Five years later, a man lay sick at the most reserved special VIP ward of the biggest hospital in the city. His bodyguards mount the entry of both the ward and all entrances to the hospital heavily. Everyone in the hospital was aware that a very powerful man was in there, but no one knew his identity.
The man suddenly grunted angrily, "And where's that doctor?" He raised his wrist up to check the time on his 'Graff Diamonds Hallucination' watch. It's been an hour since he had been told that the most renowned doctor of the time will come to attend to him but she's not here yet.
After all, all the other doctors that had worked on him had been unsuccessful.
His friend, Murray, who was standing by his bed, said, "Doctor J might have so many tasks on hand, after all, she's being sought by many sick billionaires in the world. Let's just be patient. She had given us her word that she'll come and I believe she'll keep to it."
Just then, the door opened, and the CEO of the hospital walked in, "Mr. Jotham, we've been on tabs with Dr. J's team, and they assured us they'd come. Please be patient some more."
Jotham sat upright, his cute face disgruntled. In all his life, he had never had to wait on anyone. It's always the other way around.
"I'm paying more than a million dollars to bring her down here, I expect her to be more punctual." Jotham lamented.
"I don't think a million dollars means a lot to someone like Dr. J. From what I heard from an anonymous person. After she received the Nobel Prize in medicine two years ago, her client base increased. And by her clients, I mean world billionaires of course." Murray reiterated.
"I don't care if all the billionaires in the world are trying to get a session with her. I paid for her service and I should get it on time." He said angrily.
Just then, the CEO's phone rang. He immediately excused himself and walked out.
"Just relax man, she'll come," Murray said to Jotham.
Jotham ignored him, still angry at Dr. J. Barely three minutes later, the door opened and three people walked in. One was the CEO, and the other two were a man and a woman.
"Mr. Jotham, please meet Dr. J," the CEO of the hospital said.
Jotham, who was backing them, turned, and when his eyes met Dr. J., his heart raced. Isn't this Julie? His ex-wife? He thought to himself.
Although this woman looked more radiant and more beautiful. Remembering that her name was Dr. J. He wondered if the J in her name actually meant Julie.
While Jotham was still trying to figure out her identity, Dr. J spoke, "Hi, Mr. Stellan. I'm Dr. J and with me is my husband, who is apparently also my vice in this work, Dr. T."
Huh? This beautiful woman here is married? Jotham thought this to himself. Actually, it's as if he had not seen any woman as astonishing as this in all his lifetime.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jotham." Dr. T said.
Jotham eventually spoke; it was as if the more he looked at her, the more he became more certain that she was Julie, his ex-wife.
"Julie?" He called. He quickly dismissed the CEO of the hospital with a wave of his hands.
"If you need anything, sir, I'm..."
"Just go." Jotham interrupted the hospital's CEO and he quickly walked away.
"Dr. J, please," She corrected Jotham and then opened the file in her hand, "I have read about your medical situation and how many doctors have tried to make you get better, but all have been futile. As long as you cooperate with us, Mr. Jotham, you should get better in no time."
"Indeed. And just so you know Mr. Jotham, we left our city just because of you and would be staying here until you get better. All we need, like my wife said, is your cooperation."
Jotham stood angrily and left the bed then approached Julie, '"Are you really married, Julie?"
Dr. T took a step closer, trying to stop Jotham from getting too close to Julie. "You are too close to my wife, Mr. Jotham. Will you take some steps back?"
Jotham turned to Dr. T furiously, "Step the fuck back!" Then he grabbed Dr. J by the hand, "Julie, it's really you."
"You can't hold me without my consent, Mr Jotham. Please respect yourself."
"What! Julie... You've really grown. I made a great mistake by divorcing you. But why are you so quick to get married to another man? I've searched for you for years but couldn't find you."
Dr. T. tried to take Jotham's hand away from Julie but what he got in return was a hard blow to his face.
"Jotham!" Murray cautioned as he walked closer. He knew his friend's temper was bad but he had not expected him to hit one of the doctors that came to treat him.
"You are in my city, young man. Dare to come closer again and I'll bury you alive." Jotham said, looking dangerous and high. "Just so you know, you married the wrong woman."
Dr. T held his nose, which was now bleeding.
"Julie, you must divorce this man right away."
"Divorce him?" Julie's angry face turned into a sarcastic smirk, "Divorce my husband? And who are you again?"
She quickly spoke again, "another billionaire psycho, huh? I've dealt with men similar to you. You dare to hit my beloved husband, I can guarantee you that you'll pay heavily for this."
"Get another doctor to treat you. We are done here. And trust me, you'll hear from our lawyer." Dr. J said and tried to yank her hand away from Jotham's grip but he held it tight, unwilling to let her go.
"Where did you think you are going, Julie?" He asked. "I used years to search all over the world for you and now that I find you, you think I'll let you go."
Dr. J frowned and said to Dr. T, "Call the cops already.
Dr. T immediately brought out his phone and dialed the cops.
Jotham turned to Dr. T and his mere presence in the room disgusted him to the throat that he wanted to retch.
He shouted one of his bodyguard's names and at once, the four heavy security men standing by the door walked in.
"Throw this man far away from this hospital."
"What!" Dr. J. And Dr. T. exclaimed in shock at the same time.
Before Dr. J could even blink, Dr. T had been bundled away.
"Threatening me with cops? Did you forget who I am, Julie?" Jotham asked, still holding Julie's hand firmly as if scared he would suddenly disappear if he let her go.
Dr. J dropped the whole pretense and professional talk, "Are you insane?"
She continued angrily, "And oh fucking yes, I'm Julie! You Divorced me and sent me away cause you hated me, cause you want my sister, yes? I was devastated and broken for months. Thank goodness I eventually picked up the pieces, brought my life together, and decided to make something meaningful out of my life. And here you are, trying to act like you are obsessed with
me."
"Sorry, Mr. It's too late. I fucking hate you and I need you to stay far away from me.”
"Far away from you? That's not happening." Jotham said determinedly. "Julie, I promise to make it up this time. I truly regret many of my actions then. It may be too hard to forgive me, but you have to. You know we are made for each other, Julie. You know it deep down inside of you." "No." She shook her head, her face filled with disgust, "we are not made for each other. And why aren't you married yet to Mirabel? After all, you divorced me just because of her." She requested. When Jotham was about to respond, the door opened forcefully and a giant figure walked in. "Grandpa," Jotham called, his voice had hints of emotions this time. The expression on the old man's face speaks clearly that the man is boiling in rage. "Let go!" The man yelled at Jotham. Jotham let go of Julie at once. The old man approached her, "Julie..." He called emotionally. The old man almost had tears pouring from his eyes. The old man had always liked Julie ever since Jotham got married to her. When they d
"I'm not hiding anything; I'll be pleased if he doesn't know." She pleaded. He sighed, "fine. But I'm not promising." Afterwards, he left the ward. Julie went to examine her two daughters again, this time around, checking their temperature and their blood pressure since she was a doctor herself. Meanwhile, the first thing Murray did when he met with Jotham was report, "The two beautiful girls I almost hit belong to Julie."Jotham's face flashed. "Julie has kids?""I was surprised myself," Murray said.Jotham's mood became discombobulated. "It's time, the investors are already waiting." Murray reminded Jotham they were to attend a meeting while checking his wristwatch. Both friends were currently at the bar. Jotham had angrily left the hospital after his encounter with Julie. "Cancel it!" Jotham said and poured himself a glass cup of wine. After sipping it all in at once, he clenched his fist secretly. A lot was going on in his mind. "I believe you know the consequences," Murray
Julie immediately turned back to where Trevor was; her eyes flashed when she didn't see him on the seat again. Fear gripped her heart tight. She stood at once from the long stool she was seated on. "What in the world have you done to him? Where is he? I'll kill you if anything happens to him."Jotham wasn't moved by her shouts and threats. Instead, he was angered and hurt that she cared this much for another man. "I asked where he is?" She screamed, her voice echoing in her chest. "You won't get the answer you seek by shouting at me." He spoke gently. This angered Julie even more. She immediately left his presence and ran outside, hoping to see Trevor somewhere. Not seeing him, she barged into the male toilets but still didn't see him there. "Has he been kidnapped by this psycho?" Her heartbeat had increased so much that it had caused her high blood pressure. She was almost losing her feet while searching vigorously for Trevor when someone suddenly caught her from falling. Seeing
The wound on Jotham's cheek hurt a bit but that's nothing compared to the anger in Julie’s eyes when she’d thrown those objects at him.On the bright side, he’d rather have her angry at him than be met with nothingness and indifference, he thought. If Julie could get angry at him then there might be an opportunity for him to turn that feeling of anger back to the love that she had once had for him.He was soon in a VIP ward of the same hospital that Julie was. “The injury is not that deep. I'll just have to clean it and put a plaster on it and you’ll be good to go,” one of the attending doctors told him. He had gone there to fix the minor injury on his cheek. He nodded absentmindedly; he was more worried about how to ensure that Julie divorced her husband and came back to him. He had let her slip away once, but he was resolute in his pursuit of her this time.He suddenly stood and said to the doctor that had just finished attending to him, “My family donates so much to this hospita
As soon as Jotham stepped out, Julie slammed the door shut, but even that did not deter him. Instead, it made his resolve to win Julie even become stronger.He got a call from Murray on his way back. “I told you canceling the meeting was going to have consequences.”“Damn those investors! They’re the last people on this goddamn earth I want to deal with right now.”“Sorry to break it to you but your company wouldn’t be where it is now without them. I’ve had your secretary schedule another meeting with them in the morning. And call your grandpa, he’s not happy about the way things are going.”Jotham hung up before hitting his steering wheel with unnecessary force. His grandpa was already pissed at him because of Julie. Grandpa picked on the first ring. “You have a better work ethic than this Jotham. What has gotten into you?”"Julie is what is wrong with me,” he answered with no restrictions. “I need to win her back. She’s right there in front of me yet she feels so far away. What am
Murray's eyes scanned his social media feed and then saw the rumors that had been circulating. It was about Jotham. A picture of him leaving a mysterious woman's house had been spreading all over the internet like wildfire. He tried to guess who the woman in the picture could be. Then his mind trailed to Julie... gods! It's Julie. He had muttered. But it's a good thing her face was obscured in that trending picture. He immediately put a call through to Jotham, explaining the recent update to him."That's ridiculous," Jotham muttered. "Don't they have real news to report instead of speculating about my personal life?"“Jotham, you talk like you do not know how popular you are," Murray said. "But for real, this can get bad real quick. Your relationship with Mirable had been unstable, you just have to make an official statement about breaking off your relationship with Mirabel, and it will no longer be news if you choose to hang out with anyone." “No one knows about our engagement, I
All day, Julie had felt like someone was following her. Starting from when she left the house to go buy a few things for the house and ingredients they could use to try baking their own cake.She was putting groceries away when her phone suddenly rang. It was Trevor.“Must be enjoying the free time, Dr. Julie,” he teased. Just was not attending to any of her sick patients at the moment so this period could indeed be referred to as her free time. Whilst they were coming over to this city, Trevor had insisted on clearing her schedule so she could focus on treating Jotham alone.“I feel like I’m wasting time lounging around here,” she confessed. “Has any of my patients contacted you”“You can be rest assured that I’m handling everything for you.” He was quiet for a couple of seconds before he finally said what was on his mind. “What are you going to do about your ex-husband? Is he still bothering you?”“I’m more worried about how close he seems to be with the kids, they like his company
It wasn’t often that Jotham encountered a problem that he couldn’t solve by himself. Until now.The Julie of now was more thick-skinned and didn’t give in to him so easily as she would have in the past. He liked challenges but his patience was running thin on this. He wanted her by all means. He finds himself thinking about her every now and then, and he spends every single second of his existence regretting ever treating her the way he had treated her when they were married. So he sought the one person that Julie had a soft spot for. His grandpa.“You never visit me,” the old man mused when his grandson entered with a solemn expression on his face. “It’s about Julie, isn’t it?” he gestured to the butler to get them refreshments.‘I don’t know what else to do.” This was an unusual confession for Jotham who never accepted defeat. “I’ve tried apologizing, telling her how I genuinely feel for her, but she wouldn’t even give me a listening ear.”“Understandably so. When someone gets hur
Epilogue The gala was a dazzling success, the grand hall filled with elegant guests dressed in designer outfits and custom suits. Soft classical music floated through the air, mingling with the sounds of conversation and clinking champagne glasses. The fundraiser for their joint medical project with Grandpa had brought in more people than they anticipated. Every table was occupied, and the donation box was overflowing.Julie stood by the entrance with Jotham, a smile lighting up her face as she watched the guests mingle. It was surreal seeing months of hard work finally come to life.“We pulled it off,” Jotham said, his voice filled with pride.She nodded. “We did. It feels amazing, doesn’t it?”Before he could respond, Grandpa made his way toward them, looking as proud as ever. He straightened his bow tie as he approached.“This is a proud moment for all of us. You two did an excellent job. Better than I could have imagined.”Julie beamed. “We couldn’t have done it without you. You
Jotham arrived with the officers, his eyes frantically scanning the scene until they landed on Julie standing by the police car. Without a second thought, he sprinted toward her, his heart pounding in his chest. She saw him and broke into a run, colliding into his arms. He wrapped her up tightly, his breath uneven.“Julie,” he whispered hoarsely. “God, I thought I lost you.”She clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder. The terror of the past hours melted under the strength of his embrace. “I’m okay. I’m safe now.”Jotham pulled back, his hands trembling as they cupped her face. His eyes were dark with guilt and anguish. “I’m sorry, I didn’t protect you. I let Murray get too close. I should’ve seen the signs—”Julie shook her head firmly, cutting him off. “None of this is your fault. Murray made his own choices. Don’t carry this.”“But I let you down,” he insisted. “I was so caught up in clearing my name that I didn’t think about how vulnerable that made you. I should’ve protect
Immediately the officers left Julie set out to check if Jotham’s CCTV had captured Murray. Her hope was dashed when she realized it hadn’t.Of course, Murray was smarter than letting himself be captured when he was planting evidence.She had to go to Grandpa immediately; they couldn’t figure out what to do. She couldn’t go to the officers and tell them about Murray when she had no evidence to prove her words.She got into one of Jotham’s cars and made for his grandpa’s house. Julie gripped the steering wheel tightly, her eyes darting between the road and the rearview mirror when she felt like she was being followed. Murray’s black sedan had been trailing her for the past fifteen minutes. Her heart raced as she pressed the gas, hoping to lose him before reaching Grandpa’s estate. She couldn’t let him know where she was headed.“Stay calm,” she muttered to herself.Her car swerved onto a side street, tires screeching. She glanced back—Murray was still behind her, persistent and aggres
C68 Jotham gripped the steering wheel as he drove down the quiet, winding road toward home. The evening had been tense, and silence stretched between him and Julie. She sat beside him, arms crossed, her gaze fixed out the window.The twins were staying over with his grandpa because the old man had insisted that Julie needed time to process what had happened to her, especially now that they’d found Marcus’s body.Julie loved her twins to death but she needed time to think. She felt a bit guilty because she was no doubt the reason Murray had killed Marcus.The man was not okay in the head. But did he deserve to die? Julie didn’t think so. The sudden ring of Jotham’s phone broke the silence. Jotham glanced at the screen—it was the officer in charge of Marcus’s case. His stomach tightened. He hesitated but answered on speaker.“Jotham speaking.”The officer’s voice was firm, all business. “Where are you right now?”“Driving home. Why?”“You need to come down to the station immediately.
Jotham felt the bed dip before Julie’s body heat engulfed him as he lay on his bed. She’d taken another long shower but he spoke nothing of it. “Are you good?” He asked quietly, holding his breath for a moment when she didn’t give him an immediate answer. Julie sucked in a deep breath and allowed the lie to slip out from between her lips. “I’m fine.” Jotham wished she would tell him the truth so he could make it better.“Do you need to talk to a therapist? I know what you went through was traumatizing, Julie; it could alter you forever. It’s completely fine if you don’t want to talk to me, but we can get a professional.”Julie didn’t want to be a bitch but she also didn’t want to deal with what happened or that it was his best friend that was the genesis of her anxiety. “You don’t have to do anything for me. I’ll be fine.” Then she felt bad because she knew what happened wasn’t really his fault. “I promise, you don’t have to worry about me.” Truth was Jotham couldn’t stop worryin
The house was completely quiet when Julie woke up. She no longer felt like she was dying, and the fever was almost gone. There was a tray of biscuits and freshly pressed juice by her side which she quickly devoured as she was so famished. She didn't even dare to care what Murray could’ve put in the food.Now that she had a little strength, she took the time to study her room. It was on the last floor and the only view from the window was a wide span of water. They must be on an island which would make it harder for her to escape.She waited until the entire house was quiet and she couldn’t hear Murray move around before she opened her door. She was surprised to find it unlocked.She walked down the dark hallway quietly, looking around to make sure there was no other person in the house. The entire house turned out to be empty. The house was wide. Most of the rooms were was mostly void. There was a wall clock that wasn’t even working on the wall of the particular room she was standin
It wasn’t until two days had passed that Jotham was finally able to reach Murray. He’d been worried that something had happened to him after they went after Marcus. He didn’t know what he'd do if something happened to his best friend too. He was already dealing with insomnia and anxiety. There was no news on Julie yet and it had been driving him crazy. He was currently in the waiting area of the police station. Everyone moved about, blaring out instructions, but still, it felt like they were not doing enough to Jotham.It’s been days and there was still no lead on Julie’s kidnap. Mirabel, who was the only other person who could help, was still in a coma. Murray finally walked into the waiting area; tiredness etched permanently into his face, but for different reasons. Jotham detached himself from the wall. “What happened? I haven’t been able to reach you.”“I thought Marcus had sailed with one of the boats there so I followed. It was completely dark out so I couldn’t really see an
Every part of Julie’s body felt like it was set on fire. Her skin was sticky with sweat, and she struggled to breathe. All the stress of the past days was finally catching up to her.She couldn’t help the sob that escaped her lips as she struggled to sleep. She’d wanted to stand up and ask Murray if he had any meds, but the heaviness of her limbs kept her rooted to the bed. He had come by earlier to drop her lunch but she hadn’t seen him since then. But it didn’t mean that his presence was unfelt.Julie was well aware of her captor each time. She knew he was the danger she should be running from. She suddenly saw Murray appear again. The moment he saw her lying down there, he became alarmed. “What is wrong Julie?” he pressed the palm of his hand against her forehead and flinched away at the hotness of it. “You’re burning up.”She should’ve pushed him away and said she was a doctor and could handle herself. The truth was that she really couldn’t hold up, and even though she did not
Jotham had called the previous night to find out which hospital Mirabel had been taken to. If anyone knew where Marcus was taking Julie, it would be her. He could hear the beep of machines as he walked down the corridor. He almost felt bad for Mirabel when he entered her ward.She was hooked to machines whose loud beep was the only indicator that she was still alive. Essentially, she was in a coma, and the doctors didn’t know whether she was ever going to wake up.He stood there, looking at her and wondering if she would’ve gone down a different path if she knew this was how she would end up.The other part of him thought it was perfect for what she put Julie and the twins through. That was something he could never forgive. The door opened and Mirabel’s mother walked in. “You have a lot of nerve to come here.” her voice was a mixture of anger and disdain. “You ruined my family.”Jotham’s face was bored. “I didn’t ruin your family, Ms. Margaret; you did all that by yourself.” He turn