Chapter 2
“There’s some inflammation, but it’s growing fine. You probably won’t need to have it extracted later,” the dentist told me,
pointing at the X–ray.
I sighed in relief. Tooth extraction is so painful.
While getting my prescription, I passed by Leo’s department. I instinctively glanced inside.
My steps faltered.
Sitting in the chair was the bright and vivacious Jade, with Leo standing behind her, his arms around her.
One hand on the back of the chair, the other over hers on the mouse, teaching her something.
The air was thick with intimacy.
I stared for a long time.
Then I turned away and headed to the pharmacy, eyes fixed straight ahead.
The University Medical Center is a maze, but somehow I ran into the inseparable pair again at the entrance.
Leo was seeing Jade off.
“The congee I bought you this morning was good, right? Each grain distinct. The one you posted looked mushy, I found it
a bit gross,” Jade’s sickeningly sweet voice pierced my ears.
Leo seemed to sense my gaze, but his eyes only rested on me for two seconds.
Then he looked away as if nothing happened.
Like I was a stranger.
“Indeed,” he replied to Jade.
Five minutes later, I received a call from Leo Sterling.
“Didn’t I tell you not to come to the hospital looking for me? I’m working. I’m a doctor, not your trophy to show off.”
He launched into a barrage of accusations right off the bat.
Show off?
I felt dizzy at this accusation.
I remembered when T.J. had brought his nephew to see Leo about a cavity and asked me to come along.
We had gone through the normal process of registering and consulting at Leo Sterling’s department.
It’s just that at the end, T.J. had joked, “It’s great to have connections at the hospital.”
Leo Sterling’s face had immediately darkened.
After we got back, he had repeatedly instructed me never to go to the hospital to find him without his permission.
I smiled tightly, waving the medication instructions in my hand.
“Leo Sterling, I didn’t come to find you.”
“Then what else could it be for?
“You came all the way to the hospital, and you’re giving me attitude because you didn’t finish the porridge I made this morning.
“The hospital is my workplace. Can’t you respect my work?
“You made the porridge voluntarily. Can’t I choose not to drink it? Don’t try to guilt–trip me. Do you know how annoying you are?”
He had lost it.
Surprisingly, my heart was as still as a dead lake.
Not a single ripple stirred within me anymore.
I hung up the phone. The calendar popped up with a to–do item, reminding me that tomorrow was a special day.
I let out a soft sigh, feeling the last knot of frustration in my chest finally unravel.
The porridge base that hadn’t simmered well for all these years, perhaps it should have been thrown out long ago. “Come home early tomorrow.”
Tonight was Jade Kingsley’s birthday, so I figured Leo Sterling wouldn’t be coming back.
After sending him this message, I started packing my things.
In the corner of the suitcase, I found a small red cloth bag.
UNARGE
After some thought, I decided not to open it.
The next day, I set up the altar table, my heart a mix of bitterness and reflection.
The promise I had made to Grandma to stay with Leo Sterling could no longer be kept.
But at the very least, I had to tell her on this day of her passing.
Although Leo Sterling hadn’t replied to my message, he did come back at noon.
The cream smeared on his collar gave off a sickly sweet scent, a stark contrast to the sandalwood incense on the altar. Leo Sterling’s expression was cold. The moment he saw the altar, his pupils contracted slightly.
A flash of surprise crossed his face.
It was quickly replaced by solemnity.
I understood his determination to climb the career ladder, but there are some parts of the past one shouldn’t forget. Like the death anniversary of the grandmother who had struggled to raise him.
But looking at him now, he had clearly forgotten.
Perhaps his junior’s birthday was more important.
One Night, Unexpected Pregnancy
Sophia obehi Okirika
Page 18+
IMA MAN OF GREAT RESTRAINT BUT SEEING YOU LIKE THIS IS PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF MY SELF–CONTROL, SO BAD THAT I MIGHT JUST PIN YOU AGAINST T…
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