Cheryll's POV;
~ City General Hospital ~
"Is this all, Dr. Chadwell?" I asked impatiently, tapping my foot on the floor as I sat on the chair.
"Cher, how many times have I told you not to address me this formal___"
Exactly the reason for me to be impatient; to leave your cabin, ugh!
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for addressing you formally, Vincent. Now, can I leave?"
He sighed.
I never showed any concern about what he might think of me every time I acted like he was some shark who's gotten a whiff of my blood.
I know he has feelings for me, but to me he's only a senior whom I respect very much. If he wants our relation to change, then the far I can go is to make him my older brother.
And he knows that.
"Cher, why can't we be together?"
All right, I didn't expect that. Can he at least try to not be this direct?
"Vincent, I respect you as my senior. We've known each other for 2 years and I appreciate everything you've taught me. In fact, I'm thankful that you're my guide during this final year internship. But that is all it, I cannot even imagine to be with you like the way you want me to."
I cannot be more honest, if I do then he'd suffer heartbreak.
"You're brutally honest." He chuckled, I just shrugged. "So what ever I try, its not gonna work?"
"No."
"Okay, as you wish. But can you at least not run away from me every time we're alone together, or is it too much to ask?"
"I won't if you don't look at me like that."
"I'll try."
"Thanks, Vincent." He smiled in response.
He was handsome and all, but my heart wouldn't belong to him, that I was decisive about.
"No big deal, Cher."
"We're good friends, always remember that."
"Then call me like you used to before you learnt I feel for you."
"You're such a whine, Vinci!" And we laughed.
We met 2 years ago and at that time, he was in his final year. Since then after occasional meets, we became good friends and I used to boast around that I've an overprotective big brother, until one day when I learnt he likes me in a way I won't like him in ever.
Even though I'm not that close to him as with my bestie, he's the only one who knows the only secret of mine. Not that I told him myself, the situation and circumstances revealed it to him and I trust him enough to confide in him.
"Before you leave, I need a small favour, Cher." He looked at me expectantly.
"If I can."
"Nothing much, there's this new counsellor for the psychologically disturbed ones. I'm to head to the asylum, so can you help her with the paper work?"
"Oh, that wouldn't be a problem at all!"
"Thank you so much Cher," I nodded with a smile and left his cabin.
The newly recruited ones will be by the reception, waiting for them to be called. So I headed there to find the girl whom Vincent had asked me to help.
There, it didn't take me long as there was only one female waiting among some 3 men. She was going through the contract she'd to sign to begin her work in the hospital and was sitting with her head bowed low, so all I saw was the dark hair on the top of her head.
"Excuse me, are you the newly recruited counsellor?" I asked as I approached her.
I didn't expect to see her when she raised her head to look at me, nor did I know that she's a psychology graduate.
"Cheryll!" Maria stood up from her seat and exclaimed excitedly.
"What're you doing here? I thought you said you'd a job?" I asked in confusion, but smiled in merry to see her here.
"That job sucked! I'd applied here a month ago and had lost hope when I didn't get a reply for so long until yesterday." She sighed. "What're you doing here?"
"The hospital and the medical college are in the same campus. We often come here to report to our internship guides for our final year projects, or to even study some cases."
After confirming that she was indeed the counsellor Vincent had asked me to help, I took her inside and assisted in what she needed my help with. When we were done, it was time for me to head home too, so we walked out of the campus together.
"We should hang out more, what do you think?" Maria suggested, I hesitated for a moment. "You're worried about being in the Miles brothers and Morgan's company?"
"Why'd I be worried about them?" I frowned.
I did what I thought was right at the time, I didn't do anything wrong for me to worry.
"Then what's it?"
This girl won't give up easily, will she?
"It's that my weekends are all me and my bed. I barely do anything other than eat and sleep after 5 days of hardwork!"
And I'm not exaggerating when I say that. It's not easy to always ace your exams; knowing that that's the only key to the lock of the chest which has the treasure named scholarships.
If not for those scholarships, I wouldn't be able to sit for my exams. Apart from studying hard, I've to report to work too.
Yeah, I work part time as an accountant in a small bakery. That's not actually as much as the work an actual accountant would do, but one should know how it'd be for someone who hates math.
An old lady whom I call granny, runs the place and bakes the cakes and pies on her own. Aside from checking the accounts, I help her clean after the shop closes and also help in preparation of anything that she'd have to take care of overnight.
It's tiring, but that makes up for my living.
"I understand, but at least consider and give me a call if you ever want to, okay?"
"Okay, thanks for understanding." I smiled at her. "Wait. How 'bout we head to the mall now? I need to do some shopping."
It's Friday today, that meant granny's grandchildren must be visiting her, so the bakery is closed for 3 days in a row. That's how I spend a calm weekend too.
"I'm free too, let's go then." Maria agreed.
~ Neo Plaza ~
Maria had taken a taxi to the hospital because her car was in the garage, so we drove to the mall in my car. There she took me to all the shops that she makes her purchases from and I needn't tell that they all emit only one vibe. Posh.
"Maria, I cannot afford anything here, so it's best if I don't enter these shops and walk out empty handed." I stated. Her expression changed, she looked sorry and embarrassed. "I know you didn't realise it, Maria. So don't worry about if I'm gonna feel like you did it deliberately to make me feel poor." I assured her.
"Even so, I'm sorry." She mumbled then added enthusiastically. "Take me where you usually shop from."
I nodded and we exited the shop. We shopped a lot and were about to take a turn to go to the food court when we ran into a certain someone.
Maria froze for a moment beside me before getting a hold of herself. She looked at the person in front of us and back at me.
"Ms. Smith, we meet again." He stared at me, I stared back at him without backing down.
He was trying to intimidate me with that look of his and I'm not going to let him think that he scares me. In all honesty, he doesn't.
"Are you Trevor, or Taylor?" Maria asked from beside me.
The whole of the country knows that the Miles brothers are identical twins, I'm not an exception either. Even though I hadn't met the other twin in person, I could say that the one in front of me right now was the one I'd kneed a week ago at the club and I knew it the moment I saw him now, his statement from earlier only confirmed my assumption.
"Trevor." He answered Maria's question all the while staring at me.
"What're you doing here instead of being at the company?" She enquired further.
It's a known fact that Trevor Miles handled the family business after their father's death. I don't know much about what Taylor Miles does, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he manages the work in his brother's absence.
"Taylor's taking care of work today as I felt a bit down the weather." As expected. His eyes searched for something in mine before he tilted his head to look at Maria. I smirked, I just won the staring contest by defeating 'the Mr. Miles'. "Can you leave us alone for a while, Maria?"
"For what?" She worried.
I gestured for her to leave, assuring her that I'd be fine. He cannot do anything with so many people present here, that'd not only have its impact on his reputation, but also on that of the Miles Group. After all, anything that concerns him is front paper news.
Maria reluctantly left the two of us there and went to sit on the table near a coffee shop. From that distance she'd be able to see us, but not hear.
"I'm listening, Mr. Miles." I urged him to talk what he wanted to.
But instead of talking, he began looking around. While I wondered the reason for him to do so, he fixed his gaze on someone passing by. I turned to look at the person and realised that his presence had caught people's attention. They were staring at him and me, probably wondering what the heir to the Miles Group was doing with a nobody like me.
He then suddenly took hold of my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine. I was about to yank it out of his grasp, but realised that he was doing it for my own good. I saw some people with their phone cameras positioned towards us, Trevor looked at our intertwined hands before lifting his gaze to glare at those who were ready to snap a picture.
That glare is terrifying!
The people immediately put their mobiles away and walked past us like nothing happened.
"I'm sorry for that." He mumbled and let go of my hand slowly.
"I should be thanking you for that."
I really should be, if it wasn't for his quick thinking then I'd be trending all over the internet and not in a good way. He could've just glared at them, even that'd have had the same impact on them, but that wouldn't have been convincing. They'd think that I was someone he played with, but he didn't leave room for the thought by grabbing my hand in a possessive manner. He held it in a way you'd hold a dear one's hand.
I should admit, I'm moved. I shook my head, quickly dismissing the thought.
"Huh?" He frowned. "You were aware of my intentions?"
"The fact that I didn't knee, or punch you should be enough to answer that question of yours." He laughed.
That laughter is so heart warming! Wait, what the h*ck is wrong with me!?
"I just wanted to apologise for the other day at the club." He said, I blinked.
I heard him right?
"Why?" He looked at me like I was crazy to ask that question, so I quickly added. "You were only helping your friend, you aren't wrong in doing that and let me be clear, just because I said you aren't in the wrong doesn't automatically mean that I'm not right."
"You have a way with your words." He snorted. "Since you don't think that I was wrong, I won't apologise, but I'd like to ask something." I nodded for him to continue. "I said I wanted to talk, why did you knee me?"
"You wanted to talk with me, it wasn't the other way around. You needed something from me, yet behaved like I was the one in profit. That's rude." He just kept staring at me. "What? Is there something on my face?"
"I was just searching for a banner, or label with the words honesty boldly printed on it. That's brutally honest."
Why does it remind me of Vincent's words?
"That's just the way I'm." I gave him a nonchalant shrug. He smiled that breath-taking smile of his again.
Stop it, Cheryll Smith!
"What on earth did I just witness!?" Maria came running towards us.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" I frowned in concern.
"The world is nearing its end, I'm telling you!" She exclaimed with a surprised look. "I just saw 'the Trevor Miles' smiling and laughing heartily! Something we thought he's forgotten how to do!"
"What do you mean he never smiles?" I asked.
"He NEVER does to any of us, all we've seen is his subtle nods and upward curves of his lips. He's never been like this with us, let alone to someone who's kneed him." She whispered the last part.
I tilted my head to look at Trevor and saw that his gaze was no longer how it was before Maria joined us again. He now appeared cold and distant; the typical businessman vibe.
"Maria, you're exaggerating." Trevor stated.
"I'm exaggerating? You and your brother are both known to be like this. While we've seen Taylor smile more often than we've seen you, neither of you appear the way you did just moments ago."
"And how exactly did I appear?" He coldly asked.
Maria seemed to be used to this behaviour of his. It would seem rude to anyone watching from afar, but Maria being familiar with Trevor, snorted in response.
"It was genuine, filled with emotions. Something we've never seen you expressing and don't even try to refute, I'm a psychology graduate!"
"I'll take my leave now," Trevor said, muttered something under his breath and left.
"Pftt, he's back to being aloof now." Maria rolled her eyes and dragged me to a table.
Right, we were here to eat something.
We ordered some pastries and pizza and waited for our food to be served. My thoughts wandered off to what had happened just now. Our food was served and I didn't realise that I was playing with the spoon and fork in my hand until someone caught hold of it. Maria.
"What happened?" I absent-mindedly asked.
"I should be asking you that." She eyed at my plate. I followed her gaze and felt embarrassed when I saw what was in front of me.
I'd ruined the shape of the pastry completely and all that was left in the plate was a heap of cake and cream instead of a proper triangular piece.
"Hmph, I zoned out, sorry."
"You seem to really overwork yourself, Cheryll. At least, put your worries aside during the weekends. Give your mind the peace and rest it deserves."
If only you knew what I was thinking about, Maria.
"I'll try." I smiled at her and changed the subject. "Tell me, how're things between you and Morgan? Did I cause trouble?"
"No, no. He might seem arrogant, but is actually a nice guy. You won't believe the kind of guy he was before we met. He was a heartbreaker, I'm surprised he's changed so much for a girl like me, who's actually a couple years older than him."
"He'd be a fool not to change after meeting you." I laughed. "You're older than him?"
"Yes, I'm 24 already while he'll be turning 22 in a couple more months."
"You don't seem like it, though." She rolled her eyes at my words, clearly not wanting to talk about her age and looks.
"Morgan's more patient with me. He's the kind of guy who expresses his emotions with touches, but I want to save myself for the one I get married to, it's hard for him, but he refrains for my sake." Maria sighed.
"That's a remarkable change, Maria. You should appreciate the guy."
"Yeah and it's not like we don't have fun at all, but I hate it if he gets handsy with me when I'm drunk; the reason I wanted to leave the club on my own that night." Another sigh.
"So he's done that before too?"
"Mmm, a few times, but never crossed his limits." She smiled at me. "But don't you worry, we talked things out and he promised he wouldn't do such a thing in the future."
"Just like that?" I didn't believe a guy like Morgan would promise something like that over a simple talk.
"I might've given him an ultimatum." She giggled. "I told him that we won't have stay overs if he does that again."
Ah, that's why he agreed! I laughed.
"You're heartless, Maria." I shook my head as I laughed.
She flicked her hair over her shoulder like she was proud of herself. We then left the mall and headed to the parking space.
~ Wool's Villa ~
Maria's place was in the opposite direction from that of mine, but I didn't tell her that. I drove to her neighbourhood and dropped her off in front of the villa, she said she lived with her mother.
"Come in, mom will be happy to meet you."
"No Maria, I'll drop by some other time to meet with Mrs. Wool. I'm tired a little."
"All right, take care." She waved at me and got off of the car.
I then made a turn and took to my place. I live in a small apartment with 2 bedrooms, it wasn't big, but warm and cozy. Home is home, after all.
~ D Block Apartments ~
I parked the car in the available space and entered the lift that'd carry me to the 45th floor.
The higher the floor you want an apartment in, the lesser the price you'd have to pay and for a student like me who survived on scholarships and a little pay from a small bakery, the top floor is where I can afford a flat.
I entered into what's my definition of a cozy home and placed the shopping bags on the couch, plopping myself beside them. I relaxed a little by stretching before taking a shower and preparing to go to bed.
When I was finally in bed, I couldn't sleep. A certain someone's captivating smile was haunting me. Therefore, I lay wide awake on the bed on my back and kept staring at the ceiling.
If he never smiles at anyone like that, why did he smile at me? Has he never ever laughed so heartily? Then why now? Is he up to something? But it didn't seem like it, it was truly genuine and one only expresses his true nature to those he feels comfortable with.
I closed my eyes tightly and inhaled deeply, recalling the figure I saw through the side mirror of my car while leaving Neo Plaza, he'd left the place some 20 minutes before we did, I'd no idea why he was still at the parking when we left, until I figured that he was looking straight at me. Not with that cold and distant look of his, but with a much softer one. Naturally, I didn't dare to breathe a word about it to Maria.
The way he held my hand had sent a strange spread of warmth through my arm. I haven't felt like it with anyone before, it was strange, but comforting at the same time.
What're you doing to me Trevor Miles? I thought when his smile flashed in front of me again and I found myself smiling as well while mumbling as if he was in front of me.
"You're an idiot if you don't smile often, it makes you look more handsome. You should smile more."
__________
Author's Note:
Poor Cheryll's heart! There's more coming your way Cheryll ;-)
And I hope that this chapter answers some of your questions @cutie2795
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