Someone suddenly knocked on the door.It was Olivia."Madam, may I come in?" she asked with a suspicious smile, holding up a lewd photo of Seno with another woman. Of course, that woman was Olivia herself."Come in!" Lara ordered, panting. She didn't want the scandal to become public knowledge or be overheard by the nurses or anyone passing by.Andre was gone. And now? Olivia had come? This day was truly cursed for Lara."What do you mean by this?" Lara yelled as soon as Olivia entered and closed the door. Lara immediately stood up, lunged at Olivia, snatched the indecent photo, and tore it into unrecognizable pieces.Olivia laughed slyly. "I have a thousand more nude photos of Seno that are even more shocking than the one you just destroyed, you fool!""W-what?!""Come on. Divorce him, Lara. Seno is too good for you." Olivia's words were like those of a drunken person with no sense of decorum. How could a sane woman like her force someone to suddenly divorce their husband? Especially
Lara contemplated the impact of Olivia's threats. But as usual, Olivia was dangerous.That sly woman could never think too deeply or maturely. It was likely that the threat was just an empty one she had concocted.Lara had realized this since their first encounter. Olivia often tried to appear superior to her but ended up in misery.Every job or task that Olivia snatched always failed. Olivia wasn't as smart as Lara."What are you going to do?" Lara challenged, refusing to give in to the situation.Olivia scowled, disbelief flashing across her face at Lara's tough response. Wasn't Lara supposed to obey her? Stubborn!"I'll send those photos to the newspapers. I'll make them viral on social media. I'll make sure your husband has no face left to show!""Lowly whore!" Lara retorted, her voice weak but still sharp. She wanted to shout louder but failed. Her throat was dry. Lara wasn't in good shape."Call me whatever you want! But you'll never know that I'm not joking!" Olivia's voice shri
For several days, Lara had to stay in the hospital. The ultimatum was clear, and Andre would not make Lara’s mood any worse. He had no choice but to comply, though his heart ached.Lara.When would Andre ever get to talk to her again as old friends, share stories, and also … the warmth that had long disappeared from his life?***Andre washed his face with the rushing tap water. The reflection of his face in the mirror annoyed him. Andre looked at himself. The fine lines indicating age could not be denied.He had waited for Lara for over a decade. And this was the end result.Lara already had a family … though that family … was it … bad?“Damn it!” Andre growled, clenching his fists. “Family? Husband?” Andre laughed bitterly. How could a man like Seno end up with Lara?“Why not me?” Andre muttered as he raked his hair roughly. Lara. She had walked down the aisle, and all the chances Andre had been waiting for had practically evaporated. Time that could not be turned back had destroyed
Andre glanced briefly at Olivia’s thick lips. To him, Olivia wasn’t particularly attractive. He had met much more interesting women, especially his sister.Andre’s sister was a captivating woman who inherited the best genes from their Canadian father. Her blonde hair was natural, unlike Olivia’s fake blonde. No matter how long he studied Olivia’s appearance, nothing captured his attention. Olivia was definitely not his type.“Please step back a little,” he said sharply, starting to feel uncomfortable. Olivia’s overpowering perfume was making his head spin.“Huh?” Olivia stepped back, her demeanor suddenly awkward. This awkwardness hadn’t been present when they first met.“So, what now?” Andre raised an eyebrow. He had heard enough of Olivia’s nonsense, and it was time to end it.It was an extremely disturbing encounter for him.“Have you been working here for long, Doctor?” Olivia asked, fiddling with the ends of her hair blown by the night wind. Her voice sounded somewhat odd, too aff
Meanwhile, Lara was still deep in sleep. However, the silhouette of the sun peeking through the window suddenly dazzled her eyes. A nurse arrived to perform a routine check. Lara nodded and allowed her to proceed, though she was also curious about the absence of someone.Andre."Um… is Dr. Andre not on duty, Nurse?" Lara asked awkwardly. She knew her question might not be relevant—or perhaps it was? Lara acted as if the question was not unusual to ask."The doctor's rounds are still two hours away, ma'am. I'm here just for a routine check," the nurse explained with a smile.Lara nodded and tidied her disheveled hair. She then lifted her sleeve for the nurse to examine as directed."Everything looks good. Nothing to worry about," the nurse said, then took her leave to return to her station.Lara was alone again and wanted to get some fresh air outside her room. How long had she been in this room? A week? Two weeks? Lara didn’t even remember. Her muscles felt stiff, and it would be good
The next morning, Seno’s words proved to be true. Lara didn’t understand why Seno was so adamant about his unilateral arrangements.“Good morning, Mrs. Lara,” greeted a female doctor with a smile.Lara returned the smile and nodded. Seno patted his wife’s shoulder and cheerfully introduced the new doctor to her.“This is Dr. Miriam Rajapatni, dear. From now on, Dr. Miriam will be your attending physician. Isn’t she great?” Seno said, giving Lara a loving kiss on the temple.Mission accomplished.Lara had no choice but to accept. In fact, she couldn’t refuse!“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lara. I’m Dr. Miriam,” said the doctor, extending her hand for a handshake. The doctor’s elegant, dominant aura mesmerized Lara. Without hesitation, Lara took the hand and shook it as instructed.“Nice to meet you too, Doctor,” Lara said automatically. Seno looked satisfied. The grip on his shoulder tightened.The doctor moved to Lara’s bedside, once again flashing a smile, and carefully examined her conditi
Seno had returned to his office, leaving Lara alone once more. She really wanted to go home, but she had to be patient.“I have to wait until tomorrow, right? I’m getting bored,” Lara muttered as she glanced towards the window. The weather outside was so bright. Lara wanted to take a walk.“Nurse,” she called, pressing the communicator near the nightstand. “I’d like to take a walk. May I?” Lara asked politely. She just realized that she was in a Narathama care room, so there must be an indoor garden nearby to get some fresh air.“One moment, ma’am.” A nurse responded to Lara’s call. Shortly after, a curly-haired woman appeared, smiling at her.“Yes, ma’am?” she asked cheerfully. The nurse was quite young, probably only a few years older than Lara. Her smile was bright, and Lara liked her a lot.“I’d like to take a walk, Nurse. Could you accompany me?” Lara requested.The nurse nodded, then recorded the fetal chart before carefully detaching the cables from Lara’s body.“Let’s go, I’ll
Meanwhile, Andre had just returned from the wheelchair station, pushing the assistive device to ease Miriam’s movement."Lara..." Andre murmured. How could he run into Lara again? And while he was with Miriam?“Are you back already?” Miriam asked cheerfully. Andre nodded and approached his colleague—though he still hesitated to call Miriam his fiancée.“Careful,” Andre advised, helping Miriam sit properly in the wheelchair he had prepared. If Miriam took a wrong step, the inflammation in her foot would worsen.“Thanks,” Miriam said as she sat down slowly, following Andre’s instructions. It wasn’t in vain that she made a small sacrifice to get Andre’s attention, which he rarely displayed in public. After all, they were supposed to be engaged.“Where did Lara go earlier?” Andre scanned the surroundings. He still wanted to see Lara and talk to her. Maybe by normalizing his presence around her, Andre could gradually mend the rift between them.He didn’t even want anything more.Andre just