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
"Serious, are you going out on a date? A blind date?!" he asked slowly after Sophia didn't respond for a while, his tone was softer.Sophia lifted her brows, was it that surprising to him? "Umm...yes?" she responded."Oh," Finn said, before standing straight, but his eyes were on her, yet she could barely deduce what he was thinking."Thought I should tone down a bit. Does it seem that surprising?" Sophia chuckled, Finn simply shook his head, not saying anything; perhaps keeping his words would be better than stating them, so all he did was smile."You look surprised, confused, and..." Sophia trailed off, unsure of what other expression Finn was giving her, and just before she could point it out, he looked away and brushed his hair to the back; with his fingers, smoothly."Surprised 'cause you didn't mention it to me before and I found out this way," he paused, Sophia lifted her brows at him and he cleared his throat, "I'm not trying to pry, but mentioning it to me wouldn't have been
Sophia could feel the beads of sweat forming under her skin, she released a deep breath before returning to where the others were seated, gazing up at her as she approached."Mommy, are you okay?" Aiden asked he was about to stand up and hand her water since he couldn't think of what she might need, at least water helped, but Sophia waved him off with a smile."I'm okay," she said."Sophia," Finn called, with creased brows, but just before he could say anything, Sophia flashed him an honest smile."I'm okay for real, everything is alright, I just need to get to the hospital, now." Walking over to where Aiden sat, she gave him a soft peck on his cheeks, before doing the same to Adeline."I'm so sorry, guys, but I've got to leave. We could make arrangements and do this another day, but it can't be today anymore." She explained.Sophia continued, "Oh, Evelyn, and Beth, not sure how long you both intend to stay—" She wanted to ask if they could stay with the kids for a while, but Evelyn co
"What the heck. What kind of people are these anyway?" Sophia heard Finn utter from behind her, she had almost forgotten that he was here with her—and just like him, she also found those words stupid. She tilted her head to meet his gaze, Finn's tall frame stood protectively beside her, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, betraying his growing frustration. His jaw clenched, and his eyes darted between Sophia and the agitated family, silently observing, it appeared he was ready to intervene if needed.Sophia decided to play calm, internally reminding herself that 'all situations could be solved amicably' just like Adeline always says, and she asked, "What compensation?"The mother and son glanced at each other before he spoke out, "Seven hundred thousand dollars is what we request. Pay that, and we'll leave.""If you refuse to listen to our demands, we'll file a lawsuit and demand for millions instead." His mother added with a threat.Sophia lifted her brows and suddenly chuckled
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
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
Sophia was silenced by Alex's words; she wasn't sure what to say to him anymore. Hesitation blared through her veins at his request, and she swallowed the lump stuck in her throat. There was no way she was going to accept feeding him; what was he even thinking of making such a suggestion? “You don't really expect that I'll agree to that, do you?” She raised a brow at him, gauging his reaction to see whether he was indeed serious. Alex brushed a thumb across his lower lip. “So you wouldn't do it then?” he asked instead of responding to her question. “Of course not. I have work to do, and I can't sit down to feed a patient.” She was quick to answer. Alex gave her a small nod; he turned his gaze from her and stared down at his bandaged hand. “That sounds like an excuse to me.” “It's not an excuse. It's simply not appropriate,” she said clearly, instinctively taking a step back as he slowly looked up from his hand to her. His gaze was warm and hot, burning through her skin.
Sophia stood at the door to Alex’s room, contemplating whether to actually go inside and ask if he had a hand in everything being wiped out all of a sudden. She had a feeling it must have been him because there was no one else who could have done such a thing. She just wanted to confirm, Sophia reminded herself. It wasn’t like she had come up to his room for another reason; it was only to confirm if he had a hand in all the media outlets suddenly dropping the topic about the allegations. She raised her hand and knocked on the door. Knock. Knock. After a couple of minutes, no one answered. She couldn't hear any movement from inside, either. Frowning in confusion, she knocked once again but was only met with silence. Without another thought, she slowly pushed the door open, and as soon as she stepped inside, she was met with an empty room. Her brows creased, and she glanced over at the bathroom door. “Alex?” she called out after a moment, but no answer came. Wher
The hospital was buzzing with gossips and rumours, and in just a span of a little past 42 hours since the news was out, every single room in Greenwood hospital was talking about the same incident. Sophia couldn't simply act deaf to every single thing, but she was trying to. She had much more on her plate to be bothered about the rumors. “Good morning, Doc Soph!” She walked past a couple of nurses who were standing around together and whispering something to themselves, but as soon as they saw her, they simply spared her warm smiles and greeted her. “Good morning,” Choosing to ignore whatever they might have been saying, Sophia returned the smile and kept on walking. Her gaze dropped to her watch, and a frown curved up her brows when she noticed the time was already as late as 10 A.M. It was a very unusual time for her to come to work. But she couldn't help it; the director had urged her to stay back at home till the reporters trooping out of the hospital were sent away. D
Patricia let out a shaky breath, and she didn't realize when tears started streaming out of her eyes slowly. Sophia could clearly see through her distress, but they needed to get this done with, because she was just as determined to help Patricia. Right from the day she met her in the hospital, heavily pregnant with fear shimmering in her eyes. Patricia pressed her lips into a thin line, thinking it through thoroughly. She wanted a way out. She was tired of living in a family where her husband didn't care about her. Where her husband was just like a pawn to his mother. She wanted a better life for her daughters, a life where them being females aren't pointed out as a disappointment, a disadvantage, or even a flaw. She looked back up at Sophia, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I... I don’t even know where I’d go,” she admitted in a low voice. “I don’t have anyone else, no family, no friends. I don't have anyone,” her shoulders dropped, and her gaze lowered. Sophia’s expr
Sophia stepped out of the elevator, and she glanced around. Rather than make her way straight to the security office to confirm the footage Ariella had mentioned about, she came this way instead. She turned around the hall and stopped in front of a room, staring inside through the window. Her eyes squinted at the young mother who was standing by the window, with both of her babies cradled on each arm. A frown curved up Sophia's expression when she noticed Patricia was alone. Something that hardly happens, because her mother-in-law was usually there. With one glance around the hallway, she knocked slightly on the door, and when she didn't get a response, she was just about to open the door, but the footsteps approaching the door from inside made her stay still for a moment. Knock. Knock. She knocked on the door again and opened it slowly; at the same time, Patricia got to the door, and before Sophia could push it open, the young mother slammed it closed. Beyond shoc
Sophia walked down the hallway absentmindedly; she wasn't certain about what to think of anymore. And despite trying to shove all thoughts of Alex away, it proved difficult to. A tired sigh escaped from her lips, and she brushed her blonde, silky hair to the back with her fingers before making another turn and entering the elevator. Her gaze slid to the time on her wristwatch, and a frown curved her expression when she noticed something amiss. She turned rigid on the spot and looked up from her wristwatch when she realized she had forgotten her bag in his room. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she contemplated going back to get it, but she didn't want to go back to his room. At least not today anymore. She wasn't certain where they stood; after hearing all he said, she would be lying if she said the walls around her heart didn't shatter the slightest. He didn't submit the divorce papers, which meant… They were still legally married. Her throat tightened at the thought. Neith
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 married for one year. We had one year to get to know each other, and I
“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