"This is a mistake," I said, breaking the silence and awkwardness.
"Because you thought that another man is coming in?" he said, and his lips broke into a tender smile.
He strode fast towards me, then wrapped me right away in his arms.
"I miss you, babe," he said in a hoarse voice, hugging me tighter. "I missed you so much."
"You have no right to say that. In the next few hours, you will already have a new bride."
Sean then held me at arm strength and looked into my eyes. "Mia?"
"Who else?" I replied, my voice starting to crack.
"My mother has long adopted Mia as my little sister. I'm sorry for not telling you this because it was part of the plan to mislead President Ric and his allies."
My goodness! I felt like a candle, melting in too much shame.
"I have always told you that there's no one else in my heart, long before I found you."
Sean cupped my face, and when he was about to bend his h
Author's Note:I got the inspiration to write this book whenthe COVID-19 outbreak started to hit my country. I just imagined a love story that grows amidst the virus outbreak, but I realized later that this storyline could be a sensitive issue to those who are affected. So, I changed the name of the virus to make it fictional and diverted the course of the story from what I originally created in my mind."Red, can you please spare me a box of face masks?"I frowned at this message from a friend as I opened my messenger app. I crossed my leg over the other as I slumped over the couch in our physician's loungeas soon as I finished writing orders. I was already exhausted from those non-stop admissions. It was already past three in the morning when I returned to the quarters, and yet, all the ER beds were still full. Others were even helping thems
All of a sudden, there was chaos among the staff in the emergency room. They ran back and forth, wearing their N95 face masks in a snap of a finger. Those vigilant watchers of the waiting patients at the ER started to panic. They began to ask questions while putting themselves, as well, into their protective gear. Some sprayed alcohol on themselves, almost emptying the contents of a bottle in just a single use. Some of them even wanted to cancel their admissions and go home right away or transfer to other health facilities."Everything is under control. No need to panic," I heard someone from the infectious control department addressing the crowd, standing tall from the nurses' counter. She had power in her voice, however, the glints of fear reflecting in her eyes betrayed her inner feelings."What's happening?" someone from the watcher's lounge asked as he slid himself into the main ER's entrance."Someone came over here for a consultation. Just because h
My shift finally ended after a few hours Mr. Grey left the hospital premises. I gave him an antihistamine for five days but encouraged him to consult his physician if symptoms persist. I took a shower before leaving, planning to dive into my bed as soon as I arrive home. It had been a long shift, and all I wanted was to sleep for another 24 hours. I was already in my third year of medical residency training, specializing in Internal Medicine. I planned to pursue a subspecialty program, also known as fellowship training, and perhaps, I choose either Cardiology or Infectious Diseases. I was already a few months away from completing my residency, but still, I had not made up my mind yet.I took another shower as soon as I arrived home. I didn't want my boyfriend, Eric, to blame me if he ever gets sick. I was already tired of his foul mouth as I was becoming more and more worthless in his eyes. Yes, he had reasons why he looked down on me. He rescued me from the pit of financial
"See you at the Amara Hotel tonight, 7 pm. Don't be late.""Alright."Throughout those five years we were together, I learned to submit myself to his plans and decisions. I never questioned him though sometimes, I felt suffocated. I even accepted the fact that if he brings me to any function, it's not because he wanted my company but because I was like a trophy for him to show off. He was always far from the man I knew every time important men in his social circle surrounded us. He became the gentleman that he never was, sweet and caring like a thoughtful sweetheart. Sometimes, I even wished there would be more events to attend.I set my alarm clock to three hours before the event. It should be enough for my preparation, knowing that Eric was so meticulous. Perhaps because his call disrupted my train of thoughts, I drifted into a dreamless sleep as soon as my head hit my soft pillow..._____I was in a boat, enjoying the sceneries around me. We wer
I felt my blood rushing in the wrong direction when I heard Mr. Grey's name on Eric's lips. My heartbeats thumped erratically, and I started to feel afraid that Eric would sense my reaction. I turned away and pretended to grab my bag, heading out of the room ahead of him."Red, have you heard me?" I heard him asked before he grabbed my arm. I turned to him and raised my brow, pretending I didn't get his point."My goodness, Red, can't you be so stupid just for once?" Eric yelled into my face, and I stepped back in fright, even if he already did this to me a thousand times."What do you exactly want me to do?" I sighed as I responded, having realized I overacted my denial."You must grab a chance to talk to him or, better yet, dance with him!"I nodded but I added, and his reply increased the sense of humiliation I felt inside. "And you won't get jealous? Wouldn't this be a problem between the two of us?"He looked at me with disdain, laughin
"I mean, we are doing well in five years, so I guess, a piece of paper does not make any difference," added Eric when he, perhaps, sensed that we got dumbfounded. I smiled and nodded, but tried hard to conceal my embarrassment and sense of shame. I felt rejected, unwanted, and undesired. "It makes a great difference if you were to ask me, Eric. One of the best days of my life was when I walked down the aisle with the woman I love," Mr. Tim Cruz pointed out, and I swore, I saw Mr. Grey smirked and threw a scornful look at Eric. To my added embarrassment, Mr. Cruz turned to Mr. Grey and solicited for his idea. "Sean, what is your opinion regarding this?" All I wanted at that moment was to faint and not wake up forever when he glanced and cast me a look of pity. "I have the same view as you do, Tim. When the right time comes, I will ask her hand for a marriage," seconded Mr. Grey while his eyes stayed on me. Right at that moment, the last s
As if the music conductor knew that the most important figure of the night approached the dance floor, the music instantly turned into the most romantic strain I ever heard. The moment he placed his hands on the small of my lower back and me on his shoulders, my world began to spin. The sound of my heartbeats competed with the loud sound of the percussion instrument hammering in the background."You're so beautiful without the white coat on," Mr. Grey commented after he ran down his eyes on me. I felt like wax then, melting against the glow of his gaze."Thank you," was all I could mutter after letting out a faint and awkward smile. I was no longer the dominant doctor I was, knowing that I was in his territory."How are you and Mr. Martela?"The question sent shivers down my spine, and it brought back the pain I was trying to push back inside. I couldn't look into his eyes, so I kept staring at his chest, hoping he wouldn't notice my reaction.
It had been some weeks already after that first and last time Mr. Grey dropped me off at home. When he gave me that piece of advice, I responded with just a smile. I couldn't pour out all my heartaches to him because I didn't want him to think that he was better than Eric because he was richer. And besides, we were still strangers who just got to know a little about each other. We were neither friends. Eric's shame was also mine because it also meant I was too stupid to allow him to trample my worth and pride.My mind was all set up. I would be leaving him. I was just waiting for the right time, and I would be breaking it to him gently. I was then slowly taking my distance. Oblivious to him, I was able to purchase my townhouse. After duty, I no longer went home. I just went there sometimes, but I wouldn't take long. I just told him I was accepting another job as a company doctor and slept at the doctor's lounge. It didn't seem to be a problem because he didn't argue with me a