Chapter 17

“Flora, what’s going on? Why do you look so anxious?” Ethan asked when he saw his first wife, Flora, suddenly appear at Amelia’s apartment.

At that moment, Ethan and Amelia were having breakfast while discussing the issues from the previous night. Just a few minutes later, the apartment door was knocked loudly. 

When the housekeeper opened the door, Flora walked in, heading straight for the dining room to join her husband, who looked extremely anxious and worried. 

“Amelia, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m in an emergency and I don’t know who else to turn to,” Flora explained.

Seeing Flora’s panicked expression, Amelia became worried too. She stood up and walked over to her friend. 

“Calm down, Flora. Tell us slowly.”

Flora nodded, taking deep breaths to calm herself. After a moment, she began to speak again.

“I need Ethan for a moment. My mom had another heart attack and is in the Siloam hospital. Her condition worsened early this morning.”

“Oh my God.” Both Ethan and Amelia were shocked. Immediately, they tried to calm Flora down.

“Okay, calm down first,” Ethan said. “I’ll take you to the hospital right now.”

Ethan turned to Amelia. Before leaving, he made sure to say goodbye to his wife. It would be rude to leave without saying anything.

“Amelia, I’m going now. I have to take Flora to the hospital. You can go to work with the driver, right?”

Amelia nodded, understanding. Besides, it wasn’t possible for her to accompany Ethan to the hospital. She had an appointment with a client who was interested in investing in Clara’s boutique.

“Don’t worry about me. Just focus on taking care of Flora,” Amelia said.

“Alright, I’ll be going then.”

“Okay, be careful.”

After Ethan left, Amelia continued eating her breakfast. Once finished, she headed to work with the driver.

When she arrived at the boutique, her client showed up shortly after. Together with Clara, Amelia presented their collaboration proposal to encourage the client to invest in their boutique.

“Since I see this boutique growing more and more, and it’s attracting the public’s attention, I agree to start this partnership and invest the agreed amount,” the client said.

Clara smiled widely. Who would have thought that the small boutique she had started would now be so successful, even expanding to multiple prestigious malls? 

Besides the support from her husband, Clara acknowledged that Amelia’s creative ideas and sales strategies had contributed to the boutique’s growth.

“We should tell Asher about this achievement.”

“Do you want to visit Asher?” Amelia asked while organizing the papers on her desk.

“Yes, how about we go to the hospital now and order food to eat there? We can have a bigger meal at my house this weekend,” Clara suggested.

“Sounds good,” Amelia agreed. “I’ll clean up here. You go ahead and order the food. Once it’s delivered, we can head to the hospital.”

Clara took out her phone from her blazer pocket, opened the food delivery app, and selected some meals to be delivered to the hospital.

Once everything was ordered and delivered, Clara and Amelia rushed to the hospital to see Asher, whose schedule was free at the moment.

When they arrived, they strolled down the hospital corridor, passing by several nurses and staff who greeted Clara, knowing she was the wife of the hospital owner.

“Amelia, I think we should buy some bottled water. I’m worried there might not be enough in Asher’s room. It’s not very convenient to go to the pantry.”

Before entering the elevator, Clara asked Amelia to buy some water bottles, just in case the stock in Asher’s room wasn’t enough.

“Okay, I’ll go to the pharmacy at the end of the hall. How many bottles do you need?”

“Four or five should be enough. Just in case there are other doctors in the room. It would be rude not to offer them any. Plus, we’re bringing so much food,” Clara said.

Amelia nodded. At the elevator, they split up. Clara went to Asher’s room while Amelia hurried to the pharmacy at the end of the corridor.

Once Amelia finished buying the water, she decided to meet Clara on the third floor. As she passed the lab, she ran into Alvin, who had just come out of the lab holding some vials of medicine.

“Amelia.”

“Alvin.”

Amelia greeted him with a friendly nod. She recognized Alvin, who had once been someone she had an interest in.

“Where are you coming from and where are you headed?” Alvin asked, looking curiously at the large bag of water Amelia was carrying.

“I just bought some water from the pharmacy,” Amelia explained, pointing to the bottles. “We’re planning a meal in Asher’s room with Clara and the others.”

Alvin nodded, not surprised. He had often seen Clara bring large amounts of food to Asher’s room, sharing it with the staff.

“Oh, I see. Are you celebrating something?” Alvin asked.

“Yes,” Amelia nodded. “Clara just got a big client, so she wants to celebrate with Asher. If you’re not busy, you can come join us. We have a lot of food.”

“Thanks, but if I have time, I’ll stop by.”

They stood in silence for a moment, and Alvin cleared his throat, trying to break the awkwardness.

“How have you been? Are you doing okay?”

Amelia didn’t answer right away. She chuckled, as if something about Alvin’s question was amusing.

“Why do you always ask how I’m doing whenever we meet? Do I look like something’s wrong with me?”

“It’s not that,” Alvin said quickly, trying to clarify. “I just really want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Make sure I’m okay? What do you mean?”

“I know this might sound rude, but to be honest, I never expected you to marry Ethan, and even—”

“Want to be his second wife? There are so many single guys who could be a husband. Is that what you mean?” Amelia interrupted, as if reading Alvin’s mind.

“Amelia… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I’m not offended. Not at all. I actually appreciate that you care about me,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’m fine, and I’ll always be fine,” she emphasized.

“Glad to hear that,” Alvin replied, his expression changing to a bit uncomfortable after hearing Amelia’s pointed response.

“You don’t have to worry. I made this decision on my own. Whatever happens, it’s the risk I have to take.”

“I know,” Alvin said. “But if you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll help if I can.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your offer.”

“Amelia!” A beautiful woman, also a doctor, called out from behind, waving to Alvin.

“I need to get back to work. See you later,” Alvin said, then walked away.

Once Alvin left, Amelia continued her way. As she exited the elevator and headed towards Asher’s room, another man approached and greeted her cheerfully.

“Princess.”

Amelia turned around and saw Evan standing behind her.

“Oh my God, Evan. I didn’t expect that.”

“Who else would call you Princess but me?”

Amelia shook her head, realizing no one else had ever called her “Princess” before, not even Ethan, and she wondered why Evan called her that.

“Actually, no one.”

“What does Ethan call you?”

“Amelia.”

“Ugh, what a loser.”

Amelia couldn’t help but laugh at Evan’s expression.

“Why a loser?”

“Don’t you know why I always call you Princess when we meet?”

Amelia shook her head, unsure of the reason. She’d never understood why Evan always called her that, even when her brother, Elftahan, had complained about it.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m even curious why you call me Princess, when my name is clearly Amelia.”

“Because every time you smile, your cheeks turn red, just like Snow White or other Disney princesses.”

“Oh my God, are you trying to flirt with me?”

Evan laughed, though he was trying to act serious, and Amelia still thought it sounded cheesy.

“I’m serious. You’re beautiful in a way that’s different from other women,” he said with a smile, then noticed the plastic bag in Amelia’s hand.

“What are you doing at the hospital? Are you visiting Ethan? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Yes, I know. Ethan seems to be off work today. Flora’s mother had a heart attack.”

“Oh no. But her condition isn’t too serious, right?” Evan asked, concerned.

“Flora said earlier that her mom is doing a little better,” Amelia replied.

Evan nodded, then continued with another question, seeming to enjoy talking to Amelia.

“So, if you don’t want to see Ethan, why are you going to the hospital with so much water?”

“Oh, this?” Amelia pointed to the plastic bag she was holding. “Clara asked me to bring extra drinks. She’s planning a meal in Asher’s room.”

“Oh, I see. Well, let me help you carry it. I’m heading to Asher’s room too.”

“No, it’s fine. I can carry it myself.”

“It’s okay, Amelia. You look like you’re struggling carrying all that.”

Seeing Evan insist, Amelia finally handed him the bag. Together, they walked toward Asher’s room, chatting along the way.