Chapter 365 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“What is going to happen to me?”

“Dr. Drew is going to take care of you, and then you will be all better and go back to doing what kids your age do,” Lucas said, trying to sound cheerful.

“But I don’t want Dr. Drew. I don’t want any other doctor. It’s you I want. Where are you going to? Maybe mom can bring me there so that you can continue to treat me and make me feel better,” the little boy cried, and Lucas knew that he needed to leave before other patients got hold of the news.

“I’m just going to travel for the time being. I’m taking a break from work. You know what you can do?” Lucas asked as he straightened up, and the kid shook his head.

“You can always call me whenever nurse Abigail comes with the big needle you fear so much, and even though I won’t be there to hold your hands physically, you will hear my voice and know that I’m with you,” Lucas promised.

“Always?” The kid asked, and Lucas nodded.

“Always,” Lucas promised, and then he leaned forward to embrace the child before stepping back, “I have to leave now before the other patients start trooping in. If I have to give every one of them my contact line to reach me, then I might not be able to receive the call of my favorite patient when Nurse Abigail comes with the big needle,” Lucas said as he ruffled the kid’s hair playfully, and the kid gave him a wobbly smile.

“I’m going to see you again, right?” The kid asked hopefully.

“Sure. As long as you receive your treatment and don’t give the next doctor a hard time, we will definitely see. Now return to your ward,” Lucas said before glancing at the kid’s mother.

“Take care of him. And don’t worry, he is in safe hands here,” Lucas assured her, and she wiped her tears as she embraced him before wheeling her son out of his office.

Now seated on his bed, Lucas felt a shudder run through his body as he thought about his job, his colleagues, his patients, and the life he loved but had to give up so that he could cut ties with Rachel and her family. For the first time since he broke up with her, he had a deep feeling of sadness, and before he knew it, he began to sob uncontrollably.

He slid off the edge of the bed and sat on the floor as he wept. He didn’t know how long he sat there crying until he heard the sound of his phone ringing.

He ignored it at first and just went to the bathroom to run some water over his face. He looked back at his reflection in the mirror and sighed when he noticed the five o’clock shadow on his face.

He felt exhausted. He was emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained. He wanted nothing more than to just be left on his own. He wanted to sleep. He was going to head over to the apartment he shared with Rachel the next day to pack up his personal stuff. She could have the furniture and whatever else. All he wanted was his clothes and his peace. He craved peace the most at the moment.

As he returned to the bed, he picked up his phone, which had started ringing again for the third time, and he cleared his throat when he realized that it was Celsie before receiving the call, “Sup?” He asked, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt. If at all there was anything in his life to be joyful about at the moment.

“How are you feeling now, Luc?” Celsie asked in concern, after making up her mind that she would keep the information away from him if he sounded the least bit weird.

“Exhausted. I finally cried. Rachel came over to the house earlier, and I handed in my resignation letter today. It was pretty tough,” Lucas confessed.

“Rachel was there? What did she want?” Celsie asked, torn between her anger at Rachel and her sadness for Lucas.

Lucas decided not to tell her that Rachel had broken in through the kitchen window, “To make up. But I made it clear that I was done,” Lucas assured her.

“Alright. Your boss, what did he say about your resignation?” Celsie asked curiously.

“He tried to convince me not to resign, but I didn’t give in. Anyway, I’m done with that. It’s all behind me now,” Lucas said, trying to make light of it so that Celsie wouldn’t know just how affected he was by it all.

“I’m so sorry, Luc,” Celsie said; her heart felt very heavy as she listened to him. More than anything, she wished she didn’t have to break this news to him and add to all that was happening in his life at the moment. Just how much could a man take at once? How much could Lucas take?

“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m fine, I assure you. I just need to take some time off to myself, and I can assure you that I will be fine,” Lucas said confidently. Not only to convince Celsie but also to convince himself that the ache in his heart would stop and he would feel better sometime soon.

“I hope so. I really hope so,” Celsie said with a sigh.

“How are mom and dad? I’m going to move my stuff from the apartment I shared with Rachel tomorrow. I will leave them here before traveling.”

“Have you made up your mind on a place you’re traveling to?”

“Not yet. When it’s time, I will know,” Lucas said.

“Alright,” Celsie said as the little coward in her head suggested that she accept what he was saying and hang up the call. But she couldn’t. Her heart was beating really fast as she tried to organize the words in her head.

“Did you just call to check on me?” Lucas asked, suspecting that Celsie wanted to say something.

“Uhm, no,” Celsie said and shut her eyes tightly as she tried to summon all the courage she could to say what needed to be said.

“What is it?” Lucas asked, his guards up when he heard the weariness in her voice. He didn’t know how but could tell that whatever she wanted to say wasn’t going to be good.

“We found out the person behind me and Sonia’s scandal. Her name is Anita Miller. She is Rachel’s cousin,” Celsie rushed to say.

“Where is Celsie?” Jade asked when Benne joined her on the patio, and she didn’t see Celsie with him.

“I left her upstairs. She has to make an important phone call,” Benne said, and Jade nodded.

“I suppose she is telling her twin brother about his ex-fiancee?” Jade asked thoughtfully since that was the only thing she could think of that would keep Celsie upstairs. Not that she thought Celsie didn’t have other important things to attend to, but from the way Benne had said it, she could tell it was an unpleasant phone call.

“Yeah.”

“That must be tough. You should have stayed up with her,” Jade said, and Benne’s brows pulled together.

“Maybe I should have. But lately, I feel like I’m being overly protective of her and treating her like she is too fragile and would break under the least amount of pressure. I figured I give her space to handle this on her own. She loves being independent,” Benne said with a shrug, but Jade could tell that he was worried about Celsie.

Jade sighed, “I feel sorry for them both,” Jade said, not knowing how she would feel if she was in their shoes. She wasn’t even directly involved, yet the mere thought of it made her heart ache.

“Me too. Earlier in the car, you didn’t forget your phone with Sonia, did you?” Benne changed the subject since it was making him want to return upstairs to be with Celsie.

Jade flashed him a smile as he joined her in bringing three tables together to form a long table that would accommodate them all, “How did you know?”

“Because I’m your older brother, and I can always tell when you’re telling a lie,” Benne said with a shrug.

“Yeah. Why do I always forget that? You both looked like you needed to talk, so I decided to give you space since I know that you won’t have the privacy to do that until late at night,” Jade said, and Benne reached out to ruffle her hair.

“Thanks. It helped.”

“Do you want to tell me what you both were fighting about? Or were you both that way because you told Celsie about Rachel?” Jade asked as she draped a floral tablecloth over the tables while Benne spread it out at the other end of the table.

“It wasn’t a fight. We just had a lot on our mind,” Benne said, not wanting to talk about it. He wanted nothing more than to put it behind him.

“Where is Celsie?” Sonia asked as she and Bryan joined them, and she noticed that Celsie wasn’t with them.

“She is upstairs. She will join us soon,” Benne said as he moved to arrange some glass cups on the table.

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