Chapter 886

Alexander Hamilton frowned slightly, tapping his phone screen. The call log was empty, and there were no new notifications in his messages. His Adam's apple bobbed as he muttered, "I was careless."

A nurse organizing medical records didn't look up as she said, "Dr. Carter left in a hurry. She probably didn’t have time to inform you. The surgery will take at least another hour and a half. If it’s urgent, I can relay a message."

A lung transplant patient had suffered a sudden placental abruption—a critical emergency. As a key OB-GYN specialist, Evelyn Carter had to join the emergency surgery immediately. Alexander didn’t know the details. His only concern was that she might miss lunch.

"Please give this to her," he said, handing the nurse a thermal lunchbox. "Remind her to heat it in the microwave."

The red light above the operating room finally dimmed. Evelyn removed her mask, her bangs damp with sweat. Leaning against the wall, her legs trembled slightly.

"No wonder you're Professor Liang’s star pupil," the chief of internal medicine said, patting her shoulder. "Though your stamina could use some work."

Evelyn forced a weak smile. A dull ache pulsed in her lower abdomen, forcing her to hunch slightly for relief.

"Dr. Carter is almost three months pregnant," a nurse whispered.

The chief’s expression darkened. "Why wasn’t I told? Go rest—now!"

In the locker room, Evelyn collapsed onto a bench. Her fingers brushed the faint swell of her stomach as she silently prayed, Please be okay, little one.

The prenatal report showed normal fetal development. But as a doctor, she knew better than anyone how precarious the first trimester could be. Every contraction sent a jolt of terror through her.

"Dr. Carter!" A nurse hurried into the hallway. "Mr. Hamilton sent lunch."

Only then did Evelyn realize she hadn’t eaten since morning. The thermal container held steamed perch and yam rib soup—dishes she’d been craving lately.

But the moment the oily scent hit her, nausea churned in her gut. She choked down a few bites of plain congee before dumping the rest in the trash.

Her phone buzzed. A new message from Alexander popped up, his profile picture now replaced with the blue robot cat she loved.

—How was the surgery? The nurse said you took an emergency case. Call me when you see this. I’m worried.

Evelyn’s lips curved at the goofy Doraemon avatar. She opened her gallery and switched her own profile picture to one of Peanut, their Ragdoll cat, batting at a butterfly.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard before typing a simple reply:

"Just finished. Everything’s fine."