Married To Be Her Sisters Medicine

Ive been the Admirals secret husband for six years, yet everyone at the Naval Base treats me like a desperate charity casea military doctor who couldn't take a hint and spent years pathetically chasing a woman out of his league.

She let them believe it. She never offered a single word of clarification.

It wasn't until the gala following the joint maritime exercises that the whispers turned into a public execution. Someone raised a glass, their voice dripping with mock pity:

"Dr. Miller, the Admirals fianc is a world-renowned diplomat. Maybe its time to stop living in a fantasy world."

Even she was there, swirling her scotch, her eyes as cold and distant as the North Atlantic.

"Neil," she said, her voice a flat line. "Dont waste any more of your time on me."

In my last life, I would have been blinded by fury. I would have slammed our marriage certificate onto the table, only for her to look me in the eye and call it a forgery. My father-in-law, desperate to save the diplomats face, would have had me thrown into the brig for a week of "reflection."

Later, when I was deployed and our ship was ambushed by pirates, I sent out a distress signal with my dying breath. She missed the window for the rescue mission because she was at the Metropolitan Opera, draped in pearls next to her diplomat.

That was when I finally understood: I was never her husband. I was just a pawn she used until the wood began to splinter.

In this life, I looked at her frozen, indifferent face and simply smiled.

"Youre right," I said. "I wish you both a very long, very happy life together."

I set my glass down. "By the way, my transfer to the National Naval Medical Center was approved this morning. Goodbye, Diana."

1.

The laughter died in their throats. Everyone froze, including Diana Montgomery.

Diana was the Navys golden girlthe only daughter of Admiral Richard Montgomery and the youngest destroyer captain in the fleet. And me? I was just a staff surgeon in her shadow, an "unremarkable" medic who supposedly harbored delusions of grandeur.

Dominic West, the diplomat standing at her side, let his smug grin falter. I didn't give them a second to recover. I turned and walked straight for the exit.

"Neil Miller!"

Diana caught up to me in the deserted hallway, her fingers bruising my wrist as she spun me around. I stopped, but I didn't look at her.

"What is this?" she hissed, her voice vibrating with suppressed rage. "A transfer? Who authorized that? What kind of game are you playing now?"

In my previous life, when I had miraculously crawled back from the pirates and asked why she hadn't come for me, she had used that exact same tone.

Neil, what kind of drama are you stirring up now?

I wrenched my arm back. The force of it made her stumble. I pulled the transfer papersstamped with the heavy red seal of the Bureau of Medicinefrom my jacket and held them inches from her face.

"Look closely, Captain. It came from the Surgeon Generals office. Even your father cant touch this."

Her pupils contracted.

I had earned this transfer by saving the life of a high-ranking Senators grandson a year ago. In my last life, I had asked for nothing, and the Senator told me he owed me a debt beyond measure. In this life, I called in the favor early.

"Cancel it," she commanded instinctively. "I dont permit this."

I let out a dry, jagged laugh. I stepped into her space, staring directly into those beautiful, ruthless eyes.

"On what grounds, Diana?"

I lifted my hand, my finger nearly touching the tip of her nose.

"On the grounds of our secret, shameful marriage license? Or on the grounds that youve stood by and watched people humiliate me for six years?"

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. The color drained from her cheeks until she looked like a ghost. I stepped closer still, until I could feel the heat of her frantic breathing.

"You mean nothing to me anymore, Diana. Not a single thing."

At the end of the hall, Dominic West appeared. He stepped between us, his brow furrowed in a performance of noble concern.

"Dr. Miller, how can you speak to Diana like that? Shes been more than patient with you over the years, considering youve never been quite up to her standard."

"Move," I said.

"Listen, Neil"

"I said, move."

My voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that made Dominic take an involuntary step back. He looked shaken, his polished exterior cracking.

"Dr. Miller," he stammered, trying to regain his footing. "I never wanted to be your enemy. I just love Diana. Is that a crime?"

"Not at all," I nodded. "But standing in my way is."

I brushed past him. Behind me, his voice rose in a desperate warning. "Neil, youre just a common medic. Without the Montgomery name protecting you, you are absolutely nothing!"

I stopped and looked back over my shoulder.

"Is that so? Then Im doing you a favor, aren't I? I'm finally vacating the seat youve been dying to sit in."

Dominics face twisted. He looked like he wanted to swing at me, but a hand caught his arm. Diana had stepped forward, her expression unreadable as she held him back.

"Dominic, let it go."

"Diana, did you hear him? He has no respect for you. Im the only one who truly"

Diana didn't answer him. She was staring at me as if she were seeing me for the first time.

"Admiral Montgomery," I said, giving her a mocking, formal tilt of my head. "I hope you and Mr. West have a wonderful life."

I walked away and didn't look back.

2.

My transfer was flagged the next morning.

I received the notification from HR at dawn. The reason was written in that classic, bureaucratic jargon: The base is launching a high-level classified medical research initiative. As a key surgical specialist, Dr. Miller is a mandatory core member. No transfers permitted until project completion.

I sat at my desk, looking at the rejection. I slowly tore it into pieces and let them flutter into the trash.

I didn't even know what the project was. It didn't matter. This was the Montgomery family doing what they did best: controlling the board. They were used to people being orbiting planets around their sun. My sudden bid for independence was an insult they couldn't ignore.

My phone buzzed. An unknown number.

I picked up but stayed silent. After a few seconds, Dianas mother spoke. A woman who lived in a world of silk scarves and casual cruelty.

"Neil, dont be difficult."

Her voice was thick with the condescension one might use for a disobedient golden retriever.

"The Montgomery family isn't something a man of your background can simply discard when he feels slighted. But its also not something you can just walk away from. Come home, apologize to Richard and Diana, and we will pretend this little tantrum never happened."

I listened to her lecture, feeling a strange sense of amusement.

"Ma'am," I said, my voice flat. "Keep the 'blessing' of your family name. Im done with it."

I hung up.

I knew that quiet defiance would infuriate them more than screaming ever could. The retaliation was swifter than I expected.

Within forty-eight hours, rumors began to poison the base. There were different versions, but the core was the same: Dr. Miller had compromised his medical ethics. He had used his position to harass the Admirals daughter. He was a social climber who had tried to force his way into the elite through stalking and manipulation.

I couldn't walk into the cafeteria without hearing the jagged edges of whispers behind my back.

I knew this was Dominics handiwork. As a diplomat, he dealt in the currency of reputation. He wanted to destroy my name in the one place I had given my youth and blood. He wanted to make me radioactive.

The funny thing is, when youve already died once, you stop caring about what people say at your funeral.

Three days later, the base hosted a foreign delegationseveral high-ranking naval attachs from the UK and France. Dominic was there as the lead liaison. I was the only attending surgeon on call for the event.

During the afternoon break, the nightmare started.

A large British attach suddenly collapsed, his face turning a terrifying shade of purple, clutching his throat. I was on him in seconds.

"Severe anaphylaxis," I shouted. "Hes in shock! Get me the crash kit and the EpiPen! Now!"

A corpsman scrambled for the emergency kit, flipped it open, and went pale.

"Doctor theres no epinephrine. The auto-injectors are gone."

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Impossible. I had personally checked and restocked those kits yesterday.

The room devolved into chaos. Accusations flew instantly.

"How is this possible? Who was in charge of this kit?"

"If he dies, this is an international incident!"

I looked past the crowd and saw Dominic standing by the door. There was a faint, jagged smile on his lips, a flash of pure triumph in his eyes.

This was the trap. A medical "accident" that would not only end my career but likely land me in front of a court-martial. They weren't just trying to stop my transfer; they were trying to bury me.

3.

They threw me into the brig.

I was facing a military tribunal for dereliction of duty. Endangering the life of a foreign dignitary through gross negligencea charge heavy enough to strip me of every medal Id ever earned.

The cell had no windows, just a single, humming yellow light. I sat on the cot, remembering the night I died in my previous life. It had been just like this: dark, cold, and lonely. But that time, I hadn't seen the blade coming.

On the third day, Diana appeared. She stood against the light of the corridor, her face a mask of disappointment.

"If you sign a confession admitting to oversight, my father will intervene," she said.

"Youll be reprimanded and demoted, but youll stay in the Navy. Youll stay under our protection." She paused. "Its your only way out, Neil."

I leaned my head against the cold stone wall and looked at her.

It was almost funny. This was exactly how she had led me into the abyss before. Always with that tone of "generous" mercy, telling me what was best for me while she tightened the noose. Back then, I was stupid enough to think it was love.

"Are you dreaming?" I asked, my voice rasping. "We both know Dominic took those injectors."

Her brow furrowed, a flash of annoyance crossing her face.

"Neil, stop being hysterical. Don't drag innocent people into your mess. Dominic isn't capable of that."

Dominic isn't that kind of person.

Always that sentence. In her mind, Dominic was the polished, perfect gentleman. I was the small-minded, paranoid liar.

Even in my last life, when I sent the distress signal, she had said: I trust Dominics assessment. He said it was just a pirate lure, not a real emergency.

I was bleeding out while she was watching a soprano hit a high C.

I stopped smiling and stood up, walking slowly to the bars. I looked deep into her eyeseyes I used to drown in, eyes that now felt like glass.

"Diana," I whispered. "Youre going to come back here and beg me."

"Remember that. You will be the one begging."

She blinked, then let out a sharp, mocking breath.

"I think three more days in here isn't enough," she said, turning to leave. "Keep dreaming, Neil."