Eden
Bella's eyes swept over Eden's exhausted figure as she said, "Please tell me you're done with him."
Eden however didn't respond instead she just blinked slowly as she typed in the computer.
Bella's voice rose in disbelief, "You are still dating Jake? Are you serious?"
Eden finally looked at her tired, "Bella…not now."
"Not now? Then when? When he breaks your heart again? Or when he starts treating you like a stranger in your own relationship, oh wait… he already does that." Bella taunted her.
Eden rubbed her temples in frustration. "I'm tired. Can we not do this right now?"
"You're tired because you're working your ass off to be seen, Eden." Bella snapped. "You're working yourself to the bone. You haven't slept in two days while Mr. Cold bastard walks around like the world owes him something. Does he even know you skipped lunch again?"
A bitter chuckle escaped Eden's lips. He didn't know anything, more like he didn't care how she was doing at all and she hated how Bella's words were like salt to wounds she hadn't dared to name.
Bella's expression softened a little. "You're too good for this, Eden. Your problem is that you just give and give and he just takes it like it's his right. He doesn't deserve you, my friend. I seriously wish I could kill that Freya bitch too."
Eden stared blankly at the desk, her throat tight. She didn't cry, she was past the stage of tears. What she felt now was worse. A slow bitterness that sat behind her ribs like a rust.
She didn't even know if she was still with him, she didn't know what they were anymore. If she was waiting for him to fight for her or she was still pretending she mattered to him.
"Dr. Eden Grace!" Suddenly someone yelled from behind making both of them flinch. "Dr. Morris wants you to report to the ICU. Report immediately."
Eden stood up, shocked. "What..? What happened?"
When she reached the ICU, the air felt heavier. Nurses were whispering, many looked at her with a cold gaze. A junior intern stood frozen near the nurses' station, pale as a ghost.
Eden's eyes found Dr. Morris, the attending doctor of the patient looked up the moment he spotted her.
"You're here," he said grimly. "Inside. Now."
Eden was shocked at the sudden grim voice but she had no choice but to follow the order, looking helpless.
Why is he angry now? She wondered.
"We received this morning the postmortem report for Miss Ria Mehta, the survivor of the infamous bullying case. She was under your care. Do you recall?"
Postmortem..!?
Eden blinked, caught off guard. "Yes... I was monitoring her until the night shift took over. Her vitals were stable. She was responsive. I left everything properly documented."
Dr. Morris tossed a file onto the desk. "Then explain this."
Eden stepped forward and she was shocked as her name was there, even her handwriting. But on the medication chart, something was off. Entire doses were changed. Drug names mismatched. The allergy note, gone.
Her chest went tight. "This..this isn't what I prescribed."
"She went into cardiac arrest at 5:42 a.m.," Dr. Morris said, his voice hollow now. "By the time we tried to stabilize her, it was too late!"
"No! How can this be?" Eden panicked. "No, she was fine when I left! I double-checked everything, I swear."
He held up a hand, silencing her. "Don't say another word, Dr Eden. Just admit it, you are wrong. We have the proof."
Proof? What proof? Eden's world was spinning now.
Ria Mehta was the high school human teen who'd survived an attempted suicide after being brutally bullied by her classmates. Her story was all over the news. A symbol of survival. A miracle.
And now she was dead.
And Eden was the last doctor on record.
Everything was wrong on the file. Wrong dosage. Wrong medication. Administered by Eden Grace, the notes said in clean, clinical handwriting.
Eden blinked, confusion slicing through her. "That's not mine. I never wrote–"
"But the digital timestamp matches your log-in ID," Freya said smoothly.
"That's not possible!" Eden's voice cracked. "I… I entered a normal dosage. I even double-checked with Nurse Olivia."
But the nurse Olivia looked up startled, then lowered her eyes.
Freya gave a sympathetic frown. "Maybe you were tired. Or distracted."
"I didn't." Eden hissed at Freya and turned to the director. "Sir, you know me. I wouldn't make such a basic error. Someone, this isn't my file. Someone altered it!"
But no one met her eyes. The air felt thick with quiet judgment, that it started suffocating Eden.
Suddenly Jake entered breathless, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on Eden.
"What's going on?" he asked, confusion and worry etched on his face. "I just heard about Ria. She's… she's dead?"
Freya immediately turned to him, her expression softening. "Jake… it's awful. Eden was in charge. There was a mix-up with the dosage, she gave the wrong dosage to a human. Ria's heart just... stopped."
Jake's gaze snapped to Eden in disbelief. "What? That can't be right."
"I didn't do it, Jake." Eden's voice trembled but her argument was clear. "I prescribed Diazepam, 5mg oral. I double-checked the allergies myself. She was already stabilizing! She can't die like this!"
"Then how the hell did this end up in her system?" Dr. Morris thundered, hands on the table now. "You do realize what this looks like? Medical negligence of the highest order."
Jake looked at him in disbelief, "Sir, are you sure you're not mistaken..? Eden is a brilliant student with the highest marks in her college, she won't make errors like this."
"No, Dr Jake. Watch closely." Freya said as she showed the tab, her voice calm, almost pitying. "This is from the ICU corridor camera, timestamped at 2:07 a.m."
Eden's heart pounded as grainy footage appeared. There she was, or someone who looked like her walking into the restricted area. Alone. No one else. No nurse, no shadow behind her. She was holding something in her hand.
"That's not…" Eden's voice cracked. "That's not from that night! I wasn't even—"
"We verified the timestamp. And your ID card scanned at the same time," Freya added gently, glancing at Jake.
Jake stood near the back, arms crossed, his jaw clenched. His eyes stayed fixed on the screen, not on Eden. He didn't even look at her once.
"You told us you never entered the ICU that night," Freya said slowly. "Yet the system shows otherwise. Footage confirms it. Your card confirms it. Also Nurse Olivia already gave her statement." Freya added.
Eden turned desperately toward the woman seated nearby. "Olivia, tell them! You were with me when I administered the dosage. You saw—"
But Olivia lowered her gaze and whispered, "I don't remember clearly… maybe I stepped out…"
Eden stared at her in disbelief. They got to her too…?
"I didn't!" Eden cried. "Freya…she's lying! She's manipulating this, can't you see—"
Freya gave a soft gasp, clutching her chest. "I understand you're upset, Eden, but dragging me into this… I was only trying to help."
Dr. Morris exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to have to report this up to the board. And Eden… until this is investigated, you're off duty."
Eden stumbled back, her tears streaming down her cheeks. Jake's eyes met hers, wide and conflicted, but he said nothing. His jaw tightened, hands curled into fists.
And then everything spiraled out way too fast.
The very next morning, she was summoned. Not to a private inquiry, but to a full board hearing, the kind reserved for catastrophic malpractice.
Even if Eden cried it was fake, none listened. Everyone in the hospital had joined hands against Eden. It was purely impossible for her to fight alone.
"Dr. Jake, what do you think we should do? Do you have any suggestions..?" The senior doctor asked Jake. A hope lit in Eden's face thinking Jake might save her, trust her.
Jake's gaze swept over Eden once, unreadable. Then he turned to the board.
"The situation is volatile. Miss Mehta's case is already high-profile. There are so many presses latched onto it. If the news of negligence spreads outside, it will destroy the whole hospital's reputation."
Another senior doctor said, "Jake is right. If the public learns a patient under our care died because of an error, we will face lawsuits, protests, and a PR nightmare. Our sponsors will pull out. Accreditation will be questioned."
"What do you think we should do now, Dr. Jake?"
Jake's voice came from the side, steady but cold. "The cleanest solution is to release an official statement that Miss Mehta's death was due to unforeseen complications, like cardiac arrest or something post trauma. We have to avoid the word 'negligence' entirely."
Eden looked at him shocked. What..?
Freya's father however fumed angrily, "I understand your suggestion to protect the hospital's reputation, but are you also shamelessly protecting this ruined doctor?"
Murmurs rose around the room, harsh and unanimous. "Right, she should not be spared. What she did was wrong. Dismiss her. We cannot keep someone this irresponsible."
"I told you already, a wolfless doctor was of no use. It was a waste to appoint her."
"How many times I told you, I didn't do it!!" Eden pleaded but none listened to her. Jake having no choice, helplessly remained silent.
Within minutes, the decision was made. She was dismissed. Then the news flashed across every channel, a cold headline against a swirling storm of questions:
Ria Mehta Dies from Cardiac Arrest and Post-Trauma Complications.
The official story was clear, clean and final. But to those who loved her, it was a cruel lie.
Ria's mother whose eyes were swollen and red, stood before the cameras, her voice breaking through the silence.
"She was fine yesterday! Perfectly fine! How could she just...die like this? The doctor said that she would discharge in a day or two. How can she have a cardiac arrest so suddenly? I don't accept this!"
The news and speculation had started to take a huge turn. On the other hand, Freya couldn't digest Jake's neat cover-up. Freya, who was sharp and unyielding, seized the moment. Quietly, deliberately, she leaked the rumours behind the quiet dismissal.
Eden Grace, the wolfless doctor had been the doctor in charge and now she is mysteriously dismissed from the post.
And this made all the reporters pounce at the hospital.
"Why was Dr. Grace dismissed? Is there more to this story? It is fishy."
"Was It Medical Negligence or Murder? The nation wants to know the truth."
The chairman faced the barrage of questions, but he stood calm and controlled.
"There is no cover up. Miss Mehta's death was a tragic complication. Dr. Grace's dismissal was a separate personnel decision."
But the seed of doubt had been planted. The hospital's carefully crafted narrative was already cracking.
Camera crews staked out the hospital. Reporters shouted questions at Eden as she stepped outside. She hid her face behind trembling fingers as she was ambushed outside the hospital gates.
Reporters shoved mics in her face. Flashbulbs blinded her.
Then came the patient's mother, red-eyed, trembling with grief.
She slapped Eden across the face. "You murdered my daughter!You killed her didn't you!? You witch! Give me my child back!! What did she deserve to face this cruelty!! That poor soul has never been at peace!! What did my child do to deserve all these!"
A vase smashed at her feet, making Eden panic. Security rushed in but it was all too late.
Her world had just collapsed and shattered into pieces. Everything she'd worked for was destroyed in a day.
"Eden! You can't stay here. Please hide somewhere until the media cools down. Till then I'll look into it." Bella cried holding Eden's hand.
The moment the news hit, the internet tore Eden apart. Comments exploded with venom.
"Dismissed for a reason. She's a murderer."
"How the hell do you mess up and kill a kid? She should be locked up, not just fired."
"They're hiding the truth. She's the one who killed Ria."
Memes and angry hashtags trended. #JusticeForRia, #WhereIsEden, #HospitalCoverUp.
Forums and comment sections became battlegrounds. Friends and strangers alike questioned Eden's character, her professionalism, even her motives.
Behind her back, accusations piled higher every hour, drowning her in a sea of suspicion and hate.
And the hospital stayed silent.
.
.
.
*Few months later*
It's been several months since Eden had been holed up in a hotel, waiting for the headlines to die down.
A long after the news cycle had calmed, Eden slipped out under the cover of night and made her way home, or what she hoped was still home. The home once Jake and Eden shared.
But then she found her suitcase was dumped far away. Her clothes were scattered like litter, her books and medical items thrown aside.
Rain had stained the corners of her certificates, everything has started to smell badly.
What happened? As Eden walked inside and pushed open the door, she was greeted with laughter, music, voices and decorations taking her by surprise.
What the…what's happening here? She wondered and as she turned the corner, her breath caught.
Werewolves. There were dozens of them, standing under garlands of white roses. There were glasses in their hand and so were many polite claps and camera flashes. Eden couldn't figure out what was happening.
But then her eyes landed at the center and there stood Jake and beside him was Freya. She beamed glowing flawlessly, looking like a princess in a pale pink dress. On her finger, a diamond ring sparkled way too brightly.
Jake's mother raised her glass. "To the future… to Jake and Freya's engagement!"
What!? Clarisse's words were like a slap to Eden.
Jake raised his glass. "My pleasure," he said. Freya giggled and leaned into his side, showing off her ring.
Eden's suitcase slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a hollow thud. Jake was engaged to Freya!? How could this happen!??
Jake saw her, his face suddenly went stone as if the weight of everything hit him all at once.