Chapter 2~The Second Meeting

All her life, Evangeline Grace Meadow imagined that the first morning after she gave up her virgin status would begin when she opened her eyes and found that she was sleeping in the arms of the man who became her husband under a warm blanket.

Yes, warm. Full of love and happiness after the long memories they shared throughout the night.

However, Eve had to learn to accept that what she had imagined—what she had written in her notebook would not always go her way. Those beautiful dreams and visions have been shattered since yesterday, and she shouldn’t have been surprised to find that the first morning after she had sex, she didn’t wake up in the arms of the man she loved.

There was no love. No happiness. No marriage or husband. However, she could feel the warmth of the blanket she had hugged all night to cover her naked body.

Even though she hadn’t really opened her eyes, she knew that it was morning, probably almost noon.

She could feel an unfamiliar pain in her groin, and as a doctor, she knew that the pain proved that what happened last night was not a delusion or part of her dream. Well, even if she wasn’t a doctor, it seems she would still know the meaning of the pain.

Shame, confusion, sadness, and perhaps... anger, began to creep into her heart.

She knew that she would feel regret after the stupid decision she made under the influence of alcohol. However, what could she do? Turn back time and wish she hadn’t gone to the nightclub?

Puking her guts out was the option she took.

Because rather than regretting and crying over everything that happened, the nausea in her stomach was more important than whatever was spinning in her head.

So, Eve quickly got to her feet and tried to find—whatever—trash, toilet, or anything else she could use to contain the contents of her stomach that probably contained nothing but the remains of last night’s whiskey.

And she was grateful that right after she got up and opened her eyes, there was a basin lined with plastic bags—the perfect place to dump her guts.

Damn. It was a disgusting morning, and she felt even more miserable when she discovered that she was alone in the large room.

There was no one— even if she wished she didn’t meet again the blue-eyed man who took her first experience, she didn’t really think she would wake up alone.

Damn. Did that jerk leave her in the hotel room?

***

Evangeline was wrong when she thought that Exel left her in the hotel room.

Well, Exel did leave her. However, she wasn’t in the hotel as she first thought.

She remembered that they passed by a tall building when they were in the car, but she didn’t notice anything because Exel’s kiss was so deadly and hard to miss in the midst of her madness. They walked through the elevator, but again, they spent time sharing kisses and hot touches for each other. And lastly, she remembers that they walked into a room in the darkness, which was also dark enough to be recognizable.

However, she realized she wasn’t in a hotel when she walked out of the room to find something that a hotel room should... not have—a personal attendant leading her through the main room with sofas, a bar table on the far right that overlooked the glass balcony, and a piano perched like a fancy decoration.

“Mr Axel told us to make sure you take your medicine before the driver takes you home.” Two well-dressed women in white shirts and black knee-length skirts bowed as she walked past them to follow a waiting servant who greeted her at the door.

There was a long dining table at the end of the hallway she passed, and there was a breakfast spread with eggs, bread, juice, and several packets of medicine that she could recognize from the packaging as dizziness relievers.

Hell, who was she dealing with that she ended up in a luxury penthouse with a maid and driver?

“Where’s Exel?”

Of course, she refused to sit down and have breakfast there. However, there was one thing she had to make sure of before leaving and disappearing from this place—before she lost track of the man who had taken her first experience.

“Mr. Exel has been gone since two hours ago. He did not say where he was going, and I cannot be sure when he will return to this penthouse.” The woman replied politely.

Well, Eve didn’t want to wait him to go back to his home either.

Why does she have to do that? What for?

To look into his blue eyes and tell him the sad reason behind last night’s events? To prove that the whiskey and whatever he had done to her had fixed her day even though she now had to endure the gloom again?

“Thank you for preparing all this for me. I’m going home now, and you don’t need to prepare a driver for me.” She said as she prepared to turn around.

“Miss,” the woman held her back, “it would be good if you took some medicine and drank a glass of juice. It will make you a little better.”

“No, thank you.”

“And you’re sure you don’t want a driver?” The woman looked a little worried.

She nodded, “I'll handle it myself."

And after that, the only thing Eve wanted to do was disappear from there.

Disappear—forget everything that happened in the penthouse and pretend that nothing happened there.

She would never see Exel again, and that was the best part. There would be no memory of last night, and maybe it would be time for Eve to get back to the sad reality of her life.

After Andres' affair, there were many things she had to do. First, break off her engagement. Second, take her car, which was still parked in the lobby of his apartment. Third, forget about that jerk and all the betrayals he committed. Fourth, tell her parents and try to live a normal life to keep going with the job and career that she has built over the past few years.

The first step was already fulfilled because, basically, the engagement had ended right after she saw Andres' cheating on her. She would think about the second and other steps today—thinking while staring at the buildings she passed on her way home after ordering an online taxi from Axel's penthouse to her apartment.

Well, maybe she could postpone thinking about that step because right now... the only thing she could do was cry.

Shit. It hurt so much.

She loved Andres, and his betrayal hurt her more than anything that had ever happened in her life.

Andres' betrayal was not something she could have prevented or anticipated. She didn't know that she would get the most painful thing in the middle of her perfect life plan that she was always proud of.

He not only broke her heart but also shattered her pride and ego—making Eve question her own principles.

Unfortunately, those principles were also shattered along with her engagement, which was destroyed by Andres.

"Are you okay, Miss?" The taxi driver held out a tissue, and she felt even more pathetic because, since last night, two people had offered her tissues.

Maybe she looked so messed up and... pathetic.

"I'm okay. Thank you," she said as she accepted the tissue.

***

"It's not your schedule, but you're already in your room. What a surprise, Eve." A beautiful woman with jet-black hair, slanted eyes, and fair Asian skin stepped in with a frown on her face.

Last night, she had nowhere to go, so she did the crazy thing of stepping into a nightclub.

After her heart was broken, she made a rash decision and now had to suffer the consequences of that decision.

Today, after she arrived at her apartment, she lost her mind again.

Going back to her apartment was not the right choice because she was immediately greeted by a large photo that she had deliberately put up on the wall of her apartment—the photo of her engagement to Andres when he kissed her cheek and she smiled while showing their engagement ring to the camera. The blue sea behind her makes for a stunning backdrop... and damn, that blue color reminds her of the Caribbean sea even though she knows that Andres didn't propose to her in the Caribbean.

A bright blue Caribbean sea and a very dangerous-looking blue-eyed owner.

Hell, Eve didn't want to end up even more miserable in her apartment. So, after tossing the photo in the trash, she decided to take a shower and head to the hospital.

At least this morning, she came to a place where she wouldn't make stupid decisions like drinking whiskey or talking to a blue-eyed stranger.

"Damn, you ignored me and chose to continue your daydream?!" The woman put both hands on her waist and gave her an annoyed look.

Damn. Eve let out a long breath and gulped down a bottle of mineral water.

"Don't bother me, Kaira. I'm not sure if I can respond to your words right now."

Kaira was the first woman she became close friends with since she started working at the hospital. Also, as a doctor, Kaira's job was much more flexible than Eve's busy schedule as a general practitioner. Kaira worked as a dermatologist and only had morning and afternoon shifts, unlike most doctors who worked three shifts because the hospital operated 24 hours.

"Oh yeah?" Kaira narrowed her eyes even more, "I thought you—"

"Eve, are you here?" Someone knocked loudly on the door and opened it before Eve or Kaira could answer.

"Daxton, could you be a little more polite next time?" Kaira gave him an annoyed look.

"I can't, Kai." Daxton walked in quickly, and then he looked at Eve, who was staring tiredly at their brief argument. "There was an emergency, and I'm glad you're here." He said as he reached out to drag Eve out of her desk.

"Hell, I should have kicked you earlier!" Kaira snapped at Daxton.

"Shut up, Kai." Daxton jerked at her in annoyance, "I have a man coming in with a gunshot wound to his arm, and it just so happens that no one can help me perform surgery to remove the bullet except you! Dr. Max and Addison are in the operating room, while Dr. Simons and the others had to stand guard to check on the patient. I’m alone on my shift in the Emergency Room. So, we're the only ones left because the others haven't come yet, and it's already time for the shift change. So, you're going to have to come with me because I'm the one who's stuck here with that patient and all his bodyguards!"

Eve hadn't had time to understand the explanation when Daxton dragged her out of her room and took her to the operating room.

It was a emergency operation, and she didn't have a chance to give her a refusal given that gunshot wounds were an emergency that couldn't be waited—they couldn't even wait for the doctor who was supposed to be on duty at the afternoon shift because they hadn't arrived yet.

"Did you do the anesthesia?"

Gunshot wounds were not a normal case, but that didn't mean it was impossible. This was her first time performing surgery to remove a bullet, and out of the corner of her eye, as she was making preparations to use all her surgical equipment, she saw that the patient who was going to be operated on was sitting quietly on the hospital bed.

Gosh, did Daxton really mean it when he said that the man had been shot? How could he sit there as if he felt no pain? Even from behind, Eve could see that his back looked straight as if he was not bothered by anything.

"It was done 15 minutes ago. The anesthesia should already be working, considering we only need local anesthesia to perform this minor surgery." Daxton replied as a nurse helped him put on his gloves.

Eve nodded briefly. If he was already under anesthesia, why didn't the man lie down immediately?

"Thank you, Ann." Eve said after she had finished putting on all her surgical gear,

She stepped calmly towards her patient—a man who Daxton said had a gunshot wound to the arm and had received anesthesia 15 minutes ago.

"Good afternoon, I'm Doctor Evangeline Grace. I will be doing—"

Her sentence was cut short just as her footsteps brought her closer to the man—the man with the gunshot wound to his arm... the man with blue eyes like a caribou sea.

Eve could count that her steps froze for more than 5 seconds, and her eyes just silently looked into the man's eyes.

This is not a good thing.

This was not what a doctor should do to a patient needing emergency surgery.

"Nice to meet you, little angel." The man—Exel swept his gaze over her with a calmness that was so obvious—there was no look of pain or shock in his eyes.

Hell, it looks like her decision to come to the hospital wasn't a good one either, even though she didn't make this decision under the influence of alcohol.