CHAPTER 5

Clarence’s POV.

The voice of the flight attendant faded into my ears as I blurted out everything happening in the background.

The memory of what Damon did just to force me to accept the divorce still haunted me. I had never imagined that Damon could be that evil. How could he treat me like I wasn't a human? He was ready to end my life if I didn't accept to sign the divorce so I would be out of his way.

After I had agreed to sign the divorce papers, which I did in his presence, I felt goosebumps fill my skin on realizing I had lived three years of my life with a man who can comfortably kill me without remorse.

That evening, while I prepared to move out the next day, Gina showed up looking stunning. It was the first time I had seen her since our eyes met at the launch, and she was grinning from ear to ear, commanding the domestic staff to do her bidding.

She even had the guts to tell me boldly to my face that, "Whatever is hers, come to her no matter how long it takes."

But I couldn't blame her. I blamed my situation for being the biggest enemy in my life. If I had been lucky enough to meet my mother's lawyer as intended, at least I wouldn't have been divorced and pushed away empty-handed.

"Ma'am! Are you alright?" a voice asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

As my vision senses returned, I noticed it was the flight attendant.

"Yeah! I am," I sat up, putting myself together.

"Okay," she said with a smile. "We are serving sandwiches and cocktails for lunch, I hope you enjoy it. Don't hesitate to ring me when you have any problem," she said and I nodded as she handed me the tray of food and left.

I looked at the food and felt my stomach recoil.

I had no appetite to eat anything, but wanting not to disappoint the flight attendant who had served me lunch with a smile, I took a bite. The food felt like dust in my mouth - tasteless and mild.

I forced myself to swallow it and sipped a drink to wash it down.

There were too many things on my mind, including how my life was going to turn out from that moment onwards and meeting Julian again in my state was something I wasn't prepared enough to do… I didn't even have the hope that my surgery was still going to take place after my divorce but as Damon sent me packing, my mother's lawyer came to my rescue and was able to raise some money from secret savings he mentioned my mother had had before she passed, which no one knew about.

But the problem was that it wasn’t going to be enough for my surgery. It could only cover my relocation and treatment costs, but my surgery was something I didn't know how it was going to take place.

When I told Dr. Ben about the challenges I was facing, he encouraged me to still take a step and hope for a miracle, informing me that the doctor who was going to be in charge of I was not Julian, but someone else.

My mom's lawyer, Mr Lewis too asked me to do the same, that he would be applying for a loan that would cover the cost of my surgery for me. He encouraged me to get back on my feet so I could fight to have everything that had been taken away from me, which was enough motivation and prompted me to give this a trial.

———-

Four hours later, we arrived in New York to my relief, despite the the fact I was nervous. The driver, arranged for me by Mr Lewis and a personal assistant were already waiting at the airport to take me to the apartment where I would be staying. It was in a VIP private suite, and I wondered how he had been able to afford that for me.

I had asked him immediately when I got into my apartment and saw how luxurious it was, but he waved it off with the excuse of wanting me to be in a good place during my stay in New York.

The evening arrived early, and the personal maid, who I learned was Vivian, helped me head to the restaurant in the suite when I was done resting so I could have my dinner. Just as I had settled down and she left to get my dinner, I caught sight of a familiar figure that resembled Julian, but he was already out of the door, so I couldn't conclude it was him.

He was a very busy surgeon, so I didn't believe he would have the time to even settle in a restaurant like this to eat. Just as my maid returned with my dinner, my phone rang. It was Dr. Ben, and I accepted the call.

"The doctor that will be in charge of you till the date of your surgery wishes to meet you tonight for an interview," he informed me. "The hospital just informed me. He will be out of town tomorrow, so he wants to have an interview with you today."

I couldn't deny that my heart skipped a beat and started racing, causing me to become nervous.

"Okay. I'm about to have dinner. Where am I going to meet him?" I asked in reply, trying to put myself together.

"At his consultation office, that is away from the hospital. Your driver will take you there. I have to go now," he said and ended the call.

I took a deep breath as I suddenly had this fear of the unknown. I placed my phone, trying to be calm as my body shook, but it was to no avail until I said to myself, "The doctor wouldn't be Julian, he is more than busy to be in charge of all your treatment and consultation before your surgery. You will only be meeting him when the date of your surgery comes, so why are you scared?"

This calmed me down, and I had my dinner, which I picked at in peace. After I was done, I rested a bit before Vivian pushed me to the parking lot to meet my driver. They helped me into the car, and he drove off to my destination.

We arrived in exactly forty minutes at a magnificent structure that looked like a mini hospital. I marveled at the beauty of the place, and my heart screamed at how much money the doctor would have to be able to afford such a place.

My driver pushed me into the place after helping me out. We stopped at the receptionist counter, who directed us to the doctor's office. The interior of the place caught my attention so much that I couldn't help but look around like a child.

When we came to the door of the office, a uniformed nurse was sitting outside. We exchanged pleasantries, and she asked my driver to leave so that she would be the one escorting me into my doctor's office. My driver obeyed, and somehow I felt nervous that moment, causing me to wonder what was wrong with me.

The nurse gently pushed me into a well-decorated large office when she knocked and helped me sit on a couch. "Make yourself comfortable and wait for him, he will be here shortly," she said politely before walking out and slamming the door shut.

I looked around nervously as there was still no one in sight, my heart racing with so many questions. I least expectedly wished that the doctor wouldn't turn out to be Julian, that Dr. Ben had been honest with me.

"Hello, Miss Clarence. Welcome," I heard an unfamiliar voice call out to me. It was a young man in his early twenties, and I heaved a sigh of relief that my doctor wasn't Julian, just as Dr. Ben had promised.

He came out from one of the doors in the office. But something struck me - how could a young man his age have such a magnificent building? I doubted he was the owner of the place.

Just as I was about to question him, someone else emerged from the door he came from. With gentle strides, he headed in our direction.

Wanting him not to be who I suspected him to be, my eyes looked down from his expensive shoes, to his white coat, then his shirt's collar, and finally to his glasses. I took the full view of him, and my jaw dropped when indeed it turned out to be Julian Blackwood, my Ex. Dr. Ben had tricked me, but why?