Chapter 7

Lunch break came, but I was still sitting in my chair, staring blankly at the wall. Louis's photo on my desk seemed to look back at me with his innocent blue eyes, reminding me of the man I'd just left behind in the hallway.

I still couldn't move, couldn't think clearly. My mind was still a mess, trapped between a painful past and a present that suddenly felt so fragile.

A knock on the door made me jump.

"Dr. Alissa? Are you in there?"

Nicholas's voice. I let out a sigh of relief. Nicholas, my ever-loyal friend, had come at the right time. But when he opened the door and stepped in, concern was written all over his face.

"You look pale," he said, walking closer. "I waited for you in the cafeteria for twenty minutes. You didn't show up. I started to worry."

He sat in the chair across from me, his eyes studying me with full attention.

"What's wrong? Why do you look like someone who just saw a ghost?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy."

"I've known you for twenty years. Don't lie to me. Your eyes are red, and you look like someone carrying a heavy burden. Tell me."

I looked at him, tears beginning to well up in my eyes. For eighteen years, Nicholas had always been there for me. He helped me rise from rock bottom, funded my education, took care of Louis as if he were his own son. He deserved to know the truth.

"I heard rumors about the hospital acquisition. You know about that, right?"

Nicholas nodded. "Yeah, I know. Even the building out front is part of the expansion. They say it's a European businessman who's going to acquire it. But why are you bringing that up all of a sudden? It's been common talk around the hospital for the past month."

"Do you know who the businessman is?" I asked.

Nicholas frowned. "No. I don't really follow business news. All I know is he's English, has a network of hospitals in Europe. Why? Is there something wrong with the investment? I heard our hospital is going to grow a lot after this acquisition."

"The one acquiring this hospital is Damian Kingsley. My ex-husband. Louis's father."

My practice room suddenly felt so quiet.

Nicholas fell silent. His face shifted from curious to shocked. The hand holding his coffee cup started to tremble.

"Damian Kingsley? Louis's father? The man who left you when you were pregnant?"

I nodded, my tears finally falling.

Nicholas set his cup down carefully. He stood up, walked around the desk, and knelt beside me. His hand reached for my cold one and held it tightly.

"Are you sure? Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe there's another Damian Kingsley."

"I met him today. He's here, in this hospital. I saw him. He came with Mr. Alan. He... he's just as I remember him, but older, and his eyes are exactly like Louis's. He looks so much like Louis."

Nicholas closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of my words. Then he opened them and looked at me with determination.

"What does he want? Why did he come after eighteen years?"

"I don't know," I said.

Nicholas looked at me with caring eyes, but there was also firmness in them. I knew that expression—he wouldn't let me drown in worry alone.

He'd always been like that ever since we were in middle school. When I was sad, he'd take me out. When I was scared, he'd pull me forward. And now, when I was caught in a whirlwind of the past that had suddenly come to find me, he was doing the same thing.

"You can't sit here alone and let your thoughts haunt you. Let's go to the cafeteria. You need to eat. You need a break. I won't take no for an answer."

"I'm not hungry."

"I don't care. I've known you for twenty years. When you're stressed, you don't eat, then you pass out in the OR. Remember three years ago? I don't want that to happen again. Come on."

He stood up and extended his hand to me. I stared at his open palm, the hand that had always been there for me over the past eighteen years. The hand that held mine when I gave birth to Louis. The hand that held my head when I cried in the middle of the night. The hand that never tired of waiting for me.

I sighed, then took his hand. He pulled me up gently.

"Good. Now let's find something warm for your stomach," he said.

We walked out of my practice room, our hands still intertwined. This had become our habit over the years. Nicholas always held my hand when we walked together, a simple gesture that gave me a sense of security.

I'd never thought too deeply about it, because to me, Nicholas was my best friend. But I knew, in other people's eyes, we looked like a couple. And maybe, in Nicholas's eyes, I was more than just a friend.

We walked down the busy hospital hallway. Nurses and staff greeted us with smiles, some of them glancing at our clasped hands with knowing looks.

I was used to those looks. Nicholas and I had become the unofficial "couple" in everyone's eyes at this hospital. Only the two of us knew that nothing was actually official between us.

As we passed through the main hallway toward the cafeteria, I saw a group of men in black suits standing near the entrance. My heart stopped for a moment.

Damian.

He stood there, surrounded by his lawyers and Mr. Alan, the hospital director. He was speaking seriously, pointing toward the new building across the way. But as we approached, his eyes moved and caught sight of me.

His gaze immediately focused on my hand intertwined with Nicholas's.

I saw his expression change. His face, which had been calm and commanding, suddenly froze. His blue eyes stared at our hands with an expression I couldn't read.

Nicholas saw Damian too. I could feel his hand tighten around mine. But instead of slowing down, Nicholas actually quickened his pace. I saw the corner of his lips lift into a small, meaningful smile. He deliberately walked faster, as if wanting to show Damian that I belonged to him.

"Nicholas—" I whispered, trying to pull my hand away.

But Nicholas kept walking, pulling me along with him. We were about to pass Damian without saying a word.

But then, Damian spoke.

"Alissa Mariana."