CHAPTER 1

Celine's Point Of View

 

A WEEK has passed but I still haven't received a call from the secretary of Emmanuel. I've been waiting for her call for so long. I sat down on the couch and dropped my cellphone on the table.

 

"What's wrong?" My sister asked.

 

I heaved a deep breath then stared at her, thinking if I will tell her that I like her Doctor. After thinking twice, I immediately shook my head telling her that there's nothing bothering me.

 

"Oh come on! I know you so well, Sis. But if you're not yet ready to open up about what's bothering you, I understand." She said then smiled at me.

 

Cyrille really changed a lot. I've been very busy with my work last month that's why we rarely see each other. But now that I don't have any work to attend to, I decided to focus on her while waiting for the announcement of Dr. Almoreno's secretary if I am fit for the job that I am applying with.

 

Well, I know that there is someone better and more deserving than me as Dr. Emmanuel's secretary but I still don't lose my faith that I will get it. Out of over a hundred applicants, only one can be hired, but despite that, I am asking and praying that I will be the chosen one.

 

"Hello? Where are you?" Shamae asked on the other line.

 

I'm currently in the parking lot. After I took my gift for her from the backseat of my car, I immediately closed the compartment.

 

"I'm on my way. Are you sure Dr. Almoreno is invited, huh?" I asked her.

 

Even without Dr. Almoreno I will still attend her party, but I won't make too much effort just to look beautiful. But when I knew that he is coming, I really took my most beautiful dress that I have never worn from the closet and put a little lipstick on my face to make me look presentable in his eyes.

 

I don't even know why I like him when I knew that it was unlikely that he would like me back. Well, since I saw him visited the Hospital where I was working at the time, I had the courage to apply as his secretary.

 

"Yes! Hurry up! I'll drop the call, okay? See you!" Shamae said.

 

Shamae has been my best friend since we were in high school. We are like brothers after all because of the depth of our bond. I still remember when I wasn't ready to report in front of the crowd, she was the one who helped me and risked her grades just to make sure that I'll deliver the report smoothly.

 

I stopped thinking a lot of things when the elevator suddenly opened. Because Shamae's party is being held in a fancy hotel. Many elites were invited. Well, that's not surprising because Shamae's family name is popular. She is the heiress of Brandon's clan for Pete's sake!

 

I was about to tap the close button when the door suddenly opened and Dr. Emmanuel spat out. I couldn't control my emotions. It was as if there were horses running in my chest causing me tp not be able to breathe properly.

 

He walked closer to me and slowly brought our faces together before he said, "Breathe," which caused me to come back to reality.

 

My head got hot because of the shame that I felt and secretly bit my lower lip to vent my anger to myself. He was currently in front of me as he waited for the elevator to open, so do I.

 

He's probably going to Shamae's floor because based on my conversation with Shamae, he was invited to her party.

 

I was amazed the way he stood. His perfect culprit body is one of his assets why many women fall for him, so do I.

 

I stopped imagining things when the elevator opened. He immediately went outside and I followed. Seconds passed, I'm still behind him that made him turn his face towards me. He took a deep breath then spoke. "Excuse me? Are you up to Shamae's party?" He said.

 

"Y-yes, why?" I answered nervously.

 

"Care to walk first?" he said.

 

I frowned and looked at him intently in his eyes. "N-no, you go first." I faked my laugh.

 

"Alright!" He said then he plastered a smile on his face. After that he walked away.

 

I was expecting him to look back but I already counted from 1 to 10 yet he still didn't bother to look at me.

 

I heaved a deep breath and right after that, I decided to slowly walk at the venue where Shamae's party will be held. When I finally got inside the venue, I looked around and couldn't help but be amazed at the beauty of the venue. Shamae really thought about her party.

 

Everyone had their own group, while I was alone looking for some of my friends. I stopped spinning as soon as I saw one of my college friends then decided to sit at their table. They're starting to get wasted.

 

"You really chose your passion, didn't you" Imelda, one of my friends from college, suddenly spoke.

 

I smiled at her and spoke, "I really did. Being a nurse is what I want. And I can't see myself entering the world of business," I uttered then laughed.

 

They have started very early and I just got here a couple of minutes ago. I stopped talking to my college friends when Shamae suddenly approached me and borrowed me from my other friends.

 

"Why?" I asked confusingly.

 

"Kristine has arrived. They will obviously be the center of attention," my friend-Shamae spoke.

 

I took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. "As if I still have any other options just to steal his attention?" I said.

 

"Do you trust me?" She asked.

 

I looked at her using my confused eyes then spoke, "I do. Why?"

 

She didn't let me bother to answer and immediately locked me inside the dark room. I was about to scream when Shamae spoke outside the room. "Don't you dare make a noise, Celine! Wait a minute and he'll surely give you the best night of your life!" She said and I heard her leaving.

 

A few minutes passed and I heard someone struggling to open the door. "Who's outside? Can you please help me open this door? I've been stuck here for a couple of minutes and I can't go outside." I said then continuously knock the door while I was speaking.

 

The door suddenly opened but I still couldn't see anything because darkness greeted me. "Do you have a flashlight?" I asked.

 

The person didn't speak and I suddenly heard the door slammed causing me to scream. I looked for the doorknob then tried to open the door but no matter how hard I tried to open it, I couldn't.

 

"Hello?! Can you help me?!" I shouted.

 

"Could you please stop shouting?! We're obviously stuck!" I suddenly heard a familiar voice that made me shiver.

 

"Dr. Emmanuel..."

 

"Do I know you?" He uttered, the coldness of his voice is evident.

 

Is this the plan that Shamae was telling me earlier? Well, because if it is, I really don't like her plan!

 

"Sorry for the trouble. Hmmm, can I ask? What happened? Did they force you to come here?" I uttered.

 

Silence prevailed between us. He didn't bother to answer my question. I just decided to close my mouth and didn't bother to speak since he obviously doesn't want my presence, I decided to act like I wasn't with him.

 

"Shamae and her friends told me that someone is freaking out inside this room so I quickly ran inside to check the person but this bullsh*t happened. Did you all plan this?" He asked irritatedly.

 

I wanted to tell him that Shamae planned this because I don't want to lie to him. I want him to know the real reason why we ended up being here.

 

I was about to speak but he suddenly spoke, "You're with them, aren't you?"

 

"Shamae is my best friend." I simply uttered.

 

"Maybe Kristine is looking for me. Fvck!" He said annoyingly.

 

It's obvious that he really likes that girl. I sighed in disbelief and remained silent. I don't want to talk because I might fall for him even more.

 

A few minutes passed before he decided to speak, "Do you have any ideas how to get out of here?" He asked.

 

"None," I uttered.

 

"This is bullshit!!" He screamed in annoyance.

 

I felt annoyed by the way he speaks. Out of annoyance, I spoke. "Can you stop cursing? You're not the only one who feels that way, just so you know." I said while looking around.

 

I was about to speak but I heard someone knocking on the door. "Is there anyone here?"

 

"We're stuck here! Can you help us?!" I screamed and decided to stand near the door.

 

Dr. Emmanuel stood, pushed me away, and started banging the door. "Kristine!! It's Emman. We're stuck here!" He screamed for help.

 

The doorknob moved and in an instant, the door suddenly opened. "Emman? What are you two doing here?"

 

I finally saw Emman's face as well as the woman he called Kristine and was about to speak but Kristine suddenly spoke causing my eyes to turn to her. "Are you two together?" Kristine asked, giving me a discombobulating stare.

 

I frowned and was about to speak but Dr. Emmanuel suddenly spoke, "I-it's not what you think, Kristine....—"

 

"I'm not asking you, Emman!" She cut off Dr. Emmanuel.

 

"Why are you two together inside this dark room?" She uttered.

 

I heaved a deep breath then spoke, "We've been locked here for a couple of minutes and we can't get out. My friends were probably the reason why we got locked up here," I explained.

 

Kristine smiled and took a deep breath before speaking, "Alright, it seems like you two aren't going to confess the real reason behind this. Emman, from now on, stop courting me. Have a wonderful night, lovers!" Kristine uttered then left us dumbfounded.

 

3 DAYS PASSED and I still haven't received any messages from Dr. Almoreno's secretary. Why am I even waiting for his secretary's call after all the inconvenience that I've been given to Dr. Almoreno, right?

 

I stopped searching some foods on the internet when Cyrille-my sister spat out. "Waiting for someone's call?" She teased me.

 

"I'm waiting for my application to be approved but no one is calling me." I said with a shrug.

 

"Have you tried applying to different Hospitals?" She asked then sat next to me.

 

She actually has a point. I only applied with Dr. Almoreno and didn't even bother to try applying on different hospitals. Instead of waiting for their call, why won't I try to apply on different hospitals instead?

 

"You have a point, Cy. Why haven't I thought of that before instead of being stagnant and waiting for uncertainties, right?" I said then smiled at her.

 

She just nodded and we exchanged our thoughts with each other before I decided to leave our house. I sent an application to different hospitals and waited for their calls.

 

Days passed before I received a message from the secretary of Dr. Sanchez. I immediately prepared myself and quickly went to their hospital - which is the same hospital as Dr. Almoreno

 

I took a deep breath before entering the elevator. When I arrived in front of the room of Dr. Sanchez, I immediately knocked on his glass door before I opened it. "Good morning, Doc." I greeted him.

 

He was currently writing something on his paper and slowly turned his gaze to me. "Good Morning," he greeted.

 

After our conversation, he congratulated me. Probably because I am officially part of their team. I smiled at him then thanked him.

 

The former secretary briefed me about the things that I needed to do as Dr. Sanchez' new secretary.

 

I listened carefully and wrote some important information on my notes. It wasn't as hard as I expected. After she explained to me all the important things, I immediately went to the office desk near Dr. Sanchez' room and sat there. The former secretary of Dr. Sanchez left the moment she got all of her stuff. I am still in shock because I can't believe that I am already hired.

 

I was busy checking all the schedule of Dr. Sanchez when I suddenly saw Dr. Kristine entered Dr. Sanchez's room. I remembered what happened two days ago. It's really my fault because I didn't defend Dr. Almoreno from Doc Kristine why we ended up in a dark room. I feel bad at Dr. Almoreno because of the decision of Dr. Kristine. If only I explained everything to her, this wouldn't happen.

 

Hours passed and I am now able to go home. I knocked on Dr. Sanchez' room and excused myself before I left. He congratulated me again and gave me permission to go home.

 

It has been a tough day and I don't know how I survived without seeing Dr. Almoreno. I went to the store first and bought some food. I was about to go home when I suddenly saw Dr. Almoreno inside the boutique of flowers.

 

He really loves Dr. Christine. She's such a lucky girl.

 

to be continued