Chapter 4~Anklet

Eve knew that no matter how bad her mood was when she woke up in the morning, time would still run normally, and she would still have to do her activities according to her work schedule.

No patient would wait until her mood got better after all the trouble she had been in lately. Patients come to the hospital to see doctors. And they have no obligation to understand her bad mood.

So, as bad as she was this morning, Eve still forced herself to wake up on time after the night shift she got yesterday and immediately prepared to leave before 3 pm to start her afternoon shift.

She hasn't been able to use her car today because she lost her car keys and hasn't had time to replace them. Maybe tomorrow morning, she'll have to swap her shift with another doctor so she can take her car that she left on the side of the road near Andres's apartment.

Oh, what a bad day it would be if she thought about Andres again. Her mood is as gloomy as the Seattle sky that's starting to settle into winter at the end of the year.

At least she had prepared herself to avoid another bad day, and she was proud of the plan she had made this morning while walking to the hospital waiting for the bus.

She had found out where Axel's room was and tried to avoid the rooms that were in the vicinity of his room. In essence, Eve was doing whatever it took to prevent another accidental encounter. And she was grateful that today her schedule was very busy, and none of it indicated that she had to examine a man with a gunshot wound in his arm.

Even if he helped Daxton in the operating room yesterday, the data about Axel was in Daxton's records, not hers. And that meant hse was free of Axel. That should be it...

"Doctor Eve, are you going to participate in the surgery next week? Your name wasn't on the list, but Dr. Addison said that he needs you. Do you mind?"

Eve rested her arm against the window divider at the reception desk as a woman sat behind a computer with information on all patients and the schedules of hospital workers—including doctors and nurses. "Does Doctor Addison know that the hospital director just reprimanded me and reduced my operating hours? If he wants to deal with the hospital director, then, of course, I won't mind." She said in the end.

"I'll ask Doctor Addison about that and send you the medical record information in case you need to study it first."

Eve nodded, "Just send it to my email. I'll check it tonight. Is Dr. Addison at the hospital today? If so, I'll see him in person."

"He's not working today because he has to attend his son's graduation ceremony."

"Wow," she smiled as she nodded again, "he's a successful old man with a son who will be joining the hospital soon."

"Rumor has it," the woman in front of her chimed in, "his son has a lot of accomplishments, and it looks like the hospital needs a better male young doctor than Doctor Daxton."

Eve laughed when she heard the joke. Everyone at the hospital knew that Daxton never wanted to be a doctor, but his father, who was the director of the biggest hospital in Seattle, had already decided his son's future since he was a newborn. So, here everyone was now—stuck with Daxton, who was always trying to find a way to be relieved of his job as a doctor because he didn't want to kill his patients if he forgot the first steps in saving a choking patient.

"You'll deal with the hospital director if he hears your joke." She narrowed her eyes.

"I hope you won't divulge anything to him."

Eve made a gesture as if she was locking her lips, "You're safe with me." She said with a laugh. "I'm going to get on with the job, so give me the information about Dr. Addison's decision right away."

"Yes, of course, doctor Eve. Have a nice day!"

Eve waved goodbye and walked away. She read her notes once more before turning right to pass through the long hallway to her next examination room.

However, just as she turned the corner, her eyes caught an object that should have been something she avoided.

Oh hell, why did she have to go through this hallway if she could walk around by a longer route without having to pass Axel's room?

Now, the person she was avoiding the most was walking towards her, and unfortunately, the hallway contained several nurses and doctors she knew.

Shit.

She would look very strange if she stayed there like a statue. So, she decided to walk towards Axel, who was now also walking towards her along with some men dressed in black whom Dexton called creepy men.

"Doctor Eve, I was just about to look for you. It's a good thing you came through this hallway." A nurse waved, causing Eve to stop before she opened the door to enter a room on the left.

It wasn't the room she aimed for, but her mind told her to get in there before Axel could get past her. And now that plan was failing like every plan she wrote in her notebook.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Eve forced a smile even though the corner of her eye briefly glanced at Axel, who was getting closer.

Just a few steps away...

"I got a message from the hospital director to call you. He's expecting you this afternoon in his office to talk about the surgery plan proposed by Dr. Addison. It seems that Dr. Adisson wants to perform the surgery with you even though your surgery hours have been restricted in the past month."

"Oh, did Doctor Addison already know that?" Eve frowned. She vaguely watched Axel pass beside her, but he did not see her at all, as if they were two strangers who did not know each other.

Hell, who wants Axel to notice and see her? She would rather be ignored and regarded as invisible dust.

"I think so. Doctor Addison has also left a message at the reception. I don't know if you've been informed or not..."

"Yes, they told me. I was just there, and I was told that if Dr. Addison wanted me to join his surgery, then he should talk to the hospital director."

"And he already did,"

"Well, that's good news." Eve rolled her eyes.

"So, are you willing to—"

"Sorry to interrupt, but you left this thing, and I think it would be very rude if I didn't return it." A voice interrupted behind her, making the nurse in front of her stop talking and look straight at the person standing behind her body.

Eve turned around with a slow motion movement like a deliberately dramatic slow motion in a thriller movie.

Axel stood in front of her with two men dressed in black standing ready on either side like bodyguards on standby. His hand stretched forward and thrust an object at her.

Instantly, Eve lowered her head to look at her ankle where... an anklet should be.

No...

The anklet wasn't there and she never realized it.

"It would be better if I kept it, but maybe I can do that next time." Axel lowered his head and put the anklet on.

Eve was frozen like a statue.

She knew that the nurse in front of her was watching what Axel was doing. Not just the nurse but everyone in the hallway had looked at her in confusion—and unfortunately, Eve was in the same boat.

"Nice to meet you again, little angel." Axel rose to his feet, and his blue eyes looked straight into Eve's brown ones.

Eve felt her breathing stop for a moment, and she knew it was a bad sign.

Her eyes remained fixed on him without doing anything—not speaking, refusing, or at least kicking Axel who had just given a show in the hospital hallway after she had been the topic of the hot talk yesterday because her ex-fiancé had made a mess in the reception desk.

Five seconds passed, Axel's steps were already farther away from her, but she was still standing without doing anything.

Damn. It's been a crazy day...

"Doctor Eve, are you okay?" The nurse beside her touched her arm, and the touch made Eve realize that she was in a hallway full of her coworkers... and she was staring at Axel, who had walked away from her.

The man turned a corner at the end of the hallway and disappeared from her sight.

Once again, bad luck. She should have taken anpyjer hallway…

"Can we talk about this another time?" Eve turned her head while giving a brief smile, "I have important work and of course I can't keep my patients waiting any longer."

"Of course, doctor Eve." The nurse nodded her head, "have a good day!"

Eve thanked her and hurriedly resumed her steps.

Have a good day?

Eve doesn't know whether her day can still go well after what happened. Now, the only thing she was thinking about was get away from there...

Don't stare anywhere and leave people guessing about what happened.

Don't look nervous, or people will start suspecting her.

Stepping straight while occasionally reading notes as if she was busy.

Eve repeated the sentence in her mind until she turned to the last hallway she was heading for. Her destination room was on the far right, and once she entered it, there was no need to dodge or hide from anything.

And she managed to walk there without falling down or turning her head to the people who were watching her furtively.

There weren't many people in the hallway. Yes, not many. However, she could confirm that there were about 10-13 people who witnessed Axel kneeling down to put on her anklet while her arm was still wrapped in bandages.

Hell, that's a lot of people!

"Did you just see a walking corpse or a debt collector who had a sudden accident, Eve?"

Eve turned around quickly and dropped the note in her arms in shock.

"Oh God!" Kaira laughed when she saw Eve staring at her with bulging eyes like she had just seen a ghost. "I'm sorry!"

Well, did Kaira not realize that her appearance with long hair and shocking voice was much more suitable as a walking ghost?

"What are you here for if this isn't your work hallway, Kai?" Eve ignored Kaira's laughter and preferred to speak casually to dispel her nervousness.

"There's a patient who has burns on his hands, and I have to participate in the surgery tomorrow night. I've been working here a lot lately." Kaira relaxed her shoulders. " Is your work finished yet?? How about we have dinner together after work ends?"

Eve lowered her head and stared at the long list of patients she had to see throughout the afternoon and into the night. Even if she finished all the examinations before dinner time, she still couldn't leave the hospital and join Kaira for dinner because she had to meet the hospital director.

"I'm good. Maybe tomorrow night." She looked back down at her patient list, "it would be best if I got back to work. Goodbye, Kai."

"Yeah, alright." Kaira nodded her head and let Eve step away.

The long hallway only had a few doors on the right and left sides, and few nurses and doctors were passing by. In a way, it was quieter than the other hallways because it only contained a few patients.

Eve could even hear the sound of her own footsteps because of the silence around her. And faintly... she could also hear the faint jingle of her anklet.

She looked down and noticed an anklet with a simple design and a small-very small bell that made a small sound every time she took a step.

Damn. Why didn't she realize that her anklet had been missing since yesterday?