After their heartfelt conversation, Tony and Lily finally went downstairs to finish their breakfast and head to the hospital. As Rachael saw them walking down the stairs with their hands intertwined, a smile appeared and a sigh of relief left her lips. “I guess all is well then?” She asked with a cheesy grin that made Tony roll his eyes while Lily blushed before nodding slowly. “All is sorted out now.” She replied, smiling from ear to ear. “I won’t be taking any bodyguards to work though, nor will I take a leave from work. He understands that now.” She added, looking up at Tony, who had a repentant look on his face. Rachael shifted her gaze to Tony, raising her brows at him, asking if Lily was right. “Yes, Rachael. Lily won’t be doing any of that. She has decided to face her fears and fight them.” He replied, staring at Lily with pride. “Oh! That was completely unexpected.” Rachael said, her tone laced with pure shock. “But, I believe in you, Lily.” She added with a
“Tell me, Miss Jane. When did you catch her staring at me?” Tony asked with a wide grin, his eyes holding curiosity in them. “W...What?” Jane asked, taken aback by his sudden question. It was the last question she expected from her boss and to think that there was a cheesy grin on his face! “When did you catch Miss Arnold staring at me? You just said that you and some other nurses have caught her staring at me on various occasions. I’d like to know when you saw that happen.” Tony resounded his question. “Don’t worry, Miss Jane. This isn’t a question to be scared of.” He clarified when he saw the terrified look on her face. “Oh,” Jane sighed and nodded calmly. “It happens whenever you walk by or during the briefings with the other doctors. She barely listens and stares at you.” She reported that she thought Tony would take action against Lily and stop it from recurring. A smile formed on her face as she thought things were going in her favor. What she didn’t know was th
“Lily. She is the connection I have with them. Her ex-boyfriend is a member of the gang.” Tony revealed with a straight face, awaiting Dr Raph’s reply. A few seconds pass and nothing is heard from him but just as Tony opens his mouth to speak again, Dr Raph finally speaks up. “What?!” He yells, loud enough for anyone who is outside the office to hear. “What the fuck did you just say?” “Quiet down, Man. This is an office.” Tony scolded, shaking his head but Dr Raph was not having it. Not when he had just dropped a bomb that could affect him and the entire hospital if not handled properly. “Don’t fucking tell me to calm down, Tony. Don’t! How the fuck did you get involved with a girl like that?” The words left his mouth before he could caution himself. Tony immediately shot him a harsh glare and he immediately cleared his throat before rephrasing his sentence. “Don’t get me wrong, Tony. Lily is a nice and hardworking girl. I have seen that but, she was dating a gang member! Doesn’t
Unknown Number: [You have one week, Lily.]With shaky hands, Lily dropped her phone to the ground and clasped her hands around her mouth, stopping her screams from leaving the room. She didn’t need anyone to tell her who the sender was.There was only one person on the face of the earth who could threaten her in such a gruesome manner.Louis Moreau.Suddenly, all Lily could hear was the screams coming from the emergency ward which was filled with people who had been victims of the gang shooting and all she could think of was Louis’s text.“Did he do that just to send a warning to me?” She thought in a shaky breath and her heart hammered against her chest, almost as if it would explode.“Did so many people die just because of me? Am I responsible for these cries of agony?” Hot tears trickled down her cheeks as the realization dawned on her.Louis was willing to do anything to get her back even if it meant killing a hundred people.This made her realize that he could hurt Tony or even R
“I have something to tell you!” They choruses at the same time, surprising each other. “You go first.” Tony decided to be a gentleman and hear what she had to say first but, Lily was too curious about his information to let things be. “No. Let me hear what you have to say first.” She countered, hoping to buy some time for herself. Shaking his head in refusal, Tony pressed. “You go first, Lily. Don’t worry, I won't chicken out.” He added with a reassuring smile. After a few seconds, Lily nodded and decided to go first. “I…” She started but was interrupted by Tony. “Wait! I don't think it's wise to do this here.” He said, looking around. “Come with me.” Tony grabbed her hand and led her to his office, ignoring the stares from some of the nurses. Lily didn’t care anymore about what others had to say or their judgmental stares, not when her life was in danger. She just wished that the nurses would pay more attention to their critical patients rather than prying into her and T
Later that day, Lily and Tony finally clocked out of the hospital after what was the most stressful day for Lily since she resumed. Her emotions were on a rollercoaster and so were her hands and feet as she was assigned to a doctor to help with the massive inflow of critical patients.A large number of nurses and doctors were staying through the night to watch the patients but, Tony knew that Lily wasn’t in the right state of mind to have an all-nighter at the hospital so, he spoke to Dr. Lorey and had another nurse take her place.“She isn’t feeling well, Lorey, and the last thing I’d want is for her health to deteriorate. I am sorry that I’m doing this when the hospital needs all the hands it can get.” He apologized.“I understand, Tony. I saw her at the emergency ward and she looked like she would fall at any minute. I was going to tell you to take her home. I’m sure the others will understand.” Dr Lorey said with a warm smile and Tony thanked her before leaving to get Lily who was
“I…I think I should head upstairs.” Lily said quietly, breaking the piercing silence. Tony immediately turned to her, wanting to reach out to her and hold her in his arms.“Wait!” Rachael called out before Lily stood up and grabbed her hand calmly. “You know I have nothing but love for you in my heart, right?” She asked, her eyes filled with a mix of sadness and frustration.Lily moved her lips to give a reply but no words came out.“I care about you just as much as Tony does,” Rachael said and shook her head, deciding to rephrase her sentence. “Okay, maybe not as much as Tony but I do care for you. I want you to be safe and I want you to be happy but, not at the expense of my brother’s life.” Rachael said with tears in her eyes.She wasn’t going to let her brother make a decision that could end his life as long as she was alive, even if it meant taking Lily out of his life. All she wanted was her brother’s safety.She had only known Lily for a few weeks after all. She wasn’t going t
“Stay with me tonight,” Lily whispered, clutching Tony’s arms like he would disappear if she let him go. “You want us to spend the night together. Are you sure about this?” Tony asked, a small smile making its way to his lips. Lily was always running from him and avoiding times like this, but here she was suggesting that they spend the night together. Lily’s eyes widened, and her cheeks reddened as she finally understood his words. “I didn’t mean it like that!” She gasped, letting go of his hands and shaking her head to get rid of the obscene thoughts. Seeing her flushed face, Tony laughed. “I was only teasing you, Lily. I know you didn’t mean it in that way.” He clarified, chuckling at her. He then brought his fingers to her face and caressed her cheek, his eyes holding sincerity. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen one day and believe me, Lily, that day is near.” He whispered as his thumb brushed her lip and Lily’s breath hitched, butterflies erupting in her bel
TWO DAYS LATER It was a Monday morning and the break from the hospital had come to an end. Lily woke up feeling restless. Since the party, she had been unable to sleep properly as the events of the Mehdi’s party continued replaying in her head. All she seemed to think about was Louis's words. It had been haunting her like a ghost and no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t shake it off. What annoyed her was that she didn’t know what he planned to do. She didn’t have a single idea so, she was scared he would strike at any time. “Get yourself together, Lily!” She tapped her cheeks with her hands as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. “Don’t think about it. Please, don’t think about it.” She whispered as she brushed her hair into place. “Focus, Lily. Focus!” She said own last time before going into the bathroom to get ready for the day. By the time she got out of the bathroom, it was already a few minutes past eight and she was to be at the hospital by 9 am. She dressed u
As the party continued, Tony mingled with some of the people he was familiar with. He also made sure that Lily was by his side at all times.“Who is this beautiful lady, Tony?” Various people asked and he gave them the same response which still came as a shock to all of them.As the conversation with some of Tony’s business partners got more intense, Lily decided to leave them for a bit.“I’ll be in the restroom for a bit.” She whispered to Tony who gave a brief nod. His eyes followed her until she disappeared, making sure no one followed her into the restroom.As she walked, she couldn’t help but admire the hallway that led to the restroom. It had been decorated beautifully with flowers as though it was a part of the party hall.Mehdi might be a terrible person but he had good taste.She entered the restroom and to her relief, it was empty. She washed her hands for some relief and leaned on the wall, hoping to give Tony and his friends some time to finish up their conversation.A few
“She’s my girlfriend,” Tony announced with his arms wrapped around Lily and his expression stern. Lily’s eyes widened but she quickly composed herself as she didn’t want to be noticed by the reporters who were watching them like a hawk. After Tony’s big reveal, the reporters erupted into chaos and they began raining questions on Tony, each of them eager to know how and when he got a girlfriend because most of the people in the country were starting to think he was gay or just hated women. There was a time he was spotted in public with Daisy and photos started circulating online as people began to spread rumors about him having a child. They also went on the search for who the mystery woman might be and at that time, he was close friends with Harriet who already had two children and was always around him. So, to avoid getting her in trouble, he quickly denied the accusations and revealed that Daisy was his niece, bringing Rachael as proof. “How long have you known her for, Dr Martin
“Oliver? What the fuck does he want with you?” Tony asked, his expression hardening as he saw the texts on Lily’s phone.“Oh, it’s nothing. He’s just checking up on me since he didn’t see me at work. I have been helping him out at the hospital.” Lily explained innocently.“Can I see?” Tony asked and Lily freely handed him her phone for him to go through their texts.As Tony read through the messages, he realized that Oliver had been keeping tabs on Lily without her knowing. He used normal questions that wouldn’t look fishy to keep track of her activities and Lily who was as naive as a child kept giving him the information he needed.“What’s wrong?” Lily asked when she saw the angry look on Tony’s face. She wondered what he had seen on her phone that made him angry.“This Oliver guy. I have a feeling that there’s more to him. You need to be careful around him.” Tony warned and Lily frowned, taking her phone and pocketing it.“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of him, Tony.” Lily sighed. “We
Three Days Later.Lily rolled over to hit the snooze button on her phone as the alarm pierced through her sleep.“Five more minutes..” She hummed like a five-year-old.Just as she was about drifting off to sleep she suddenly remembered that she had to be at the hospital.“Shit!” She exclaimed and jumped off the bed. When she checked her phone, she saw that it was a few minutes past eight which meant that she had less than an hour to prepare for work.She quickly jumped into the shower and in a few minutes, she was out. Once she was all dressed up, she hurried downstairs to meet with Tony who was expected to be waiting for her.When she arrived at the living room, she found Tony sitting on a sofa with Rachael both laughing at a joke that was cracked by him.Sensing a presence behind, Tony turned and found Lily staring at them with curiosity written all over her face.“Good morning, Lily.” Tony greeted with a smile.“Morning, Tony. Morning, Rachael.” She greeted. “Why didn't you wake me
Lily sat at her desk, going through the files for the patients she would be sending handling. When she finished, she grabbed her tools and headed to the pediatric ward.As she walked into the brightly colored room, she spotted a little girl who didn’t look anything above six seated on her bed with a stuffed bunny clutched to her chest.She had a beanie on her head to cover her baldness as she had lost most of her hair to cancer but despite her frail frame and the IV connected to her arm, her eyes sparkled with warmth and happiness.“Good morning, my darling.” Lily greeted with a warm smile as she approached her bedside. “How are you feeling today?” Lily asked, checking her temperature.The girl looked up and smiled brightly, her eyes shining with excitement. “I am okay, Nurse Lily. They served me my favorite today! Chocolate pudding!!” She squealed and Lily chuckled.“You like chocolate pudding more than your medicines, don’t you?” Lily asked, touching her cheeks playfully.“Yes! I wa
“This is about Lily, isn’t it?” Rachael asked with her brows raised. “Yes, it is.” Tony agreed, taking his hands up. “You know how she feels about you not speaking to her right?” He asked and Rachael’s expression shifted to sadness. “I’ll be honest with you, Tony. I think I was too harsh on her. I have been feeling this way for a while but I do not know how to apologize to her. I fear I might have hurt her badly. She avoids me these days and I can see fear in her eyes whenever we meet.” Racheal lamented with a pained expression. Tony let out a sigh of relief and a light smile. He was glad that Rachael was thinking that way. “All you have to do is let her know that you are not upset with her and you want things to return to how they were.” He said. “The good part is, you have the opportunity to do that today.” He smiled. Before he heard her speak, he was going to tell her what Lily’s surprise was and plead with her not to make Lily feel bad but now, he planned on letting Lily do he
A smirk appeared on Tony’s face as he stared at the email from the office of Mehdi King. It seemed like God was on his side. The timing was perfect. Ever since he found out about him being the leader of the SNAKERS, he had wanted an opportunity to meet him and this had just been given to him on a platter of gold. He was going to take Lily as his plus one since it would be her first time attending an event with him by her side. To Tony, it was a way of announcing her to the world as his partner as well as preparing her for the life ahead. He quickly made his way upstairs and placed a light knock on Lily’s door. A few seconds later, she heard the door click and it opened to reveal Lily with a towel tied tightly around her chest. Her hair and some part of her body were slightly wet and he understood that she had just got out of the shower. Even though he had made a promise not to think of anything sexual around her, his eyes and body seemed to have a mind of their own. It was to
“She is all by herself, boss. This is the perfect time to take her. Give us the order and consider it done.” One of the men said into the phone with his eyes still glued to Lily as she headed back to the hospital on foot.A sigh was heard from the line, a sign of hesitation from Louis and one of the men concluded that Louis wouldn’t be able to give the order since Lily was his ex-girlfriend. So, he gave a sign to the man who was on the call with him, telling him to go ahead with the initial plan regardless of what Louis instructs.“What is your conclusion, boss?” The man asked, hoping Louis would go ahead with the plan but, there was still hesitation from him so, they decided to end the call and kidnap Lily before she was completely out of sight.They left their hiding place and began approaching Lily but just as they were about to get close to her, Tony came out of nowhere and wrapped his hands around her, oblivious to what was about to happen. The men immediately took a U-turn and r