“Welcome to TM hospitals, Miss Arnold. I look forward to working with you, too.” Tony shook her, feeling her hand for as long as he could. It was almost as though they had forgotten about everyone in the room, as they were both lost in each other’s eyes. It wasn’t until Tony realized he had been holding her hand for too long that he pulled away and cleared his throat. He saw the look on the faces of the other nurses and realized that it must have been awkward for them.“Alright then, Miss Arnold. Get familiar with your colleagues and the hospital. I’ll be in my office. Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything.” He said and finally excused himself. Lily couldn’t help but smile as she watched him walk away. “You guys know each other, don’t you?” One of the nurses asked, and as Lily turned to give her an answer, she realized that all eyes were on her.This was an awkward situation, and she hated awkward situations.“I won’t say we know each other. We ran into each other
Louis marched towards her with his nose flared up, and Lily immediately knew what was coming, so she screamed and ran. “What is wrong with you, Louis? What are you doing?” She cried, running away from him. “How dare you cheat on me and come back here? Who is he? Who’s the man!?” He yelled and threw a vase across the room, causing lily to scream. “There’s no man, Louis. I swear. I work at a hospital. I told you about it this morning. I told you I’d be working as a nurse at TM Hospital, and you were okay with it. Why are you suddenly being like this?” She cried. “I don’t believe you. You think I don’t know that you’ve been trying to leave me? You’re using that as an excuse to meet another lover of yours.” He said, and before Lily could run further, he grabbed her neck and slammed her to the wall. “Tell me who he is, or I will kill you.” He threatened, pressing his hand on her throat. Lily coughed and gasped for air, begging him to let her go. “I’ll show you everything.
Unknown Number: [I should have said that first. Forgive me. This is Tony Martinez. I got your number from your employee file] Lily’s breath seized as she read the text. She stared at the text continuously to be sure she wasn’t seeing things. “Why is he texting?” She asked herself and stood up to lock the door so that she could be sure that Louis wouldn’t barge in. Even though he was out, she knew how easy it was for him to run back home and sneak in on her when she least expected it. Lily saved the number and sent a reply. Lily: [Hello, Dr Martinez. Yes, everything is alright.] She stared at her text for a whole minute before she made up her mind and sent the text. A few seconds after her text, he read it and typed again. Dr Martinez: [You left the hospital in haste yesterday. I just wanted to be sure that everything was alright with you.] His reply came in, and Lily’s mouth parted in shock. She remembered bumping into him while running out of the hospital, but she
“So, Miss Arnold. Why did you run home yesterday? I want the real reason, not that lie you made up earlier.” Tony said. Lily’s eyes widened at his question. “W-what are you talking about, Sir?” She stammered and lowered her head. She couldn’t let him see her face as it would immediately give her away. “Don’t be scared, Miss Arnold. I mean no harm. You are my staff, and I am only trying to ensure you’re alright.” Tony assured her when he saw her fidget. “Now, Miss Arnold. What happened yesterday?” He asked again. If it were another staff, Tony wouldn’t have bothered. The affairs of his employees outside the office didn’t concern him, and he had no right to ask, but this was Lily. He couldn’t brush off what he saw, and if anything happened to Lily, he would blame himself. So, he needed to know why she was so disturbed. “I already told you, Sir. I had a call from my mother. I had to rush home and attend to her.” She sighed and hoped he would let her go. But Tony shut his eyes
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Tony growled as he punched Louis in the face. The force from the hit made Louis fall to the ground. Lily screamed, thinking it was an attack from a thug, but when she looked up and saw Tony, she sighed in relief. “Dr Martinez! What are you doing here?” She asked a few seconds later as he helped her stand. “Oh God!” Fear gripped her as she saw Louis standing in front of her with a frown on his face. His eyes went down to where Tony held her, and they widened. “He’s the bastard you’ve been cheating on me with, isn’t he?” Louis asked with red eyes, using the back of his hands to wipe the blood off his injured lip. Lily shook her head and tried to explain, but Tony stepped before her and shielded her from Louis. “How dare you lay your hands on a woman? You’re a fucking coward, do you know that?” Tony was angry. Seeing Lily in that state awoke something he never knew he had in him. “Why don’t you mind your fucking business? She is my gi
“Am I hallucinating, or did my brother really bring a woman home?” Rachael said dramatically as she hurried down the stairs. “Oh my goodness! You are beautiful!” She clapped happily and pulled Lily for a hug. “Stop it, Rachael. You’ll make her uncomfortable.” Tony sighed and tried pulling her hands off Lily, but she shot him a harsh glare and pushed him away. “Hello, I’m Rachael, Tony’s sister. What’s your name?” She asked, smiling from ear to ear. Lily looked at Tony and then back at Rachael before clearing her throat. “I’m Lily. Lily Arnold.” She answered, and Rachael hugged her tightly. “Lovely to meet you, Lily. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.” Rachael confessed, beaming with joy. “Believe me, we can all see, but she’s not that kind of friend, Rachael. Don’t get too excited.” Tony said, and Rachael’s expression saddened. “What are you talking about?” She asked, and Lily smiled apologetically. It mmm “She works at the hospital but will be staying
After their lengthy conversation filled with tears from Lily’s side, Tony showed her to her room, which the maids had already prepared.“Get some rest, Lily. You need it. Come down whenever you feel hungry, and the maids will prepare something for you immediately, okay?” Tony held her arm and stood outside her room. He didn’t want to disturb her any further because he could see the tiredness in her eyes. She had been awake all night because of her shift, and since it was her first time, her body wasn’t used to it. The eye bags around her eyes were becoming prominent, and he could see her struggling to keep her eyes open.“Thank you for today, Dr Martinez. I am grateful for everything you’ve done today.” Lily said truthfully, and Tony slowly pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, taking her by surprise.“Go to bed, Lily. You can thank me when you wake up.” He said, and she chuckled before nodding and walking into the room. Tony helped her shut her door before leaving for his r
“I haven’t slept that good in months. That’s why I slept for so long. It felt unreal to be able to sleep that good.” Lily confessed, smiling from ear to ear.“I’m glad you were able to sleep well, Lily,” Tony said and joined them at the dining table. “Looks like we’ll be having an early dinner.” He joked, and they all laughed. The food soon arrived, and Tony requested his share while Rachael decided to keep hers until later as she had just had lunch an hour ago. “I have to go and pick Daisy up now. I’ll see you when I return, Lily.” Rachael said and excused herself. As soon as she left, Lily turned to Tony.“Isn’t it too late to pick a child up from school?” Lily asked, and Tony chuckled lightly at her question.“Schools are on holiday, Lily. Daisy is at her grandparent’s house. She stays there during the day and returns in the evening.” Tony explained, and Lily’s mouth parted slightly as she nodded.“That makes more sense. I have more questions, but I think It’ll be better
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