The Star He Left Bleeding

e man I couldn't have: the brilliant, cold surgeon Dr. Etienne McCarthy. My r

er voice dripping with smug triumph, announced his engagem

was a calculated performance orchestrated by Kaylee. "I did what you asked, Kaylee," he'

isted story that I had set it myself. He chose her, again and again, even leaving me bleeding on an op

ance. A convenient discard.

a kind man named Collins. But just as I found my peace, a ghost from the past reappeared, his eyes filled w

pte

bject of endless gossip. They called me ruthless, a diva, a force of nature. On screen, I was glamorous, witty, and unbreakable. Off screen, I was all those things, too.

aid I was too ambitious, too free-spirited. The truth? I was terrified of genuine connection. I preferr

the emergency room like a phantom, calm and precise. His dark eyes, usually cold and analytical, held a flicker of something, a hint of deep, hidden fires. He was brilliant, ever

remieres, even a public declaration or two. He always declined, politely, distantly. His indifference was a wall, smooth and impenet

ivate clinic. It was no surprise when Etienne McCarthy walked into the examination room, his face a mask of professional

icked up my chart, eyes scanning, not lingering on me. "Injury

ements were efficient, focused. He stitched me up with an almost surgical pre

nly man who can touch me like this and not get a restraining order." I

h, no flicker of amusement. Just a flat, unwavering gaze. "Miss Cabrera, this is a medical proc

ust trying to lighten the mood, Dr. McCarthy. It's not every da

, cutting the thread with a snip. "You have a high pain tolerance. I've noted tha

essed, a flicker of hope ignitin

s' medical histories, Miss Cabrera." His words were a blunt instrument, crushing any r

my mother. Mrs. Wiley. Her caller ID flashed, a stark rem

eaker, was shrill, laced with an accusation that was always just beneath the sur

f my nose. "Mom, I'm... current

Kaylee? Calm, sensible, focused on something real, not this vulgar acting ch

bills, remember? Unlike Kaylee, I actually have to work for

wer, Aliza. Always has been. After your grandfather... after everything, she needed

oisterous facade to the sensitive girl underneath. When he died, everything changed. My mother, beautiful but fragile, cru

tector, became Kaylee's doting shadow. Kaylee's every whim was indulged, every perceived slight against her

agged to the study, my stepfather raising his hand. My mother stood by, silent, her eyes filled not with concern for me, but with a strange, blank indifference. That n

nything from you anyway." The years that followed were brutal. Waiting tables, struggling for auditions, sleeping on fri

I told

gentle, his fingers brushing my hair from my forehead. "Careful, Miss Cabrera," he'd murmured, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it. "You're too valuable to be so careless." He dismissed it later as

ou even listening? This is important! Etienne McCarthy, Dr. McCarthy, he's engaged!

. Etienne McCarthy. Engaged. To Kaylee.