"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
Elena released a deep breath, "Sophia can you forgive, Alex?" she finally asked after a while, the air between them stilled as Sophia's gauging eyes peered at her. The room turned silent—and they both said nothing.Nearly ten seconds later, Sophia let out a low, breathy laugh, her lips pulling into a little smile. "What did he do that deserves forgiveness?" she asked, trying as much as she could to be calm. Just like she had predicted, there was a nagging feeling that Elena might not be here with something she wanted to listen to. But other than that, the young lady did seem apologetic, and it bothered Sophia. After all, Elena had never done anything to her. She was sweet, kind, and known as the sweet heiress to the Russells.Elena and Alex had been friends since childhood, but that was all Sophia knew about them.The duo sitting across from each other attended the same school, just as Alex, but they never cared enough to build any sort of friendship, all that was ever between them wa
Adeline emerged from the bathroom first, gingerly hopping into the office while drying her hands with a napkin she picked from the table before making her way to where her mom stood, lost in thought to notice her footsteps or pay attention to her."Mommy," she murmured, tugging at Sophia's coat. At first, there was no response, so she gave another tug, earning a smile from her always-smiling mother as she finally turned to meet her."What is it, sweetheart?" Sophia inquired, her attention now fully on her daughter. Just as Adeline was about to answer, a quiet rumble emanated from her stomach, causing Sophia to chuckle as she scooped her up and headed to the table."So, what are you two in the mood for?" Sophia asked, handing a napkin to Aiden, who murmured his thanks."Anything," Adeline replied, her legs swinging gently as she settled onto the table, her mother standing before her."Alright, I'll go—" Sophia paused suddenly, her brow furrowing in concern. "I just realized, I forgot t
Just as she had promised, Sophia headed to the room Alex had been moved into, along with Adeline and Aiden who held each other's hands. Sophia glanced around the hallway wondering why there was no one standing outside, although she met a nurse who just stepped out of his room."Where are the patient's family? I think they were here earlier," Sophia asked and glanced around the corridor, but could not find any of them. The couch placed outside for visitors was empty.The nurse halted, "Those who had come to visit left a few minutes ago. And I think they were escorted outside, although one of the women stayed behind; appeared to be his mother," the nurse also noticed there was no one outside, so she added, "She probably went to the washroom across the hallway." Sophia slowly nodded, before the nurse left.None of the guards were there, nor were any of his family members or friends, and his mom wasn't here either—so this was the perfect time for Adeline and Aiden to spend time with Alex
Nearly two days have gone since Alex underwent the surgery, but yet there was no sign of him waking up soon. More than anything, Sophia wanted him to wake up, not because of anything but her kids.They hadn't said anything since the last time they checked on Alex, but she was certain they wanted to say something but were holding back—maybe she shouldn't have yelled at them days back, cause now they weren't expressing themselves to her and it bothered her.It was the weekend, and she had the day off before her shift resumed later, at night. So, rather than busying herself with other things, she decided to spend the day with Aiden and Adeline. Sophia stared deeply at the mirror, her hands gently fiddled with her hair brush. A while later she stepped out of the room and walked downstairs to see Aiden focused on something in his tablet, while Adeline was nowhere to be found."Where's Addie?" she asked as she stepped into the living room. Aiden looked up immediately when he heard her voic
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’
Did you try to get in again today?” Sophia asked, pressing the phone between her cheeks and her shoulder as she typed something on her laptop. Her shoulders felt tense, and her eyes were drowsy. Her gaze flicked to the table clock beside her, and a frown curved up her brows when she realized it was already late at 11 P.M., yet she was still awake, despite knowing she had a morning shift the next day, which would start by nine. She couldn’t sleep knowing that her hands were still tied to her back because she had no idea what to do about the issue with Patricia’s husband.It’s been almost a week since Patricia’s husband and mother-in-law barged into their hospital with threats on their lips.At first, she was confident they wouldn’t be able to do anything. She had taken their threats as empty threats only. Because she was confident in the beginning that the moment she got the chance to have a conversation with Patricia, then everything would be alright.But, it’s been days now, and an
Sophia stared at Lucas for a while, before she eventually nodded. The air between them settled into a comfortable silence as they both focused on the food before them. Lucas broke the silence when he suddenly asked, "Although, she never mentioned their names," he sounded interested in the topic about her kids, she realized and glanced up at him. "Aiden and Adeline," she told him, and he smiled, his eyes brightened the slightest. "You love kids?" Sophia couldn't help but ask him. Lucas nodded with a smile curving up his lips, "I love kids," the smile on his lips was so warm, and genuine. "Do you have a sibling?" She asked him, taking a small sip from the water on the table before her. Lucas looked up from his plate, "Oh, I do," he answered, "Two younger sisters," he told her, she noticed a subtle flash of hurt glint in his eyes, "Initially, three. I lost one of them last year to an accident," he had a small smile on his face. And she quickly noticed it was a forced smile. Not
Sophia arrived at the restaurant five minutes early. She stood outside the place for a moment, before eventually walking in after a while.The moment she entered, her eyes traveled across the expanse of the place.The atmosphere was warm, with golden lights casting a soft glow over the polished wooden tables and deep red leather booths. She glanced around, her gaze sweeping over the guests until she spotted a man at the far end of the room. He was waving subtly, with a relaxed posture and an easy grin that drew her attention.She took it to be Lucas, and walked over to the booth he was sitting, slipping into one of the seats, "Hi," she mumbled, giving him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.She wasn't certain on how to feel about this setting yet, and she was quite tired after spending her whole day going through a couple of files."You are early," she told him as she placed her bag beside her on the table."I arrived just a couple minutes back," his voice was deep and lo
The hospital room was silent. Too silent. And as Sophia closed her eyes, calming her nerves to the quietness of the room, she could hear the fast beat of Alex's heart. And with how close they stood, leaning into each other—she could feel his heart beating so fast. Pressing her lips together, she pushed away from him, and took a step back, creating a significant distance between them. She wasn't ready for this, whatever was between them. His gaze burned through her skin, and she was very much aware of it, despite the fact that she wasn't looking at his eyes. Without a word, she created more distance between them, taking a step at a time, before she eventually turned around and reached for the door's handle. Staying here for much longer would do her no good. "Get back to bed. You shouldn't be walking around." She opened the door, ready to step out without another word to him, but she couldn't do that. She couldn't do that to her babies. "The kids have an event in their sch
Alex brushed his fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes and released a deep, long sigh, "Sophia..." he opened his eyes and stared straight at her. "I may not have been a good husband. I may have been the worst one could call a husband for all I did, and for not listening to you." His voice broke with every single word, and she could feel the weight of his regret dripping into the air, "But please... give me a chance to prove to you, and prove to our children that I can be a better father." Sophia swallowed, feeling her eyes grow blurry. Her heart was in tatters. Her mind was in utter chaos. Why couldn't she just hate him completely? why?...why? She looked away from his eyes, unsure of what to say to him. She didn't want to give him any chance. But somehow, she did. She wanted him to prove her wrong. Despite all she had gone through cause of him, she knew there was more to the situation. She knew somewhere small in her heart, that there was more to Alex. Breaking his g
The corridor was dead drop silent and there was no one walking around the room, nor were the security guards outside. It was completely empty.Pursing her lips, Sophia rubbed her clammy hands and released a deep breath. She reached out for the door handle and pulling it down.Before heading to his room, she was hundred percent certain that her emotions would stay in check. How difficult could it be to just check on the patient and leave? she had done it numerous times, so Alex being the patient this time around shouldn't make any difference, she thought.But as soon as she stepped into the room, a wave of uncertainty consumed her.Sophia stared down at Alex who sat on the bed, completely dressed in the hospital attire and typing something in his laptop, his brows were creased into a frown and she wondered what it is that was getting his shoulders worked up and stiff just few hours after he regained consciousness.It took him time to notice her presence as he had thought it was one of