Between Scrubs and Stilettos 🥼👠

 

Between Scrubs and Stilettos

Chapter One: Between the Scalpel and the Dance Floor

The club was alive with neon lights and pulsing music, a sharp contrast to the sterile white walls and beeping machines that filled Dami’s days. She leaned against the bar, swirling the margarita in her hand, allowing herself to let go—just for the night.

“Dami, you need to loosen up,” Susan nudged her playfully, tipping her own glass towards her lips.

Dami chuckled, shaking her head. “You say that like I’m not trying.”

“Oh please, you’re still thinking about your shift tomorrow,” Susan teased, flipping her wavy weave over her shoulder.

Maybe Susan was right. Medicine was her life. Becoming a doctor hadn’t been a smooth road—years of sleepless nights, buried in medical books, surviving on coffee and stubborn determination. Now, in her second year of residency at St. Louis Teaching Hospital, she had barely any time for herself. But she had made a promise: she would enjoy life outside those hospital walls, even if it meant squeezing fun into stolen hours.

And she had Enoch—or at least, she thought she did.

Chapter Two: The Break

The breakup came like a slap in the middle of a long shift.

“I can’t do this anymore, Dami,” Enoch’s voice was calm, too calm, as if he had rehearsed it.

Dami pulled off her gloves in the hospital changing room, staring at her phone like it had betrayed her. “What do you mean?” she asked, her heartbeat picking up.

“You’re always busy. You barely have time for us. And… I just need something else.”

Something else.

The words stung. It felt like she was being discarded after all the years they had spent together.

“But I told you,” she whispered, gripping her scrubs. “I told you this was my dream.”

“I know. And I don’t want to stand in the way of that.”

Lies. If he truly didn’t want to stand in her way, he would have fought for them. But he had already made up his mind.

By the time she got off the phone, she felt hollow.

Susan was the first person she told.

“Screw him,” Susan had said, holding Dami’s hand. “You are a whole package. Beautiful, smart, and about to be a badass surgeon. He can go to hell.”

Dami laughed through her tears, clutching her best friend like a lifeline. Susan was right—she would be okay.

But she had no idea that the person Enoch had moved on with was the very friend comforting her.

Chapter Three: Dr. Juwon

Dr. Juwon was the kind of man who carried authority like a second skin. In the surgery department, his presence was commanding, his hands steady, his mind sharp.

“Dr. Williams,” he called one evening after a long surgery.

Dami turned, surprised. “Yes, sir?”

He smiled. “You don’t have to call me ‘sir’ outside the OR.”

Her lips quirked. “Force of habit.”

He studied her, something unreadable in his eyes. “You did well today. Your suturing technique is improving.”

Dami felt a flicker of pride. “Thank you, Dr. Juwon.”

“And please,” he added, a smirk playing at his lips, “call me Juwon.”

It started subtly—quick glances, inside jokes during rounds, coffee breaks that stretched into long conversations.

Three months after her heartbreak, Dami found herself smiling again. And this time, it was because of Juwon.

He didn’t just understand her schedule; he respected it. He never made her feel guilty for choosing her career.

“You still go clubbing?” he asked one night, watching her dress in a sleek bodycon gown.

She grinned. “Work hard, play harder.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “I like that about you.”

For the first time in a while, Dami felt like she could have both—her career and a love that didn’t demand sacrifice.

Until the wedding invitation arrived.

Chapter Four: The Betrayal

Dami blinked at the golden envelope in her hand.

Susan & Enoch

Her hands trembled.

The man she had cried over. The man Susan had listened to her mourn. He hadn’t just moved on—he had moved on with her best friend.

Susan. The one who had sworn Enoch wasn’t worth her tears.

It all made sense now. The stolen glances, the odd silences.

She had been confiding in the woman who had stolen her man.

Chapter Five: Love and War

Dami didn’t confront Susan. She didn’t need to.

She simply did what she knew best—she lived her life.

The night of the wedding, she was at a rooftop lounge with Juwon, sipping on wine. When he asked if she was okay, she smiled. “I dodged a bullet.”

He squeezed her hand. “You deserve better.”

“I know,” she said, surprising herself.

For once, she truly believed it.

Chapter Six: The Inevitable

A month later, Susan showed up at the hospital.

Her left eye was swollen shut, her lip split.

Dami didn’t need to ask what had happened.

Enoch.

Susan stared at her with shame and desperation. “Dami, I…” Her voice cracked.

Dami took a deep breath, pushing down the pity bubbling inside her.

“You need treatment,” she said, her tone clinical. She gestured toward a chair. “Sit.”

Susan hesitated, then sat.

As Dami cleaned the wound, neither of them spoke.

There was nothing left to say.

Chapter Seven: A Love That Chose Her

Dami stood by the hospital window, staring at the city lights. She had just finished suturing a patient’s wound when she heard a soft knock.

Juwon stepped inside, his presence filling the room effortlessly.

“Long night?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

She sighed, rolling her shoulders. “Every night is long in this place.”

He smirked. “That’s why you need a break.”

She arched a brow. “I just had one last week.”

He stepped closer, taking her hand. “Not the kind I have in mind. Clear your evening. We’re going out.”

Dami looked at him skeptically. “Where?”

His lips curved mischievously. “Trust me.”

And she did.

Chapter Eight: A Night to Remember

Juwon drove to a secluded beachside restaurant, far from the noise of Lagos. Soft jazz played in the background, the ocean breeze cool against her skin.

Dami glanced around. “This is… different.”

He pulled out a chair for her. “Good different?”

She smiled. “Very.”

They talked over dinner, laughter spilling effortlessly between them. It still amazed her how easy love felt with Juwon. No complications. No doubts. Just them.

As dessert arrived, he reached across the table, holding her hand.

“I love you, Dami.” His voice was steady, certain.

She swallowed, her heart pounding.

“I love you too.”

Juwon exhaled as if he had been holding his breath. Then, with a knowing smile, he stood, walking around the table.

Dami’s eyes widened as he pulled something from his pocket.

Then, right there, under the glow of fairy lights and moonlight, Juwon dropped to one knee.

Her hands flew to her mouth.

“Dami Williams,” he said, looking up at her with those deep, unwavering eyes, “you are the most brilliant, beautiful, and resilient woman I’ve ever known. You fight for your dreams, for yourself, for what you love. And I want to be the man who fights for you. Every day. Forever.”

A ring sparkled between his fingers.

“Marry me.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, but this time, they were the good kind—the kind that came when love felt right, when life finally aligned in her favor.

She nodded, her voice breaking. “Yes.”

Juwon slid the ring onto her finger and pulled her into a deep kiss as the waves crashed in the distance.

This time, she wasn’t just surviving.

She was living.