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The hospital cafeteria at two in the afternoon was caught in that strange lull between lunch rush and dinner preparations. Jenny sat alone at a corner table, a cup of tea cooling in front of her and a medical journal open but unread. She had been staring at the same page for ten minutes, her mind miles away.

The burner phone message still haunted her. Family matter requires your immediate attention. She knew what that meant. Her father would not have sent that warning unless something serious was happening. Something that required her presence, her skills, or both.

"Dr. Williams. Mind if I join you?"

Jenny looked up to find Dr. Mark Peterson standing beside her table, holding a tray with a sandwich and coffee. He was smiling, that easy expression that made him popular with patients and staff alike. Tall, athletic build, warm brown eyes that crinkled at the corners when he laughed. The kind of man who made conversations feel effortless.

The kind of man she had no business getting close to.

"Of course," Jenny said, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. Refusing would draw more attention than accepting.

Mark sat down and took a bite of his sandwich, completely at ease. "Rough shift yesterday?"

"No more than usual."

"I heard about the save you made. Advanced arrhythmia. Dr. Chen was singing your praises in the attending lounge."

Jenny shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. "It was the right diagnosis at the right time."

"You are too modest," Mark said. "You have instincts that most of us would kill for. I have been watching you work, and I swear you diagnose patients before the tests even come back."

Watching her. The words made Jenny's wolf stir with unease. She kept her expression neutral, but inside, warning bells were ringing. "I just pay attention to the details."

"Well, whatever your secret is, it is impressive." Mark leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping into a more personal register. "Listen, Jenny, I know we have talked a bit here and there, but I feel like I do not really know you. You keep to yourself."

"I prefer it that way."

"I get that. Medicine can be all consuming." He paused, as if gathering courage. "But I was thinking maybe we could grab dinner sometime. Away from the hospital. Just the two of us."

There it was. The question she had been dreading since the moment he sat down. Jenny met his gaze and saw genuine interest there, the kind of hopeful warmth that came from someone who had not yet learned to guard his heart.

She felt a sharp pang of regret.

"Mark, I appreciate the offer, but I have to say no."

His smile faltered but did not disappear entirely. "Is it the hospital policy? Because technically we are in different departments, so there is no conflict of interest."

"It is not about policy."

"Then what is it?" He asked it gently, without pressure, but the question still hung between them.

Jenny chose her words carefully. "I am not in a place where I can date anyone. My life is complicated in ways I cannot explain, and it would not be fair to start something I cannot finish."

"Everyone's life is complicated," Mark said. "That does not mean you have to go through it alone."

"For me, it does."

The finality in her tone must have registered because Mark leaned back in his chair, his expression shifting from hopeful to resigned. "Okay. I hear you. But if you ever change your mind, the offer stands."

"I will not," Jenny said, hating how cold she sounded but knowing it was necessary. "I am sorry, Mark. You are a good person, and you deserve someone who can give you their full attention. That is not me."

He nodded slowly, processing the rejection. "Fair enough. No hard feelings."

"No hard feelings," Jenny echoed.

Mark finished his sandwich in silence, the easy conversation from earlier now replaced by an awkward distance. When he stood to leave, he offered her a small, sad smile. "Take care of yourself, Jenny."

"You too."

She watched him walk away, his shoulders slightly slumped, and felt the ache settle in her chest. In another life, she might have said yes. In another life, she might have been able to sit across from him at dinner, laugh at his jokes, and let herself feel something resembling normal human connection.

But this was not another life. This was the life she had, where secrets and responsibility built walls higher than any skyscraper. She could not let anyone in, not when the truth of what she was would destroy any foundation they tried to build.

Jenny closed the medical journal and stood, leaving her untouched tea behind. She had four more hours on her shift, four more hours to be Dr. Jenny Williams, healer and human. Then she would face whatever her father demanded of her.

The weight of isolation pressed down on her shoulders as she walked back to the emergency room.