My Ex Became My Doctor

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After breaking up with my werewolf boyfriend, my period was a whole month late.

My best friend was convinced I was either accidentally pregnant or had completely wrecked my body from pulling all-nighters.

She practically dragged me to the campus medical clinicthe one with the impossible-to-get appointments.

The doctor sitting behind the desk turned out to be my ex-boyfriend, the one I'd broken up with just a month ago with some pretty harsh words.

His silver-framed glasses couldn't hide the crimson gleam in his eyes.

"Lie down on the examination bed. Pull your pants down and expose your lower abdomen."

When I froze and refused to move, he got up and walked over, trying to forcibly pull down my pants.

"We didn't even finish that last night before we broke up. Whose kid are you carrying?"

I never dreamed the harsh words I'd thrown at him would come back to bite me this fast, in such a humiliating way.

When my best friend Lynn half-dragged me into the campus medical clinic, I was still putting up a dying struggle.

My mind kept replaying that final sentence I'd shouted at Kane a month ago as I stormed out the door:

"Even if an ambulance carries me into the campus hospital, I will never come looking for you, and I won't let you see me ever again!"

Well, now look at me. Not only had I ended up at the clinic, but I'd specifically made an appointment and delivered myself right to his doorstep.

Lynn wouldn't shut up in my ear:

"You should be grateful! I stalked the campus message board for a whole week and traded a concert ticket for this appointment!

Dr. Cullen is the youngest associate professor in the medical schoolcold, reserved, and ridiculously handsome. He's been seeing patients for two weeks, and every girl on campus has been crashing the booking system just to get a glimpse of him!"

My head was completely occupied with my missing period. I didn't take her words seriouslyI just figured he was some skilled, good-looking doctor.

Until I stood in front of the appointment screen and saw my assigned physician's name printed clearly: "Kane."

My brain crashed. My blood ran cold.

No. It couldn't be this coincidental.

I frantically tried to reassure myself:

There are tons of guys named Kane. It's probably just someone with the same name. It can't actually be him.

But when I pushed open the examination room door and our eyes met, my last shred of hope shattered into dust.

Neat dark brown hair, a crisp white coat that emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

If this wasn't Kane, my ex-boyfriend of one month, who else could it be?

He glanced up at me, his tone completely professional, devoid of any emotion. "Willow? What seems to be the problem?"

Fine. Real fine. One month after our breakup, he could already pretend we were strangers. This level of composure was wasted on anything but acting.

Even though I was the one who'd said those brutal wordswords that cut to the bone

seeing him like this now still made my heart ache and feel blocked up.

After all, what I'd originally said was that unless he was lying in the ER on the brink of death begging for me, he shouldn't expect to see me again in this lifetime.

Now the tables had turned. He sat steady and composed in his examination room,

while I, the one who'd thrown out those harsh words, had obediently delivered myself as his patient. I'd practically slapped my own face swollen.

Lynn, completely oblivious to the frozen atmosphere between Kane and me, grabbed my hand and started talking a mile a minute:

"Dr. Cullen, please help her! She's been so wrong this past monthiced coffee and iced lattes every single day, her emotions exploding at the drop of a hat, breaking out like crazy, and most importantly, her period hasn't come for a whole month!"

She leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a volume that could still be heard throughout the entire room:

"We're all worried she might be accidentally pregnant! This girl's too stubbornshe absolutely refuses to buy a pregnancy test herself, so I had to drag her here to see you!"

I watched Kane's eyes turn ice-cold, dying of embarrassment on the spot, my toes curling inside my shoes. I wanted to vanish into thin air.

Kane nodded at Lynn. He lowered his head, gripping his pen as he wrote in the medical chart. The pen tip pressed so hard it tore through a layer of paper. Beyond the routine symptom notes, he wrote an extra line:

"Broke up one month ago, delayed period, suspected early pregnancymoved on without missing a beat?"

My eyes went wide.

This is a medical chart, not your personal complaint journal!

"Do you have a regular partner? Any intimate activity?"

This was standard procedure for diagnosing menstrual irregularities. I was about to say "No, I've been single for a month," but before I could even open my mouth, Lynn jumped in, patting her chest confidently:

"Yes, yes! They have a great relationship! They've just had a little spat these past couple months, but that's normal for couplesit definitely won't affect anything!"

"Have you taken a pregnancy test yourself?"

"No, no! We came straight to you first! Your appointments are so hard to getwe absolutely trust your medical skills!" Lynn beamed, selling me out completely.

"I see."

Kane responded coolly. His face looked calm, but I could see it clear as day

his knuckles gripping the pen had gone white from the pressure.

Alarm bells rang in my head. I knew this look too well. This was his tell when jealousy was taking over and he was about to lose control.

"Doctor, doctor, based on her condition, is there a high probability she's pregnant?"

Lynn pressed on with eager, gossipy anticipation.

That sentence scared the soul out of me. I shot up from my chair:

"I'm fine! I suddenly feel perfectly healthy! My period will come tomorrow! I'm leaving!"

If I stayed any longer, who knew what Kane would do.

But the moment I took a step, Lynn yanked me back and pressed me firmly into the chair.

"Are you crazy? Do you know how hard I worked to get this appointment? Sit down and stay put!"

I sat there feeling miserable, every cell in my body screaming at me to run.

Just then, Kane finally looked up, his gaze landing on me before he addressed Lynn:

"Your friend might feel a bit embarrassed with you here. Could you wait in the waiting area outside?"

Lynn had an epiphany. As she headed for the door, she kept muttering:

"Geez, what's there to be embarrassed about? We're all girlswhat haven't I seen?"

Before leaving, she even gave me an encouraging thumbs-up.

I watched her close the door, one thought in my mind:

Lynn, my dear best friend, you have no idea that this upstanding doctor in his white coat has a possessiveness that runs terrifyingly deep in private.

He once spent an entire day jealous just because I'd partnered with a male classmate for a class presentation.

Let alone now, when he thought I was pregnant with another man's child.

The moment the examination room door fully closed, I felt like I couldn't even breathe.

Lynn was gone. Kane finally dropped the act.

He casually tossed the pen that had run out of ink onto the desk and removed his silver-framed glasses.

Those eyes that used to look at me with warmth were now cold as ice.

He leaned back in his chair, pulling his lips into a cold smirk, his voice dripping with frost:

"Well, well, Willow. Only one month since the breakup, and you've really leveled up."

"Who's the father?"

That one sentence left me stunned.

I stood there frozen, taking forever to react. "What are you talking about? What child?"

"Still playing dumb?" He leaned forward slightly, his gaze cutting into me like a knife.

"Your period's a month late. Your best friend says you and your boyfriend have a wonderful relationship. What's wrongyou can do it but can't own up to it?"

"The forum posts weren't lying after all. Just days after our breakup, you're already out and about with other guys. Now you've even gotten yourself pregnant. Are you that desperate for company?"

His voice grew colder with each word, until by the end, it was filled with barely suppressed hostility.

I was completely baffled.

What posts? What other guys?

Heaven as my witness, this past month since the breakup, aside from going shopping once with Lynn, I'd spent all my time either cramming papers in the library or lying in my dorm. I hadn't so much as touched another guy's hand, let alone found a new boyfriend or gotten pregnant!

My feelings for Kane had never changed since the day we got together.

Even though I was the one who initiated the breakup, the one who said those harsh words, I'd never truly let him go.

Looking at Kane's expression, I suddenly remembered how Kane and I first met.

Last fall, I was helping a friend from NYU film her short movie project.

One scene required borrowing the school's medical clinic.

For better filming quality, we specifically picked the quietest time slota Wednesday afternoon.

In the empty examination room, I lay on the exam bed, frowning as I delivered my lines.

Getting into character, I even reached my hand up into the air, trying to convey a sense of weak helplessness.

Then my hand was suddenly caught by a warm, dry palm.

Thinking my roommate was improvising, I kept my eyes closed and leaned toward that hand, continuing my performance:

"Doctor, am I... am I dying..."

Then I heard a low laugh above me, magnetic and tinged with helplessness:

"Miss, you seem perfectly healthy right now, but if you keep this up, I might need to refer you to psychiatry."

My eyes flew open. I was completely dumbfounded.

Standing before me was a man in a white coatbroad shoulders, narrow waist, refined features, eyes full of barely concealed amusement.

He was still holding my hand firmly, and I was practically pressed against him.

My roommate behind me had nearly dropped the camera in fright, shrinking into the corner, not daring to move.

My mind went blank. My first thought was:

I'm screwed. We got caught using the exam room without permission, and by a ridiculously handsome doctor no less.

I scrambled off the exam bed in a panic, my face hot enough to fry eggs, stammering out apologies.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

Later I learned his name was Kane Cullen, NYU's youngest medical professor.

To make amends, I brought him food every day, making constant trips to the medical clinic.

Though I claimed it was to apologize, my eyes couldn't help but wander all over him.

Kane was gentle and handsome. The more I looked, the more my heart raced. The more I visited, the more frequent my trips became.

That Friday, I was taking my usual route with coffee and pastries, cutting through the quiet alley behind the medical school.

The setting sun painted the brick walls on either side a warm orange. I hummed a tune, my mind full of the way Kane's lips curved when he accepted my coffee.

Then three men turned the corner and blocked my path.

The one in front had a cigarette dangling from his lips. He looked me up and down with a gaze so slimy it made me sick:

"All alone? Why don't you have a drink with us?"

I instinctively took a step back, my mind racing.

"Don't be scared. We won't eat you." Another one grinned and stepped forward, reaching for my wrist.

I turned to run, but the third one blocked my escape route.

Just as that dirty hand was about to touch me

The three men went flying.

Their bodies slammed into the brick walls on either side with dull thuds and screams.

And Kane stood right in front of me.

He turned around, those amber eyes looking straight at me.

"Are you hurt?" His voice was lower than usual, like he was struggling to suppress something.

I shook my head blankly, staring at the three men's pitiful state, my brain completely blank.

He'd sent three grown men flying with his bare hands?

"You... how did you..." My voice trembled.

Kane took a deep breath.

"Willow," he said, his voice soft. "There's something I was planning to wait a bit longer to tell you."

He took a step closer to me.

"But now, I don't want to hide it anymore."

The next second, a massive black wolf tail emerged from beneath his white coat.

His eyes turned completely golden.