Chapter 5

RHYS STORM

I don’t remember her face. But I remember everything else.

And somehow, that had been the only thing weighing on my mind since that night.

“Are you even listening to me? Or don’t you trust your grandmother’s choice?” I exhaled sharply, lifting a patient’s file while my phone remained pressed to my ear.

“Maa, I really don’t. Remember the last time you set me up on a blind date? With a gay guy?” I gritted out, shutting my eyes as the memory flashed.

Absolutely horrific.

Even now, the thought sent a shiver down my spine.

“Aiya, that was just a mistake, lah. Since I haven't seen any female mosquitoes around you, I thought you must be into guys.” I choked on my own saliva, my eyes turning red as I took the phone off my ear, wide-eyed.

Dear heavens, my grandmother would be the death of me.

“Maaa,” I yelled into the phone immediately, and she giggled slightly before her tone turned serious.

“Whatever, okay? But you need to get married quickly so you can return and take over the family business.”

“Your grandfather is already old and ready to step down.” My fingers brushed absently over my stethoscope as she spoke, but my mind was elsewhere.

Back to that night.

Back to her.

A blurred face I could never quite see, no matter how hard I tried.

Just one drink, that was all it took before I noticed something was awfully off. I had been drugged.

The only thing I remembered clearly was her scent.

Soft and delicate, just like how she felt in my hands.

Flowers? Yes, she smelled like flowers. Lavender? Roses? Evening primrose…

Damn it. I should probably look that up.

“Ma, I don’t need blind dates to get married, okay? Just forget it. I’m not coming to any of them.” 

She was already saying something when I noticed a little clutter of attendings at the door to one of the wards.

Taking my phone off my ear for a moment, I signalled to one of the nurses there;

"What's going on here? Why the crowd?" 

“Doctor Storm, the patient you attended to earlier, Mrs. Ardenian, there’s been an incident.” My brows pulled together slightly as my mind went back to her.

That frail-looking, disheveled woman back at the ER. The one who had fallen down the stairs.

“Incident?”

 "I don't understand how anyone could be so cruel,” she hesitated, “…there’s been a physical altercation between her and her husband. He's hitting her, saying she cheated on me but she's really not strong enough for any of that now but who dares stop him?" 

"After all, he's Killian Ardenian, anybody that tries to interfere could easily lose their jobs."

"Rhys? Rhys? Are you listening to me?" My grandmothers voice blared out of the speaker.

"Ma, I'll talk to you later." I ended the call, throwing my phone into my pockets.

Something in my chest tightened.

My memory went back to my mum, bruises all over her body, her hands clutched over her stomach as she begged my abusive father for mercy.

My vision blurred and my grip tightened unconsciously.

It always started the same way.

Raised voices, a crash and then an awful silence… the kind that made your chest tighten because you knew what was coming next.

I remembered standing at the foot of the stairs, too young, too frozen, listening to my mother beg.

Not screaming, not fighting, not even acting like she had a bit of backbone.

No!

BEGGING.

Her voice had been small, fragile, like if she spoke any louder, she would shatter just like this woman here. Mrs Ardenian.

“Please…please Dave, I'm pregnant.” That word had followed me for years.

I remembered the bruises, the way she tried to hide them with long sleeves and forced smiles, the way her hands always trembled when my father walked into the room.

And the worst part? I hadn’t done anything.

I had stood there, useless, watching, totally powerless.

The same fear I saw in this woman's eyes now wasn’t unfamiliar.

It was the exact one Mom had in her eyes.

Before I could stop myself, I barged into the ward as the door was slightly ajar.

She was on the floor, her hands to her cheek, red like she had just been slapped.

One of her hands rested on her belly like she was trying to protect the baby.

Damn. The pregnancy must mean a lot to her.

Something about the fear in her eyes felt painfully familiar.

“Tell me! Who's the bastard you cheated on me with?” Her husband yelled, about to strike her with his fist again.

That was it.

I couldn’t take any more of this.

My legs moved before I could think, and I grabbed his arm, glaring at him.

“Keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Killian Ardenian. If anything happens to my child, I will fight you, and I won't play nice.”

The room went silent.

She stared at me in absolute horror while her husband glared at me in disgust.

The attendings outside the door whispered among themselves, but who cared when the life of a pregnant woman was at stake?

If claiming the child would stop her husband from hitting her, then that was the option I would take.

"Who the fuck are you? Sloane, you cheated on me with a fucking doctor?" 

“It’s Doctor Rhys Storm, and if anything happens to my baby, you will bear full responsibility,” I warned, letting go of his hand.

“Sloane, you're really so bold. A fucking doctor? Because you have a baby with him, you even got your boyfriend to threaten me, the man you've been cheating on me with?"

“He's…” She tried speaking, coughing roughly, tiny streaks of blood accompanying it.

Her pupils were dilated like she would pass out at any moment.

I rushed to her immediately and scooped her up in my arms, laying her on the bed as I began massaging her neck slowly, beckoning to an attending.

“He's not my—” She was about to defend when I sneezed her hands and turned to him

“Of course she’s carrying my child. Or did you expect her to stay with you?”

“And you talk big like you're better off when your mistress is practically clinging onto you, her stomach protruding like she'll give birth any minute.”

His face darkened, his jaw clenching in visible anger.

“You're really brave, daring to talk to me like that. Let's see how long that will last after I get you fired from this hospital.”

“You can go ahead and try…” I was saying when that scent wafted through my nostrils.

The scent of flowers.

Lavenders.