When they called in Dr. Olivier to respond to the report, I watched his face pale. Watched the smug mask slip. He didn’t deny it. Not entirely. He looked at me probably wondering how I suddenly remember what he did that night.

He tried to play it off as misunderstanding. Miscommunication.

But HR didn’t buy it. He was asked again because I wasn’t someone to just stir up trouble. After a while he agreed "It’s true but I was under the influence."

"That doesn’t justify your actions Doctor Olivier." She turned to me, "What do you want? Do you want to press charges?"

I don’t want that, I don’t want to press charges. "No but I’ll prefer a transfer, let him be transferred."

HR accepted. By the end of the day, Dr Olivier was transferred to a different hospital far away from me.

I stood in the locker room later, staring at my reflection. The weight of it settled on my shoulders like a mountain I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying. The mark Alaric had left on my neck had already faded to a bruise, but I touched it anyway, fingers brushing over the tender skin. He was right. I was his, he has already marked me.

And maybe this, doing the right thing, standing up for myself for the first time, it felt night. I wish I had the courage to do the same for my dad. But it’s okay one step at a time. My mind drifted to this morning when I woke up to an empty bed, I wonder if he’d come back.

He hadn’t stayed to see this part. Hadn’t waited in my bed, or even left a message. I told myself it didn’t matter. I don’t even have his number, maybe I’ll ask him the next time we meet, I’m sure we’ll meet again very soon.

After my shift, as usual I had to take the bus home, when I arrived at my place, I saw doctor Olivier standing outside, I thought he had left, what does he want?

"What do you want doctor Olivier?" I asked.

He took a step close but I took one backwards but he didn’t give up, he took another and another until he was standing in front of me and then he pulled me into a hug. "I’m sorry for everything I have done Enzo, I just want you to know that I truly loved you, and I’ll never stop loving you. And I’m not mad at you because I deserved it. I’m going to go away but I’ll be back and when I come back I’m going to pursue you untill you accept me." He held my chin with his index finger, before I could react he kissed me.

"See you in the future Enzo." He left me there confused...

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