Chapter 102

JAMES POV

I was lying slumped on the central chair in my office; exhaustion was making my bones feel like soaked foam.

My breath was shallow, a reminder of the six hours that I just spent in the operating room.

One thing about complicated surgeries like the one I just saw through was that same-old feeling of weariness that would settle on top of you hours after it was over.

It was like paralysis.

Indeed, today had been a tough one. It was actually an arterial graft surgery I handled.

And in the few times I have done it, I have always managed to pull through, yet something about it always gnawed at me.

I sometimes hate these surgeries, to be honest.

Not because of the technical complexity, but because of what they represented as human fragility.

And the bluntness of physical rigor.

Nevertheless, the successes always made it worth it.

I stared vacantly into space, my mind replaying the delicate moments of the procedure all over again.

Then, with a heavy sigh, I leaned back further, st