In A Lifetime ( KBTBB : Eisuke Ichinomiya )

Chapter 15

All eyes are on Eisuke who had taken it upon himself to appear at the hospital entrance.The way he was walking towards Grace, anyone would've thought he owned the hospital itself.

He comes to a halt in front of her and holds out his right hand.

What did he want from her, now?

"Give me the elevator key and the pager. You have no need for them anymore." he says, loud enough for everyone else to hear. Immediately, shushed conversations sweep through the hospital entrance like a wave.

"Wait, that's the guy that owns the hotel not far from hear, right?"

"Yeah. And that's the intern that Aya said was dating him."

"Looks like she wasn't lying after all."

"I guess that means he already got tired of her, then."

"It was just a whim from the very start, I'm sure." That was definitely Azami's voice. "A little girl like her doesn't belong with him. He needs a proper woman."

All the comments come through one ear, and leaves through the other for Grace. She's not paying attentions to any of them. But Eisuke was right. She had no need for the pager or keycard anymore because they were no longer even pretending to be a couple.

"You didn't have to come here. Believe it or not, I was going to come by the hotel and drop it off at the hotel after I was finished with work." she answered, reaching for her pockets and pulling both objects out. It wasn't a lie. She had actually planned on giving them away for a while now, just because they were a hindrance to her forgetting Eisuke.

"You're wasting my time. At least I'm rid of you for good now." he replies, taking the pager and keycard before turning away from her and leaving the hospital. He really didn't need her anymore, did he?

Rid of me for good, huh? Well, good for him.

"Oh ho ho! The princess just got demoted, huh?" It wasn't Azami this time, it was Mayura. "Poor little Grace."

"Well, don't fret, dear. This is hope everything is supposed to be!" joins in Azami. There were sympathetic eyes everywhere Grace looked, but not from these two.

"Grace, are you alright?" asks Ichiro.

Gaining strength from the last ounce of will left in her, she turns to look at him. "Yes." she replies. "I'm alright. I meant every word I said-- I was going to return the pager and keycard after work."

"Anyway! I need to get back to my patient. Aya, did Miss..." she paused to look down at the clip board in her hand, "did Miss Akimoto leave anything for Aito down in the children's ward?"

"Um, yeah, she left this." the receptionist answers, handing her a worn out teddy bear. "Are you really okay?"

"Aya, I'm totally fine. You just gotta trust me with this one, okay? I'll be fine."

Turning away from the receptionist, Grace heads back towards the children's ward, completely aware of the several pairs of eyes burning holes into her back. She didn't know if the feeling rising inside of her was sadness or frustration or just pure emptiness; she only knew that she couldn't let it show. The only thing she knew for sure was that anything left between her and Eisuke was gone now. The pager and keycard were the finalization of their relationship.

It's for the best. Now I can get back to my normal life. The only thing I've got left to do is forget him.

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One her next day off, Grace decided to go and do some shopping and spoil herself a little now that she was completely free from Eisuke. It would relieve her of some stress and possibly cheer her up a little to have some new clothes. She was a girl, after all. What did you expect?