“You said you were the one who called Zayden?” Patrick looked at Celeste.
“Is there a problem?”
“No.” Patrick spoke to Herbert with a detached tone. The man was still talking, but Patrick had already hung up.
The exchange was short and quiet, but Celeste still heard it.
Her face turned so red it looked like it might start bleeding.
Patrick didn’t want his longtime crush to lose face. “Still, thank you. Since you spoke to him, he’ll probably give it his all.”
Only then did Celeste’s sweet, kind-girl persona find its footing again. “I overstepped, I guess. Good thing your dad had the foresight to call Zayden early. If I’d waited to make that call, it would’ve delayed things by at least half an hour.”
Seeing that Rowan still hadn’t left, she added, “I’ll stay with you. In case anything comes up, I can help.”
Patrick didn’t turn her down. He looked over at Rowan. The bottle of water in her hand was still unopened. He walked over, twisted the cap off, and handed it to her. “Do you want to go home? I’ll have someone drive you. I can’t leave right now.”
Rowan shook her head. “I’ll wait for Serena.”
In the blink of an eye, Serena had vanished. She was probably just using the restroom. Patrick didn’t think much of it.
Celeste glanced at the bottle of water—she didn’t even get one herself—and suddenly felt a sharp wave of resentment. Her glare stabbed hard at Rowan.
Inside the prep room, the specialists hired by the Jensen family were already in place, along with several anesthesiologists.
Zayden’s specialty was surgery, with a focus on clinical operations. He had trained under Levi Roberts, a renowned surgeon in Ardenos. In a small town like Evervale City, meeting someone like him was practically fate.
As soon as he walked in, everyone’s eyes lit up.
So handsome. So young. No wonder he was Levi’s star student.
He changed into surgical gear, disinfected, and began prepping for the procedure.
Only then did a few people notice there was a girl following behind him.
“Mr. Jackson, who is she?”
“Anesthesiologist. Same as you.”
The senior anesthesiologists weren’t thrilled.
Acupuncture anesthesia wasn’t your average acupuncture—it wasn’t something a few amateurs could pull off with some casual needling.
You had to be incredibly precise with your meridian placement and keep the needle spinning rapidly to continuously stimulate the patient’s nerves and induce anesthesia. A single misstep, and the patient could wake up mid-surgery and die from the pain.
It was like slicing someone open, only to have the anesthesia wear off mid-operation. Unbearable.



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