"I'm fine, thank you," Paisley replied, smiling politely.

The doctor beamed, his eyes openly admiring her. "Oh, have you eaten? There's a wonderful restaurant nearby—let me order something."

Before Paisley could refuse, Dominick cut him off. "Thanks, but we're good." His voice was sharp, his gaze warning. He loomed over the doctor, a palpable presence.

The doctor took a step back, visibly unnerved, but rallied. "With all due respect, Mr. Vanderbilt, I was asking Ms. Sutton."

Dominick's expression hardened. "She's not interested."

The doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Dominick's intimidating stare silenced him. He stammered, "R-right, okay," and fled.

The door clicked shut. Dominick turned to Paisley. "Could you perhaps refrain from flashing those smiles at every guy who's hitting on you?"

Paisley stared, speechless. "Dominick, you're insane!" She rolled her eyes, leaned back, and closed them. Out of sight, out of mind.

Silence settled over the room. Then, from the window, Dominick's voice: "Paisley, when did you start studying medicine?"

Paisley, eyes closed, answered without thinking. It seemed logical he'd want to know the doctor's credentials.

"Three years old," she mumbled, her voice weary.

"Three years old?" Dominick was stunned. He couldn't even remember what he'd done at three. No one made a three-year-old study medicine. But her tone suggested she wasn't joking. "Why?"

Paisley said softly, "My adoptive grandfather found me when I was three. He was eighty. He was obsessed with medicine—Ancient Medical Arts. Never married, no family, never shared his knowledge. Then he found me, and I became his only successor."

"But he was so old…"

"There wasn't time to teach me slowly," she whispered, sleep claiming her. "I had to learn his life's work in ten years…"

Dominick's breath hitched. He couldn't imagine what she'd endured. Three years old, studying medicine. A decade later, barely thirteen. And she treated it like a footnote.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" he whispered. Only her even breathing answered.