Love Redux: Fated to the Handsome Doctor

BUGH!

“Aww!” Lara groaned as a man bumped into her.

“Sorry, Miss … here! Take this!” he said, handing her an old model phone with a note attached to it. ‘Answer this phone’. That was what the note said.

“Hey! Mister! Wait!” Lara shouted at the man in the black hat who suddenly walked away. However, he ran even faster and then disappeared into the crowd. Lara stood still. Soon after, the phone rang.

“Should I answer it?” Lara felt suspicious. The events that had happened to her recently made her increasingly cautious. Lara couldn’t afford to be careless and endanger her life.

The phone kept ringing. Lara ignored it. But seconds later, a message caught her attention. ‘Lynn, answer the phone’

Lara’s eyes widened. Lynn was the affectionate name her parents used. Only the three of them knew about it. Lara’s heart sank. This incident felt almost like a dream.

“Whwho is this?” She wondered, but then the phone rang again. This time, Lara answered it with trembling hands. “Hehello?”

“Lynn! Thank goodness you’re still alive!”

“Momom?!”

Lara’s head felt like it was spinning. How could her deceased mother suddenly call her! “Don’t joke around!” Lara growled. She then hung up the phone and grabbed the IV stand beside her. Lara felt like fainting!

“Miss Lara! What’s going on?!” Bi Yani had just arrived from the end of the corridor. The middle-aged woman immediately rushed towards Lara and hugged her. It seemed that her employer was not in a good condition.

“Bibi… please take me to my room,” Lara asked, cold sweat dripping from her hair and forehead. Her face was pale. Lara was truly shocked by the voice that was so similar to her late mother. Who was that woman?

***

Meanwhile, at the S-Group building, the launch of Escitalopram went smoothly. The media reported it sensationally, thanks to the advertising funds injected by Seno’s company. Within a few hours, the antidepressant drug became the talk of the town.

“I didn’t expect you to have an interest in mental health, Sir,” said Dr. Miriam when the launch session ended. She was present as an honorary guest along with the prospective distributors appointed by the company.

“In my opinion, mental health is more important than anything else. We can’t live healthily without a strong mind,” he said, trying to smile as naturally as possible, although that wasn’t his main goal in producing Escitalopram.

“So, you want our hospital to be a pilot project?” Miriam asked curiously, knowing there would be another meeting scheduled with the development team, pharmacists, and S-Group’s marketing head with the Andromeda executives.

“Of course. This is a great opportunity to get to know and benefit each other, right? Your hospital will receive funding from the central government,” Seno assured confidently.

Miriam smiled. Seno was quite smart and ambitious, it turned out. Very different from Andre, who rarely talked about business and profit in discussions about Andromeda.

“You’re really different from my fiance,” Miriam said suddenly.

Seno smirked. He was used to hearing such praise. Different. Though Seno didn’t quite understand whether it was a good or bad difference.

“Different how, Doctor?”

“Well, visionary.”

“A businessman must be visionary, right?” Seno finally laughed.

The round table adorned with white roses in the corner of the building looked different with Seno’s presence as the big boss and the elegant woman in an unfamiliar dress. Yes. Seno’s new wife looked jealous and angry when she noticed their closeness.

“Oh, so the philanderer has found a new crush, huh? Just wait, Seno! I won’t let it slide!” Olivia turned around and walked away, grumbling. She no longer recognized Seno as he used to be.

The man had changed a lot.

***

“Boss, there’s a phone call,” a guard with a gold badge on his chest approached Seno. The man nodded in understanding and intended to answer the phone in question. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said, nodding to Miriam.

“Go ahead,” Miriam didn’t seem to mind. Seno then moved away to answer what seemed to be an important call.

“Bastard! You hurt Lara! Now, you’ll face the consequences!” someone cursed from the other end.

“Mamadam?” Seno asked, to be sure. For a moment, he felt dizzy and almost fainted. How did Madam know he intended to get rid of Lara?

“You broke your promise, scumbag! Now, I’m withdrawing all the funds I gave you!” she said firmly.

“Wawait! This is a mistake!”

But before Seno could explain, the call ended on its own. Madam and the withdrawal of funds she mentioned were underway. Seno bit his lip but quickly pulled himself together.

“Bram! Call Robin here!”

“Yes, Boss!”

Seno returned to the white table in the corner of the building, intending to say goodbye to Dr. Miriam and inform her about the urgent situation affecting his business. “Doctor… I need to meet the leader immediately.”

***Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

The sky at the hospital had darkened. The twilight gradually faded, replaced by the darkness of the approaching night. Lara curled up in her bed, trembling, occasionally shaking her head in denial.

Lara refused to believe that her mother had risen from the grave and called her earlier.

“Miss Lara. It’s time to eat,” said Bi Yani, offering warm porridge she was holding. Lara shook her head slowly. She had no appetite.

“If you want to go home, it’s okay. I can be here alone,” she added. Bi Yani nodded but gave her a condition. “I’ll go home if you eat, even just a spoonful. Please. Yes?” she coaxed.

Lara looked at Bi Yani with a blank stare. She hadn’t told her assistant anything yet. Bi Yani didn’t know anything about the shocking incident that happened to Lara earlier this afternoon.

“Just one spoonful, okay?” said Lara.

“Yes. Come on, eat.” Bi Yani spooned the porridge to Lara. Lara opened her mouth a little and then chewed the smooth porridge reluctantly. The emotional turmoil she was experiencing made her whole body malfunction. Lara felt empty.

“Bi Yani can go home now,” said Lara, taking the bowl of porridge from her assistant. Bi Yani didn’t really want to leave Lara alone, but she also had to accompany her mother, who was afraid to sleep alone.

“I’ll come back here tomorrow, okay?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, please do. But don’t force yourself, Bi. I might be able to go home soon,” Lara tried to be strong, even though she had no one. Who knows. How could her mother suddenly appear? Lara didn’t want to think deeply about it.

“It’s no trouble. I’m actually happy to do it. See you tomorrow, okay?”

“See you, Bi.”

Lara’s room was empty again, with no one else besides her. In the darkness of the night, her bad thoughts returned to haunt her. How could her mother come back to life?

Suddenly, Lara remembered Andre’s account of her mother’s autopsy results.

“I have to ask him,” Lara murmured, searching for Andre’s business card on her nightstand. With the new phone, Lara would call Andre and ask for a clear explanation.

“Don’t joke, Mom! Don’t tell me you’ve been deceiving us all this time!” Lara growled, continuously dialing Andre’s number printed on the light blue business card.