Se connecterEmilia’s POV
I stopped in my tracks. It was Adrienne. Did he recognize me? Does he suspect something fishy? For a second, my heartbeat increased. He moved closer. “Doctor Emilia, it's good to finally meet you,” he said with a faint smile on his lips. “It's good to finally meet you too, Doctor Adrienne,” I replied, despite the way my hands were trembling inside my lab coat. He stretched out his hand for a handshake, but I only stared at him. I couldn't shake him. “I am in a hurry, doctor,” I said, before sprinting out of his presence. I stopped at a corner, trying to catch my breath. The fuck? He doesn't recognize me, right? Why does it feel like he does? Why is he even here? It should be anyone in the world but him. I coordinated myself; straightening my sleeves, and adjusting my stethoscope. I remembered the little girl I gave medications to, and I quickly went to check on her. I was right on time, she was just regaining consciousness. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, and she looked around trying to process where she was, and what was happening. Her gaze landed on me. She blinked a couple of times. “Where is my mommy?” She asked. Her mother had been taken care of by the nurses, but I did not know what state she was currently in. “Your mommy is fine, darling,” I said to her. “I want to see my mommy,” she pouted. I leaned closer to her, and I put my hand in her brown hair. She raised her gaze to me. “I want to see my mommy,” she cried a little louder. “Your mommy is sleeping, little one.” I said softly. “Is she?” She asked. “Do you want to be a bad girl and wake mommy up?” I added. She nodded negatively. I squeezed my lab coat tightly as a smile curled up my face. “Good. So would you rest and wait for mommy to wake up?” “I will,” she said. She was adorable. “What's your name, dear?” I asked her. “Mandy,” she replied. “Bye, Mandy. The doctor has to go check up on everyone." She nodded lightly. I waved at her, and I turned to leave. I went straight to my office. When the day came to an end, I was as drained as fuck. I took off my lab coat, and I held it in my arm. I carried my purse, and I strolled lazily to the car park. Unlike other institutes, the hospital was still very crowded at night. A lot of doctors and nurses were running the night shift, but my husband forbade me from doing night shifts. He says ‘I must be home before 9pm.’ To think that he mostly comes home only after midnight. I scoffed. I got to my car, and I settled in. I placed my bag, and my coat on the passenger's seat. I put the car key in, and I twisted. The car rumbled. I stepped on the acceleration pedal, but instead of the car moving, it only rumbled louder. “Fuck!” I cursed. The engine has knocked off. “Looks like your car is faulty, doctor. You could ride with me instead,” the same voice that had messed up my day said. Why does he keep popping out of nowhere? He strolled towards me, his hands were in his pocket, and a devilish grin was plastered to his face. I heaved a deep sigh. “Thanks, Doctor Adrienne, but I think I'd sort myself out,” I said. “It won't hurt to ride in my car, would it?” I rolled my eyes. “Fine!” I muttered. For a moment there, I thought of how miserable it would be for me to arrive home late. Richard would get upset, and he might… “I am waiting, Doctor.” I stepped out of my car, and I took my lab coat and bag. “I'd get this sorted tomorrow,” I muttered under my breath. Adrienne gestured with his hands politely as he led me to his car. He should stop with the pretense already. He was no gentleman. We halted at the front of his car— a black Dodge Durango. He turned around to open up the door for me. I scoffed inwardly before getting in. He settled in too, and in a blink of an eye, we were out of the hospital environment. “I'd be here for a while, Mrs Emilia, it wouldn’t be bad for us to get to know each other,” he said. This man knows I am married, right? Who flirts with a married woman? He referred to me as Mrs Emilia, and not Doctor Emilia. Right! We were out of the hospital’s building. “I have a husband who wouldn't like to know that his wife is getting to know another man.” He didn't respond, he only snickered and his eyes stayed glued to the road. I wished the car would move thrice as fast. The tension was unbearable. He didn't say a thing till we got to my house. Then the realization hits me. My house? He knew my house? Before stepping out of the car, I couldn't help but ask. “How do you know my house?” “I know a lot of things about you,” he replied like it was the most casual thing to say. I blinked for a couple of seconds. God! This guy is officially crazy. I quickly head into the mansion. I wouldn't want anyone getting a hint of this— me being dropped by another man. The guards welcomed me, and I replied with a tired smile. I went to the bathroom first, I peeled the clothes off my skin, and I had a hot bath. Coming out of the bathroom, Richard walked in, he wore a mischievous grin as his eyes ran through my body. I was tying a towel, which barely covered my cleavage, and my thighs. He rubbed his palms eagerly. I really wasn't in the mood for this. He moved closer to me, and he wrapped himself around me from behind, squeezing me into an unwanted hug. “Richard… I am not in the mood for this. I am tired.” I said. He released me immediately. “I wanted to have you last night too, but we were also tired.” I might have lied that I was tired last night, but I was actually tired today. Don't blame me, sex with my husband was always bad. “I am sorry Richard…” He didn't let me finish my sentence. He carried me, and he tossed me on the bed. He took off his shirt, and he started unbuckling his belt. Is he going to do it again? Force me? This isn't the first time, he forces me when I do not give in. “I am really tired, Honey. Please let's do it tomorrow,” I pleaded. It didn't look like he would listen to me. I have heard of men using coercion for their wives, but Richard wasn't like that. He was a controlling freak who liked submissive women. He climbed onto the bed in an instant. He was going to do it, and there was nothing I could do about it. He tore the towel off my body. With no foreplay or any hints of romance, he thrusted into me at once. I closed my eyes, not out of pleasure, but out of anguish. He continued thrusting, not caring if I was enjoying it — he never did. I just wanted him to get it over with. My mind went blank. Thankfully, I wasn't attending the club tonight. … Today was better than yesterday. I thought I wouldn't run into Adrienne, until he walked into my office. I couldn't yell at him, because he knocked, and I was the one who gave him permission to come in. But why was he even in my office? His presence instantly made me feel uneasy. “What may I help you with, Doctor Adrienne?” I asked through gritted teeth. He didn't respond, instead he sat before me, almost like he owned the place. “Nothing special, Doctor Emilia,” he folded his arms across his chest. Could I ever get enough of his attitude? “You can't be here for nothing, right?” “I have had enough with the games. I want a private show tonight, another one. One that would last longer,” he muttered. It took a few seconds for my brain to process what he just said. I coughed awkwardly. Damn it! He knew it was me all this while, he was just messing with me. I am doomed, I am fucking doomed. A word of this mustn't get out. “You knew,” I said. “I am not Richard, Lina or Emilia, whichever one it is.” He tossed a pen from my table, and tossed it amidst his fingers playfully. I swallowed my empty throat. “So now you want to threaten me? Aren't you too petty for this Adrienne Coal?” “Should we talk about pettiness Emilia Sinclair?” “Fine, I'd give you a private show, and then we end this.” “End this? No darling, we are just getting started.” Oh I hated his guts.EMILIA’S POV I returned to the hospital through the side entrance, hoping the quiet hallway would help me settle my thoughts before facing another busy day. Adrienne had left the apartment several minutes before me, just as we planned, but my body still remembered the warmth of his hand and the way he had looked at me before I walked away. I kept my eyes lowered as I moved through the corridor, pretending to be more interested in the patient files against my chest than the people passing by. Then I heard footsteps behind me, followed by a familiar voice calling my name. I turned and found one of the junior nurses smiling at me. “Doctor Emilia, you and Doctor Adrienne came from the same direction this morning,” she observed casually, tilting her head as though she had only just noticed the coincidence. “Were you both attending to an emergency somewhere?” My stomach tightened, but I forced a small laugh and adjusted the files in my arms. “Not exactly. We were both coming from the s
EMILIA’S POV Adrienne’s message arrived just after sunrise, while I stood before my wardrobe, wondering what kind of day I wanted to have. He asked me to meet him after work, and unlike his recent messages, this one mentioned no patients, files, or emergencies. It was personal, and that simple difference made my heart beat faster than I expected. When I entered his car, I immediately asked where we were going. Adrienne glanced at me, amused, before pulling away from the hospital parking lot. “You’ll find out,” he promised, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. “And before you ask, we’re not going to my apartment.” His answer made me curious, suspicious, and strangely excited. “Why not?” I asked, turning toward him with a small frown. “You’re the one who invited me.” Adrienne’s expression softened as he watched the road. “Because I don’t want every moment we share happening behind a locked door. I want one day that isn’t connected to fear, secrecy, or Richard.” His words touched
ADRIENNE’S POV I had barely finished my morning rounds when I opened the hospital security report again. The faint trace of disinfectant on the blackmailer’s photographs had stayed in my mind for days. It could have meant nothing, but I had learned not to ignore small details when someone was deliberately hiding the truth. “Doctor Adrienne, are you looking for something specific?” the security supervisor asked, standing beside my desk with a tablet in his hand and a cautious expression on his face. “I need access records for restricted staff information,” I replied, keeping my voice low. “Not patient files. Staff schedules, employment records, private contact details, anything that requires special permission.” The supervisor frowned. “Why do you need that information?” I slid a written request toward him. “Because someone may be using hospital access to gather information about one of our doctors. I don’t want the staff alerted yet. If the person knows we’re watching, they’ll st
EMILIA’S POV The club looked exactly as I remembered it, loud music shaking the walls, colored lights flashing across the crowded room, and strangers laughing as though nothing terrible had ever happened. I stood outside Justin’s office, reminding myself that I had not returned to relive the past. I was there because someone was using that past against me, and I needed answers. Justin looked up when I entered, surprise crossing his face before concern replaced it. He pushed the papers on his desk aside and leaned forward. “Emilia, what are you doing here? You should have called first.” I closed the door behind me, keeping my expression calm while studying his reaction. “I wanted to speak privately, Justin. This couldn’t wait.” He pointed toward the chair opposite him, his eyes moving over my face as though searching for an explanation. “You look worried. Is something wrong?” I sat down, keeping my handbag tightly against my lap. “Someone has been blackmailing me,” I answered, watc
EMILIA’S POV I told myself Adrienne’s distance was necessary, that I had no right to complain when I was the one refusing to make a decision. Still, knowing something was necessary did not make it hurt less. His silence followed me everywhere, filling the spaces between my thoughts and making even the busiest hospital corridor feel strangely empty. At work, I caught myself looking for him without meaning to. I glanced toward his office whenever I passed the doctors’ wing, slowed down near the consultation rooms, and listened for his voice during morning rounds. Each time I remembered he would not be waiting for me, something inside my chest tightened. “Are you looking for someone?” Janet asked, appearing beside me with a file pressed against her stomach, her curious eyes following the direction of my gaze. “No,” I answered too quickly, adjusting the papers in my hands. “I was only checking whether Doctor Williams had arrived.” Janet raised one eyebrow. “Doctor Williams is in the
ADRIENNE’S POV Adrienne noticed Emilia before she noticed him. She stood near the nurses’ station, holding a patient file against her chest while pretending to listen to Janet. Her eyes kept moving toward his office, waiting for him to look up. He did not. He forced himself to remain focused on the report in front of him, even though he had already read the same sentence four times without understanding it. “Doctor Adrienne, the laboratory results for room twelve are ready,” Janet informed him, placing the file on his desk with a careful smile, but her eyes moved between him and Emilia as if she could feel the tension neither of them was willing to explain. “Thank you, Janet. Please leave them here, and remind the nurses to monitor the patient’s temperature every two hours,” Adrienne instructed, keeping his voice calm while he avoided looking at the doorway where Emilia had finally turned away. He had not stopped caring about her. That was the problem. If he had stopped caring, d







