JADE
Meredith kept on asking for Roman even after I had told her he was on a business trip.
“You have to be good to him,” she said.
I pushed a grape into her mouth and rolled my eyes.
She chewed so fast and continued.
“He is good to you.
It is only fair.”
She almost sounded like Roman was her son, and she was advocating for him.
I just nodded and agreed to everything she was saying because I didn’t have the strength to fight back.
She had fallen asleep sometime during my visit.
The nurse said the medication she was on would make her drowsy.
I kissed the side of her head.
“Take care,” I whispered to her before I tiptoed out of the room so as not to wake her.
Because I knew she would try to see me out.
Caius was still waiting at the door ofmy mother’s room.
He moved from the wall he had been leaning against and tried to reach out to me, but I ignored him and tried to walk away, but he followed me.
“Jade, I am the best shot for your mum getting treatment.
Just talk to her and let me treat her.”
I knew him too well.
He was the kind who wouldn’t give up when he was fixated on something.
He wanted to use this opportunity to prove to my mum and me that he had changed—that he was capable.
So that I would believe that he could help me.
I stopped and turned to him, a frown on my face.
“We don’t need you, Doctor Caius.” I made sure to put some weirdness into his title.
I was not going to try to be friendly with him.
It was inappropriate, and we both knew it.
“You don’t have to be a stranger, Jade …”
“Please refer to me as Mrs Volkov.” I cut him off.
His face tensed up, and his shoulders
tightened.
He tried to move closer, but I raised my hand in the air at him.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“I know you are angry at me.
I know you don’t want to talk to me; this is what I can do to show my sincerity to you both.”
“Angry at you?” I scoffed, a forced laugh escaping my lips.
He didn’t seem like the same man I knew.
The one standing in front of me was arrogant, full of himself and pride.
“Because of what happened in the past between us,” he replied.
He looked smug and also like he was sure of himself.
I scoffed and let out a huffed breath.
“The past is in the past.
You don’t think I am petty enough to hold onto it, do you?”
“But, Jade ”
“Look, Caius … I have moved on.
I am married now.
It seems like the one who needs to move on is you.” I pointed at his face.
“I am doing this to help your mother.
I am the only cardiologist in the hospital who can help your
.
‘Arrogant!’ my mind screamed.
“But you aren’t the only one in the world, are you?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I am sure my husband can find someone better and more skilled than you.”
He blinked rapidly.
I was sure he was not expecting me to blow things up like that.
I was not about to give him leverage; he thought he could use it over me.
“And you need to stay away from me,” I added in a warning tone.
“Why, though?
Are you afraid that if you spend time with me, you’ll realise how much you still love me?
Or is this because you want to …”
“No.” I shook my head.
I didn’t want to listen anymore to what he had to say.
“It’s because I don’t want my husband to get the wrong idea.”
I walked off, even though I could hear him calling after me.
The nurses thought I was foolish for walking away when their precious Doctor Caius was speaking to me.
Caius and I got together in my first year.
We had known each other for years before that.
He was always a good friend whom I had a crush on.
So when he confessed his love to me, I knew that the universe was on my side.
Unlike Roman, he was gentle and caring.
He knew everything I liked and made sure to do it.
I had imagined a future with him, and yet when I compared them both, my heart leaned towards the cold, distant man.
A nice house, a nice job, our kids, and everything beautiful—that was all I wanted.
That was until the incident.
I agreed to break up with him because I didn’t want to go through emotional blackmail, but in the end, it hurt me so deeply.
I closed my eyes at the back of the car, feeling the night breeze blast against my skin.
A memory from our past surfaced.
He bought me a very expensive necklace and declared that I was going to be his forever.
“Lies,” I muttered out of my slumber.
It was only when I spoke that I realised I had fallen asleep.
“Madam?” The driver looked at me through the mirror.
I tried to keep my eyes open.
We were already close to home.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I am.” I nodded.
I had to act like I had not just fought my ex in the hospital hallway.
Roman couldn’t get a whiff of whatever had happened.
I had to bury it deep and hope it never came to light.
I had no idea how he would react if he found out, but somewhere deep inside me, I knew I didn’t want to find out.
I had a silent dinner.
For some reason, I missed Roman even though he had only been gone for five days.
Even if he were around, I knew the likelihood of us having dinner together would be slim, but the thought of knowing he was somewhere close was all the assurance I needed.
“Do you need anything else?” Ana asked when I went to the kitchen to fill my bottle with water.
The evening was chilly and windy, and then it got hot pretty fast in the middle of the night.
“Not at all,” I said with a smile and dragged myself back to the room.
Tomorrow was a workday, and I needed to get into bed now.
My hand was clamped on Roman’s face as I pulled him closer.
I was yearning for a kiss from him, but he was holding himself back.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” His voice was distorted, as ifit was coming from a distance.
He was over me, both his hands pressing into the bed by my side.
I dropped my hands to my stomach and pouted.
I let out a whimper, trying to act cute.
Maybe that would get him to kiss me.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He traced his finger along the side of my face and smiled.
“Are you sure you want this?”
“You are teasing me.” My voice was rough.
I held his chin and pulled him down.
“It’s unfair,” I pouted once again.
Before he could respond, I wrapped my arm over his neck and pulled him down into me.
His chest bounced off mine, and a smirk spread on my lips.
“Kiss me, Roman.”