At the hospital, Alex found himself in the company of his parents, who had arrived nearly an hour earlier. The worry etched across his mother's face remained palpable, despite his repeated reassurances. Her brown eyes remained fixed on his expression, a constant vigil to ensure his well-being."Your grandfather wanted to come, but given his current health, we couldn't allow it," his father informed him, and Alex nodded in understanding. His expectations of his grandfather's presence were low, especially given their strained relationship since his divorce from Sophia.Although his grandfather had been sick for the last few months, even before then, their meetings with each other were always short and brief. Grandfather's actions towards him were not just because of the divorce, but also, cause of how Alex had been persistent and stubborn about Alice, at first. They conversed for a while before Mr. Carter stood up and stepped out of the ward to make a call. Alex sighed. Feeling ove
Elena's trembling hand reached for the door handle, her heart racing as she turned the knob and cautiously pushed the door open. Her expression, a delicate mask hiding turbulent emotions, revealed nothing of her intentions.Inside, her gaze fixed on the meticulously made bed, the curtains drawn tightly shut, and a black purse resting on the pristine sheets. Just why?Why is he suddenly after Sophia?There was nothing wrong over the past years, he was leaving his life normal and okay, pulling himself out of the social circle and not mingling with women, but why now all of a sudden?Everything felt out of place, and it was giving her a pounding headache. Of course, she is happy for Alex. But is this what she wants? And is this the best for him? Probably not. For him to reconcile and rekindle his love for Sophia. He might get hurt again. 'I want Alex to be delighted, or rather pleased and happy'. Elena internally reminded herself to wade the fact that she was growing nuts recalling
Seeing her father after so many years filled her insides with a feeling she despised—and a father she had begun to despise.Sophia stood straight, not allowing the man before her to see her waver in his presence, not even a little bit, "What are you doing here, Father-" she paused, a smile pulled up her lips before she opened up to speak again, her words sliced through the tranquility of the atmosphere, "Oh, that was a mistake. What are you going here, Mr Smith?" she rephrased her words, and the flicker of emotions that flashed through his eyes didn't go unnoticed by her—nothing about him right now could go unnoticed by her.He was aging, a sliver of gray hair ran down his smoothly brushed hair, and the wrinkle by the edge of his eyes was obvious—too obvious, Sophia noted. And lastly, she didn't fail to notice that her father now walked with a stick, one that staked through his majestic charm."I didn't come here to repeat myself, Aliyah. I'm here to see your rumored twins. The one yo
"Yes, you are speaking with the right person," her heart sank, and her fingers instinctively tightened on the steering wheel."There are a few other numbers, but this one was starred as a favorite. Are you someone close?" The question hung heavy in the air.A subtle ache nagged at her as she asked, "What happened?""The patient has been moved to the hospital already. The car crashed with another; both drivers survived with fatal injuries, but the man sitting in the rear seat of the second car had more injuries and a cut on the head—it seemed to be more than just a cut," the person on the other end of the line said breathlessly. Each word filled Sophia with heavy worry; her gaze darted to the other car as it slowly drove outside the gates, and she immediately asked."Which hospital is it?" The car geared on, and her hands trembled on the wheel as the man finally answered."Greenwood Hospital,""Okay, thank you," Sophia was about to end the call but then suddenly inquired, "Sorry, do yo
"What's our course of action? She's putting everyone in a tight spot. The woman is refusing assistance from the nurses, making threats of self-harm. She's currently holding a shard of a broken glass to her stomach and also has another knife—I don't even know where she got it from. I rushed here as soon as I was instructed to look for you," Arielle explained when Sophia remained still for a moment.One. Two. Three. Four. Five seconds before Sophia finally breathed and said, "Let's go," she walked past Arielle almost missing a step and staggering but was fast enough to compose herself.Arielle limped behind her cause she had to run down here and ended up spraining her ankle, "Doc Soph, are you okay?" she asked as she noticed a tear sliding out of Sophia's eyes which she wiped off immediately."Yes, I'm okay. Please lead me to the room fast," Sophia said and glanced behind her—she glanced down and saw that Arielle was limping behind her, "You strained your ankle?" Arielle nodded and winc
In the dimly lit room, Sophia felt a surge of relief, the newborn's first cries echoed. With a sigh, she placed the second baby on the mother's chest, Patricia looked exhausted as sweat and tears trickled down her cheeks—they had used regional anesthesia, keeping her awake and aware but not feeling any pain from the lower region. She glanced down at her babies but then suddenly frowned when her gaze lowered to the baby's navel.Sophia watched as Patricia immediately checked the second child in fear—her gaze trailed to the lower part of both babies in fright. "Record the time of birth for the two. Drop the details needed and hand it over to me when you are done," Sophia muttered to Isabella before she walked over to the mother and babies and then she gently checked their vital signs."Are you okay?" she asked Patricia who entered a trance, tears trickling down her eyes, continuously and not stopping.Worried, Sophia checked for closure of incisions, after delicately handling that, her
"Why is she here?" a voice asked, it was Fiona Russell's voice, Sophia pursed her lips and her gaze fell on Elena who was leaning by the wall close to the door, her eyes puffed and red with a tinge of tears at the corners. She seemed devastated. Sophia and Elena were never close, although her relationship with Alex wasn't new to Sophia.Sophia stood unsure of how to react or what to do. The air seemed to be still for a moment. She wasn't reacting and their eyes were on her. While Ginn stood behind her.The door to the operating room was suddenly opened and the surgeons stepped out, Sophia's legs instinctively moved forward and she walked over to one of the doctors, "How is he? The patient," she inquired, trying not to seem overly worried or agitated."For now, he is alright," the doctor answered and Sophia frowned, but just before she could open her mouth to ask what he meant by that, Mrs Carter beat her to it."What do you mean for now? Is my son okay?" She asked and stepped closer,
"I had no idea that Alex was hospitalized here," Finn suddenly said from beside her. She could feel his eyes as if waiting to see if there would be any flicker of longing at the mention of the name— Sophia opened her eyes and stared at Finn and after a while, he released a deep breath and looked away—cause there was none."He was hospitalized a few days back." "Oh, have the twins met him?" he asked."Yes," she replied."And he didn't say anything?"Sophia laughed, "Aren't you being a little curious now?""Worried, not curious," He rolled his eyes.She nodded."For the sake of my sanity and my children's safety, I love the way things have been for the past six years, and the presence of whoever wasn't there before, wouldn't change a thing. Alex is their father but he was my past. So his presence now doesn't affect me, Finn." Sophia said as the doors of the elevator opened and she stepped out."I have something to attend to right now, so maybe later," that was the last thing she said b
Feeling suddenly suffocated on the tight space of the hospital room, Sophia breathed.She couldn't hold back anymore, she was full blown putting her emotions out.“We were married, but you hardly slept at home. And I was always alone at every moment, wondering how to make things better with you.” She choked out a sob and stiffened, immediately wiping the tears off her eyes. Why was she crying? She had already convinced herself to this point that she didn't care anymore and that she wouldn't be vulnerable in anyone's presence, and especially not his. But soon as the memories crashed into her head, she felt like her heart had been split into two, each part filled with nothing but pain. “I was young, naive, and in love with you, yet you tore me apart so much and left me all alone.” She turned fully to him, and Alex stared at her, just as ready to face all her words. She pointed at his chest, “We were remarried for one year. We had one year to get to know each other, and I waite
“You never what?” Sophia asked again, completely baffled as she stared deeply at Alex. She couldn't comprehend his words. What exactly did he mean by he never submitted the divorce papers? Why didn't he submit them? Why? Why! In her state of utter shock, she hadn't realized how close Alex had gotten to her. Alex’s gaze was on her, gauging through her reaction; she didn't seem pleased at all, and he wasn't certain how to feel about that. But there was a deep pang of hurt that seeped through his heart. “I never submitted them,” he repeated, feeling the air between them grow tenser than it had been earlier, “I couldn't,” he added. Sophia didn't say anything at all; she just stared at him. Her expression was just as conflicting as she was feeling. Shocked? Confused? her emotions were all over the place. Alex continued, “I wanted to take my words back, but I couldn't. I've been trapped with regret and guilt ever since that night. I shouldn't have treated you that w
Alex's gaze snapped to Sophia, his warm, pale green eyes widened subtly in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to remember that. Realization hit Sophia as his gaze burned through her. She bit her tongue lightly and immediately added, “Just like a lot of people out there are.” Alex swallowed; his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he tried to hold back the rush of emotions that her words stirred up inside him. “You remember?” His voice was low, almost as if he couldn’t believe it. Sophia didn't respond to that; instead, she quickly changed the topic, “You should eat your fruits. Your meal might be brought in anytime soon.” He didn't comply immediately; he kept his gaze on her and watched as Sophia walked over to the couch. Without another word, Alex nodded slowly and glanced at the plate of peeled fruits, his eyes pierced through the apples, and he released
Emily spared her a skeptical look; it looked like she wanted to say something, but decided not to when she felt the gazes on her. “I hope you stick to your words.“ She scowled. “I will.“ Sophia assured her with a tight smile. Without another word, Emily huffed a breath and walked to the door, stepping outside the room and not glancing back for once. The moment she left, silence filtered into the room. Sophia let out a deep sigh before turning around to find the three gazes on her. Aiden and Adeline were staring at her with worry, while Alex… His gaze was far too intense for her to comprehend. His expression was too deep to point out either. The only thing similar about the pairs of eyes
Sophia hesitated. Why was he asking her that? Her eyes slid to Mrs. Carter, who had a visible frown on her face. Her fingers tightened around her coat; her intention had been to bring Aiden and Adeline here, then leave and come back later. She hadn’t planned to stay. Staying would feel too much like letting Alex back in completely, and she wasn’t ready for that. She glanced at the twins, who both seemed eager for her to agree to stay, though Aiden hid it way better than Addie. He was only glancing at her, while Addie didn't hide her feelings. Her big, pleading eyes were impossible for her to ignore, practically begging Sophia to stay. Her fingers loosened from her coat, and she pressed her lips into a thin line. “Okay,” she said softly, taking a step closer. “I’ll stay.” Addie
Sophia felt her throat tighten as her gaze slid to each and every one of them. She contemplated taking a step back and just leaving, but that wouldn't make any sense. Her gaze fell on Alex, who was staring at her. Alex had a blank expression on his face, and he was reading through a file in his hand, but as soon as he saw the twins and Sophia enter the room, his eyes lit up in surprise, and he kept the files away. Adeline didn't like how quiet the room was; neither did she like the way they were being stared at. She stood on her toes and settled down again before her lips pulled into a big smile. “Hi daddy,” she pursed her lips and turned her attention to her father, whose gaze fell on her; a small smile tipped his lips. Even Aiden was also feeling off with the air in the room. He realized that this wasn't exactly the right time to have come around. “Hi, princess,” Alex greeted Addie back, and her expression immediately lit up; a gummy smile tipped up her lips, and sh
Close to two hours later, they arrived at the hospital. Sophia led them into her office and picked up her white coat from the hanger before wearing it. She turned back to the duo sitting on the couch, “Would you prefer I take you to him myself, or actually... I’ll call Arielle to help me—” before she could complete her sentence, she noticed Aiden and Adeline spare each other a glance, and the latter interrupted her. “Why don’t you just take us there, Mummy?” Adeline’s eyes twinkled, and her lips tipped up into a bright smile. The overly bright attitude caused a frown to curve Sophia's brows. It was suspicious enough. Adeline dropped herself from the couch and pulled her small brown bag, sliding it up her shoulders. “What are we waiting for?” she asked, heading to the door. Aiden spared his sister a look, and then turned to glance at his mom before he dropped from the couch also. Unsure what to say anymore since Adeline had already taken the lead, Sophia just nodded s
The next morning, Sophia was woken up by the soft knock on her door. Her eyes fluttered open as the door was slowly opened from outside.A small smile played on her lips when she heard the soft footsteps; from how fast the steps sounded, she knew it was definitely Addie. Because while Addie was always in a rush to get somewhere, Aiden was never in a rush. His footsteps were usually low and not so hard on the floor.The edge of the bed dipped, and she turned around to meet Adeline’s warm eyes on her as she climbed up the bed to meet her.“Good morning, Mommy!” she exclaimed softly as she nestled into Sophia’s arms and pressed a wet kiss on her cheeks. A low laugh rippled through Sophia’s chest, and she pulled Adeline in. “Is this some sort of ruse?” she asked.“Oh no, mommy,” Addie was quick to answer, which only made Sophia laugh. “Then I believe Aiden mentioned it to you already that he told me what happened. And now you feel bad for hiding it, right?” She could already see through
Sophia’s eyes fell on the wet towel in his hand; she raised a brow at him and stepped out of his way so he could enter the room and shut the bathroom door close.“What’s that for?” she asked.“It’s a wet towel," he answered, raising it up so she could see it clearly.“I know. But what’s it for?” she asked him softly.Aiden didn't answer her question; rather, he avoided her sharp stare at him. When he didn’t respond immediately, she asked him instead, “First of all, why are you still awake by this time? It’s almost midnight.”He didn't answer, and that made her feel uneasy.Sophia crouched down to his length, kneeling in front of him, “Are you going to answer my questions? Or will you prefer to get punished for staying up late till this time?” She turned him to face her, but instead of looking straight into her eyes, he stared down.“Aiden, what’s wrong?” A frown curved up her brows. He didn’t respond to her until she added, “Please can you talk to me instead of being quiet with me? I’