Chapter 6

Six days after Wakan, Alexis works an ER shift with Bri and processes the fallout from Derek’s sudden marriage and departure. With Derek gone, Alexis senses her father’s disappointment and the weight of the Montgomery/Royaume legacy shifting onto her, despite her aversion to the spotlight.

She vents about relatives urging reconciliation with ex-boyfriend Neil, which Bri rejects. Alexis then confides she had a spontaneous, intense night with Daniel, the 28-year-old who towed her car, and admits she left before dawn without his number. Bri encourages Alexis to pursue the connection casually, highlighting how rare good matches are.

As they joke about residents and the dynasty’s demands, Alexis reveals press and donors expect her to front upcoming hospital galas, a responsibility she dreads but feels obligated to fulfill for the greater good. Their humor evaporates when Neil appears, insisting they speak privately about the house they co-own.

Neil tries to buy her out, arguing Alexis can’t manage the property. Bolstered by therapy and renewed self-worth, Alexis refuses, calls out his manipulation, and lands a pointed private jab that ends the confrontation. Neil leaves, and Bri celebrates Alexis’s boundary-setting.

Afterward, Alexis claims the house as hers and, newly empowered, decides to call Daniel—initially to return his hoodie, but also to seek the safe, joyful intimacy she’s been missing.