"I'm sorry, Ms. White. You have no idea how much I want to help you. But my wife needs me now, and I can't leave her. I'm really sorry."
I fell down on the couch in disappointment. I'd called, texted, and emailed the doctor so many times since last night that one would think I'd been reduced to stalking a married doctor whose wife had his baby on the way. But still, there was no change in his answer.
I ran my hands through my face as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I'd never felt so helpless since a long time. The last time I'd felt this, I was helpless. But now, I had money, power and everything anyone would wish for. Everything except what I really needed.
I recalled my sister's happy smile before that unfortunate day, how she would run around the house, giggling at her own silly jokes and pretending to walk on a ramp with the weirdest outfits like dad's shirt that covered her entire being and still pooled at her feet, combined with mom's woolen scarf on her waist and paired with my boots that were too big for her. She would then complete the look with her tiara that dad had given her on her birthday. The Eva's family outfit, she'd call that horrible excuse of clothing. I used to tease her for looking like a deranged clown in animals' circus. It was sometimes unbelievable that she actually ended up being a fashion designer, a splendid one at that, although she hadn't graduated yet.
The ringtone of my phone pulled me out of my thoughts and my heart gave a leap when I saw Dr. Marshall's name on the caller id. I picked up, willing myself not to get my hopes up again as he might be calling to further console me and repeat how sorry he was that he couldn't help.
"Dr. Marshall?"
"Ms. White. When would you like us to discuss Ms. Evangeline's condition? I'd prefer it if we meet up at the hospital or somewhere but we can do it over the phone if you're too busy?"
"It's okay, I und-" It took me a few seconds to understand what he was saying. And when I did, I couldn't believe my ears.
"Pardon me? Please wait a second here. Are you saying what I think you are? Or is it just me hearing things?"
I heard a small chuckle from the other side. "Well, I'm not sure what you're thinking but yes, I said I'm willing to check out Ms. Evangeline's case."
My tears of despair and frustration turned into those of happiness. Now I was sobbing like a pregnant lady high in hormones. I wiped my eyes and tried to compose myself as I realized that Dr. Marshall was still on line, waiting for my emotional state to resemble normal human emotions.
"Thank you so much, doctor! You have no idea what this means to me. I... I just can't believe you're actually willing to help my sister. Thank you! Thank you so much." I breathed out but then remembered he had asked something. "Oh, it's Saturday today and I was actually going to the hospital to meet Eva. Can we talk there today, if that's okay with you? Or we can do it anyway you want. There's nothing more important to me than my sister."
"Very well, then. I need to be at the hospital to collect the documents anyway. So I'll see you there at around 4 PM today. Is that okay with you, Ms. White?"
"Very much. Thanks a lot, doctor!" We hung up and I got ready to go to the hospital. According to Eva, I was only allowed to meet her on Saturdays and Wednesdays as I needed to pay attention to the office since it was named after her. The girl was too big headed for her own good. It reminded me of a certain someone with the same problem. Nope, not going there.
I reached the hospital and after a small greeting to Linda, Eva's nurse who was in her fifties, I reached her room and went in after four knocks, an indicator that it was me at the door.
Eva was sitting on her bed like before, drawing something on her sketchbook. She looked up, raised an eyebrow at me, and then resumed her work without a word. I scoffed at her reaction and sat down next to her.
She looked so engrossed in her work and her passion for designing clearly reflected in her entire being. Seeing her at peace gave me a sense of contentment and I decided not to tell her about her condition. Dr. Marshall was willing to help anyway so there wasn't really a point in causing more distress.
"So you took my words seriously, huh? You did go on a date with Dr. Jenkins. I don't know if I should be proud or sad that I found out about my sister's date through the media." She said without looking up from her drawing of a dress she'd been sketching. She was just nearing the middle of her drawing and to me, it felt like a huge pillar with a long hair, but I kept my opinion to myself.
"It was not a date, and neither will it ever be. You know that very well, Eva. We were just discussing your MRI reports, which are good, by the way. Keith has referred your case to Dr. Brandon Marshall and I am meeting him today." I replied, somewhat modifying the truth. Most of the parts were true, after all.
"Oh, thank God! For once, I'd thought you guys already agreed to marry each other as he seems a little nervous being around me these days. I just assumed he was anxious about my approval for your marriage."
I rolled my eyes at her words. "Why do you sound so relieved? I thought you liked Keith?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
She shrugged in reply. "I do like him. But only as a doctor. I mean, he is a good person but I feel like you guys are just... not made for each other, y'know? There's just something lacking between you guys. Whether I see you both in person or in the photos, the electricity just seems so dull between you and him. He's good, but he's not the best. So he's not for you. You only deserve the best in the world."
My heart melted with sisterly love at her words and I was about to hug her when she started speaking again. "But Adrian Stone, on the other hand..." She let out a low whistle, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "While you and Dr. Keith together looked like a dying coal placed in water, Adrian Stone and you looked like thousands of firecrackers even in the photos. He's perfect for you, I have a feeling. And my feeling is never wrong." She grinned at me cheekily.
My arms, which were lifted to hug her, fell to my sides as I heard her.
So much for sisterly love.
***
I was sitting on the hospital cafeteria when a tall figure sat on the seat across me. I looked up to find a man with copper brown hair smiling at me. Dr. Brandon Marshall. I recalled his photo which the IT guy had mailed me while giving me his personal cell number.
"Hello, Ms. White." He smiled at me in a friendly manner. He was a good looking man with blue green eyes that looked mature and serious but at the same time gave off a warm vibe.
"Oh. Do you know me?" I asked, confused as I couldn't remember meeting him before. He chuckled in amusement at my reply and shook his head. "Personally, no, I don't really know you. But my wife made me sit with her for hours and look at your photographs yesterday so that I could at know how my clients look, because I tend to be arrogant." He said with a fond smile and I could see his love for her even in that small gesture.
A thought occured to me and I immediately felt a pang of guilt. "Oh, right. How is your wife, by the way? I hope she's not upset. I'm really sorry for imposing but... I can't even regret it. I feel so horrible right now." I said honestly, to which he just smiled and shook his head.
"It's all good, Ms. White. Don't worry, she's fine. In fact, she'd been urging me to see to your case ever since she came to know about it. But if I'm being honest with you, I think I just needed a little push. I was already inclined to work with the case but was still hesitant with my wife's condition, but with a really good persuasion from someone, I had no other option but to be here. So, here I am." He smiled again, shrugging his shoulders.
To be honest, I didn't really understand who he was speaking about, but I assumed it to be his wife and I became more grateful for her understanding.
"Anyways, let me tell you what exactly we're going to do. I've reviewed Ms. Evangeline's MRI reports and had a talk with Dr. Jenkins. It looks like she's compressed her sciatic nerve, which, I assume that you're aware of?"
He raised his eyes briefly and continued at my nod. "Okay, then I'll spare you with the repeated details as I feel that you've heard it a lot. So, what we're going to do is, we need to operate her spinal cord and try to decompress her nerve and see if the outcome would do her good. I'm not saying that it will work out for sure, there's only roughly 20-30% possibility of her walking normally. So I need you to be 100% sure that you're willing to take the risk. Because it would only be a waste of time and effort if you back out at the last moment."
He looked very serious and intimidating at the moment, completely different from his friendly persona just a few minutes ago and I realized the seriousness of the situation. I pondered over his words and decided to take the risk as I had no other option.
I nodded again and responded. "Yes, Dr. Marshall. I am willing to take the risk. You're my only hope for this and I'm not giving up a chance to fulfill my sister's dreams just because I'm afraid. It's not like anything worse can happen, right?" I asked unsurely.
He seemed to think for a while and nodded. "Yes, you're right. We'll only operate her lumbar segment so you don't need to worry about her hand movement being affected. So you're all good in that matter. Well, now that everything's settled, I need some time to thoroughly review the case. So, I'll contact you in two days?"
"Yeah, that's fine by me. Once again, thank you so much, Dr. Marshall. I can't find the words to thank you enough for this. It means a lot to me that you're willing to help out despite your own personal problems. So, thank you, doctor."
Dr. Marshall smiled, now back to his former friendly self. "No need to thank me yet, Ms. White. It's my duty. But if you want, you can thank someone else, without whom, I might not be here now. He is-"
He stopped abruptly, seemingly realizing that he said something he mustn't have. And before I could question him about it, he got up and collected the files lying on the table. "Anyways, I'm going to do a physical examination and some tests of Ms. Evangeline tomorrow. You don't need to be there. I'll contact you as soon as I finish reviewing everything. Later, Ms. White." He flashed me another smile and walked away, leaving me confused with his sudden change of topic and his cryptic words. Deciding not to overthink, I shrugged it off and walked out towards the parking lot.
I had just taken a few steps from the cafeteria when I bumped into a solid, hard chest and a pair of arms wound around to stabilize me. I looked up to apologize and found the owner of that chest to be none other than Adrian Stone. No wonder his chest is equally as hard as his big head. I thought ruefully.
Recognition dawned in his eyes and he roamed his eyes all over my body, which was a little uncomfortable as well as... different at the same time. I cleared my throat and he looked at me sheepishly, sighing in relief.
"Evelyn! Are okay? What's wrong? What are you doing in a hospital?" He asked, frantically searching my eyes and it took me a while to realise I was still in the hospital. Then I remembered I was still angry at him and narrowed my eyes at him.
"I don't feel it necessary to tell everything in my life to my business partner." I stated and saw his jaw clench on anger. He breathed deeply and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, I know you're angry at me but just let me talk, alright? I'm sorry for whatever I said that day but you need to know that I didn't mean them."
He looked around and took out his phone, typing something rapidly. He then looked at me and spoke again. "Listen, we need to talk, but not here, okay? I'm feeling that paps are gathered around and you might not enjoy the unwanted attention. So let's go somewhere we can talk. And eat." He added amusedly as my stomach greeted him with its rumbling.
I opened my mouth to object but he'd already taken my hand and pulled me through the back way of the building where his car was already parked right outside. A middle aged, short man stepped out of the car and nodded at Adrian. He muttered a small 'thanks' to the man in return and patted his back.
He opened his passenger door and gently guided me to the seat with his hand on my back. I grumbled but was easily swayed by his car and the thought of food. I really needed to stop acting like a homeless hobo. I was a freaking millionaire, for God's sake! One would think I had no self esteem. I'm sorry, Mr. Car. I silently thought as Adrian drove me away from the hospital.
He took me to Maggs' restaurant. Thankfully, she was on a leave this time. I wasn't really interested in making her a spectator as I bash her nephew's face on a plate.
He didn't speak a single word until we'd both finished our foods. I had a suspicion that he did so to avoid my outbursts. And much to my shame, I could feel my anger diminishing with every second. But I focused on concentrating all my energy to being angry at him. I had no idea how they did it but I kept trying anyway.
"You kinda look constipated right now."
I immediately left my attempt to be angry as it came automatically when he spoke the first sentence. I scowled at him and found him looking at me in amusement. Without giving him a satisfaction to enjoy my discomfort, I fixed him with a glare and commanded him to speak.
The amusement in his eyes turned to regret and he nodded. "Evelyn, I'm sorry. I'm really, very sorry for everything I said to you that day. I wasn't thinking straight. I just got angry seeing that article and I snapped at you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
"Why would you be angry at the article?" I asked, confused.
"I... I wasn't really angry over that. I... had a bad morning already and I just took out my anger at you. I didn't mean anything I said to you. I'm really sorry, Evelyn."
I raised my eyebrows at his explanation. "You can't come and pour out you frustration at me, Adrian. I'm not and will never be your dump bag. Your words hurt me, without realising. I thought you were my friend, Adrian. I'd never expected you to utter those words to me. Now you're here, apologising like nothing happened, I don't know if I believe you."
Adrian nodded grimly. "I understand that you can't believe my words. And I'll do my best to make you trust me. But you need to believe me when I say that I didn't mean a single word I said about you that day."
I considered his words. "Okay, get ready to prove that you can be my friend then. You're going to do lots of work." As soon as he heard my words, a beautiful smile lighted up his making him look breathtaking. I ignored the little tingling feeling and walked up to the counter and quickly gave my card to the cashier girl.
Adrian came soon after and put his hand on the small of my back, leading me out of the restaurant. I rolled my eyes, hiding a small smile that threatened to form on my lips at his gesture.
We were immediately swarmed by paparazzi as soon as we got out of the restaurant. Reporters started clicking random pictures and calling out our names firing questions at us.
"Ms. White? Mr. Stone? Why are you both here together?"
"Are you dating?"
"Mr. Stone, is she finally going to turn you from a bachelor into a married man?"
"Was our previous article about you correct? What about Dr. Keith Jenkins?"
"Ms. White, are you cheating on Dr. Jenkins?"
Their questions seemed to be never-ending and Adrian tried to call security and guide me to his car but I stopped him by touching his arm. I then looked at the reporters and held my hand out at them. They looked a bit confused at first but soon calmed down, looking at me expectantly.
I smiled at them and spoke loudly. "Okay, I know you've got questions but no need to block the whole road here. I'll try to answer your questions and I expect you guys to leave us alone after that, alright?" I raised my eyebrows and they nodded in sync.
Satisfied, I held out a finger. "Alright. So number one, I'm very disappointed in you guys." I said, shaking my head. "You guys printed two articles about me having affair with two different men on two consecutive days. Seriously, guys? I hadn't expected to be portrayed as a cheating bitch."
Some of them looked down in shame while some looked elsewhere, pretending that they weren't the culprits. I raised another finger and continued. "Number two. You shouldn't have mentioned Dr. Jenkins in that way. He's a good friend of mine and you guys made him uncomfortable with all the following around you did. I would be grateful if you stop hounding him right from this instant. You're not only breaching his privacy but also jeopardizing the security of his patients."
I paused and saw some of the reporters calling and texting their colleagues. I smiled in satisfaction. Time for the issue on hand. "Now, final issue. Me and the arrogant CEO over here," I gestured to Adrian earning a few chuckles and giggles from the crowd. "We are business partners as you guys know very well. More than that, we're also pretty good friends. Since we work together, it's not a big deal if we eat together. You people are making something out of nothing and it's affecting the healthy relationship between us and you. We respect your dedication towards your work and we want our privacy to be respected in return. You're all acting like preschoolers, for God's sake! Since when did holding hands and eating together become an exclusive couple thing?" I asked incredulously.
The crowd became silent and I sighed. "Anyways, I just request you guys to give us our privacy. We are still humans like you and we love our moments outside to be in peace. Also, I hope you guys first ask and verify the information before spreading false rumors around. To answer your questions, I'm still single and I promise that you'll be the first ones to know if that status is changed anytime in the future. That's all I wanted to say. Now you guys must be hungry. I recommend this place to everyone. The food here is just AMAZING! I'm sure you'll love everything here. Okay, I'm leaving now, if you've got any questions to Mr. Stone here, you can hound him now. Goodbye guys! Make sure to check this place out, you won't be disappointed!"
With that, I waved at them and went to Adrian's car, leaving him standing in the same position to be immediately attacked by the paps, smirking at his bewildered expression.
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