JADE
“I don’t want him!” Meredith was screaming at the top of her lungs when I got to her door.
I froze in fear, and my legs moved faster than my mind.
I moved to her, my heart already beating wildly in my chest.
She was not supposed to be screaming like that right now.
“Mom?” I grabbed her side.
She was tossing and turning in bed while pointing towards the door.
I turned my head to Caius, standing there.
Our eyes met, and my heart flipped.
He truly looked good in his lab coat, and the stethoscope hung over his neck.
He pushed his glasses up his face and tried to take a step forward.
“Don’t you dare come in,” Meredith screamed once again.
Her lips were parched and cracked, but her eyes carried some kind of fire—the kind I had never seen before.
She knew how things ended between Caius and me.
Were those the reasons she was reacting like this?
“Mom, Mom!” I shook her shoulders to snap her out ofit.
She looked at me, her eyes wide and mouth open.
Loud, ragged breaths escaped her lips.
I looked to the nurse who was standing by the bedside.
My hands were still on my mother, hoping it would steady her.
“What is going on here?”
“The patient is refusing treatment,” the nurse said, like she was annoyed.
“And how long has this been going on?
Why did nobody tell me?” I shot back at her.
“Doctor Caius here came to examine the patient, and she has been throwing a tantrum all morning, refusing to allow him to come any closer.”
To this nurse, my mum was a psycho for not allowing the doctor to touch her, even though it was very clear how sick she was.
Meredith coughed and shook her head.
She spoke in a weak voice.
“I will never allow him to touch me,” she declared.
“Doctor Caius is the best in this field.
If he doesn’t treat you, who else would?” the nurse replied too sharply.
I shot her a glare and then looked back at my mom.
“It’s okay.
I got this.”
I got out of bed, her hand slipping from mine.
“You can’t allow him.
If you force him on me, I won’t get treatment.”
“Doctor Caius, my mom doesn’t want to be treated by you,” I said in simple, plain terms.
He knew the reason better than anyone, and I doubted he wanted me to explain.
He took a step forward, and I raised my hand in the air.
I couldn’t let him explain.
“What do you think this place is?” the nurse asked.
She was already getting agitated.
Her brows were furrowed into a thin line, and lines crowded her forehead.
She pushed her hand into her
scrubs and tilted her head.
“This is a hospital, not a restaurant where you can just pick and take whatever you like.”
“It is not,” I replied.
Roman’s words about not getting bullied rang in my head.
He told me I could cause trouble, and he would clean it up.
“Thank goodness you are sensible enough to …”
“It is not, but we have every right to refuse treatment from a doctor,” I cut her off.
She blinked rapidly, her face riddled with shock.
It was almost as if she were expecting me to be spineless.
“Especially if it constitutes a conflict of interest,” I added.
“Conflict of interest?
What do you mean?”
“I do not have to explain myself to you,” I snapped at her.
She reeled back in shock and looked to Caius as if she were expecting him to say something or maybe come to her rescue.
“I hope you do understand, Doctor Caius?”
He stared at me like the world was slipping from underneath him.
He nodded once and gave a look to the nurse, who wheeled her cart out of the room at once.
I dropped back to the bed and pulled Meredith into a hug.
“I am so sorry.
I didn’t know he was here.”
“You are sorry?
Why are you sorry?” She pulled away and held my face.
Her warmth made me want to climb into bed and stay with her.
“How is this your fault?
It’s the fault of that jerk,” she said, glancing at the door.
I nodded because there was nothing I could do to change her mind at this point.
I had been so hurt when we broke up years ago.
I spent the entire time crying while my family
consoled me.
The look in her eyes told me she still remembered every moment of my pain.
“But you know Caius is a very talented doctor, and if you let him take a look at you, then …”
“I don’t care ifhe is talented,” she cut me off.
“I won’t let him touch me.
Not after how much he hurt you.”
“Mom,” my voice shook as she caressed my face.
“I am sorry, Jade.
I am sorry that there is nothing more I can do for you.
I am sorry that I can’t be the one to fight back for you and …”
“Stop it, Mom.
All I need from you right now is for you to get better and come back to living your normal life.” I grabbed her hand and patted her on the back.
“Don’t apologise for something you have no control over.”
I poured a glass of water for her.
Her throat must be parched from all the shouting she had been doing earlier.
I couldn’t wrap my head around why the hospital had not called me.
If she was refusing his treatment, wasn’t her family supposed to be kept in the loop?
“I want to get a few things from the convenience store.
Is there anything you need?”
“Freedom,” she groaned as I walked away.
“Anything but that.
I can’t give that to you.” I kissed the side of her head and ruffled her hair slightly before I fully walked away.
I was in the aisle of the grocery store, trying to decide which tissue was best to buy, when I ran into Caius.
He was picking up coffee.
“Can we talk?” he asked when I pushed past him.
I stopped in my tracks and turned slowly to him.
He was asking so humbly; I guess I had no reason to refuse.
And I needed to clear the air with him.
“Sure.”
The cold evening air was blasting against my face.
We stood face to face.
I waited for him to speak first.
“About your mother …”
“You don’t have to worry about her.” I waved my hand in the air.
I was trying to act cool, but so many thoughts in my mind made my knees buckle in fear.
What if Roman saw this?
How was I supposed to explain meeting the doctor alone on the roof of the
hospital?
“I am sure my husband would find another doctor for us.”
“Jade…” He tried to move, but I took an instinctive step back.
My body reacted before my mind could fully process.
“Caius.
I just came to set the record straight.
Between us, all we have is a past.
I am married ”
now.
“I am well-versed in the field, Jade.
I am sure I can help your mother overcome …”
“If the patient is refusing to be treated by the doctor … shouldn’t the doctor accept her terms and step down?”
He didn’t have a case here.
He could not force us to accept his help, so he nodded gently.
I squared my shoulders.
“If that would be all, Doctor …”
“Wait,” he stopped me before I could escape.
“About you and Roman … I know you were probably forced into the marriage.
If you want to talk, I am here for it.”
I scoffed.
How could he demand something like that from me?
I was not the one who broke us up.
He wanted that, and I had no choice but to go along with it.
And now he wanted to act like we were old friends.
“I don’t have to talk about my marriage with you,” I said pointedly.
His face fell.
“That … that was not what I meant.
I just want to make things right between us.”
“Well, you are a few years too late, aren’t you?” I took a step back and forced a smile.
“I hope you’d learn to respect my boundaries as I do yours.”
I didn’t wait for his response as I walked away.
Who did he think he was?
Why was he trying to act like, between us, everything was rosy?
“Mom was right,” I murmured harshly as I pressed the elevator button and watched it close shut.
Seeing him around was bad.
I had to ask Roman for a change of doctors.