Chapter 64
Aurora had finished her breakfast. Reaching for the doctor’s coat hanging on the chair, she quickly got ready and headed straight to the front of the house, worried that Asher had already arrived at her residence.
However, when she stepped out, Aurora was taken aback. Instead of her brother, she found Alden there.
“Alden? Why are you here?”
Alden just smiled. He knew Aurora must be confused.
“I’m here to pick you up.”
Aurora paused for a moment. “Pick me up? But I’m supposed to leave for work with Asher. He’s the one who usually picks me up.”
Alden nodded. He didn’t deny Aurora’s statement.
“Yeah, I know. Actually, I came here early because Asher asked me to pick you up in his place.”
This made Aurora even more puzzled. Why would her brother suddenly ask Alden to pick her up? Was it intentional because he wanted her and Alden to get closer again?
“Wait,” Alden said. He then took out his phone, opened the messaging app, and showed it to Aurora. “I’m not lying. Asher asked for my help.”
Aurora turned to look. She directed her brown eyes to the phone Alden handed her.
Asher: Alden, you have a morning schedule today, right? If you don’t mind, please pick up Aurora and take her to the hospital. I have some important matters this morning that I can’t leave.
After reading it, Aurora sighed. Her brother just casually passed her off to someone else. If he was busy, why didn’t he say so from the beginning? She also had a driver who could have been utilized.
“Asher is such a jerk. He didn’t even mention that he asked you to pick me up.”
Alden chuckled at Aurora’s annoyed expression. It was understandable that the woman was getting irritated by her brother.
“It’s okay, really. Besides, I don’t mind being asked to pick you up.”
“But, I’m sure this was deliberate.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Alden replied casually. “Whether deliberate or not, I’m sincerely willing to pick you up.”
Aurora sighed. Then Alden was allowed to get into the car immediately. What else could she do? She had already been picked up and it was impossible to refuse. She resigned herself to accompanying him to the hospital.
“Do you want to grab breakfast first?” Alden offered as they drove. He knew very well that Aurora was the type of person who had to have breakfast before doing anything.
“I’ve already had breakfast, but if you want to grab breakfast first, that’s fine. Go ahead.”
While driving, Alden shook his head.
“No, I brought some.”
Then, while continuing to drive, Alden used one hand to open the dashboard. He took something out from there and handed it to Aurora.
“What’s this?”
“Just open it,” Alden requested without taking his focus off the road.
Meanwhile, Aurora complied. She opened the blue lunchbox in her hand. Inside, she found a sandwich filled with eggs and meat, which she used to eat frequently in the past.
“Oh my, this is from back in the day.”
“When we were in college, you used to make me lunches like this all the time.”
Aurora laughed. It was crazy how almost every day Alden reminded her of the small things they used to do when they were dating.
“Can I have one?” Aurora took out a piece of cake from the box. She looked at it while turning it over and over.
“Sure, go ahead. Just don’t forget to say a prayer first.”
Aurora laughed happily. As she ate, she couldn’t help but remember the flashes of the past when she and Alden used to finish a whole box of sandwiches together in the campus library. And they did that almost every day without getting bored.
“It tastes just like it used to,” Aurora said admiringly. She believed that the sandwich Alden made tasted exactly the same as the ones she used to have.
Along the way to the hospital, Aurora enjoyed the sandwich given by Alden. Once they arrived and after making sure Aurora entered the room, Alden immediately left to carry out his daily tasks.
“Looks like someone is happy.”
Just as she sat down, Velia started teasing. Seeing Aurora coming to the hospital with Alden in person, it was certain that Velia would make fun of her.
“Happy about what?”
Aurora pretended to be indifferent. It would be dangerous if Velia knew she was getting sentimental about being treated kindly by her ex-boyfriend.
“Gosh, why can’t you just be honest if you actually enjoy Alden’s company?”
Aurora squinted. Even though it might be true, she still didn’t appreciate being accused so blatantly.
“Seriously! I’m fine, really.”
“What do you mean fine? Your face can’t lie, Rora. Look at those stars in your eyes.”
Velia was always the first to grumble or tease. There was always something for her to use to corner Aurora. But, for some reason, Aurora was very fond of her friend.
“It’s still early. Let’s not start World War III.”
“Who’s starting a war? I’m just being honest. Besides, even if you’re happy, it’s not a big deal. You’re free to be close and have relationships with any guy. As long as they’re not someone else’s husband.”
Aurora just nodded. She didn’t really care about Velia’s nagging. But, she never ran out of material; there was always something her friend would talk about and turn into conversation fodder.
“I almost forgot.”
“What now?”
“This week there’s the annual gathering event. Are you going?”
While checking the report, Aurora shrugged. She hadn’t really thought about whether she would attend or not, as usual.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Do you have plans?”
Aurora shook her head. Usually, when she was still Alex’s wife, every weekend was spent going out or having dinner together. Now that she was officially single, Aurora hadn’t thought about what activities she would do.
“Nothing.”
Velia sighed loudly.
“Geez. If you don’t have any urgent schedules or agendas, you might as well join the gathering event. It’s fun. Once a year.”
“Yeah, I know. Alden also asked me to join earlier.”
Velia immediately perked up and pulled the chair in front of Aurora’s desk. Sitting there, she engaged her friend in a one-on-one conversation.
“Well, that’s clearly an invitation for a date. You shouldn’t refuse.”
“Who’s going on a date?” Trying to recall, Alden inviting her to join the annual gathering event. There was no mention whatsoever of a date or anything like that. Velia was just making things up.
“It’s you and Alden.”
“Who’s going on a date? Alden just invited me to the gathering event.”
Velia nodded.
“Well, that’s just an excuse for him to still get close to you there. Plus, are you really okay with letting Alden go to the gathering alone? Don’t forget, he’s handsome. There are plenty of nurses and colleagues who have their eyes on him. What if he gets snatched up by someone else? Are you okay with that?”
Seriously, Aurora had never thought that far. Velia was going crazy. This woman was indeed skilled at provoking and instigating others.
“I think you’re overreacting.”
“How am I overreacting? I’m serious. Don’t regret it later if he suddenly gets taken by someone else because you’re slow to make a decision.”
Then, Velia got up. She grabbed Aurora’s wrist to follow her.
“Let’s go to the second floor. There’s a new doctor introduction today, right?”
Aurora nodded. Luckily Velia reminded her. Then, both of them headed to the meeting room on the second floor. There, many doctors had already gathered.
“Doctor Alden.”
Velia immediately greeted when she saw Alden entering the room with Asher. She waved for him to come over along with Aurora.
“I thought Doctor Alden had a morning surgery schedule.”
Alden smiled.
“Today, fortunately, there’s none. I have a surgery scheduled for this afternoon, a patient transferred from Singapore.”
Then Asher asked for attention. He invited the doctors to listen to him.
“As I mentioned earlier, today our hospital is welcoming three new doctors. I hope all of you can work together for the progress of Santa Monica Hospital.”
After that, one by one, Asher asked the new doctors to introduce themselves.
“Hello, I’m Haris, an anesthesiologist.”
“I’m Jasson. A specialist in orthopedics.”
The last one left to introduce herself happened to be a woman.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Thank you for the welcome. I’m Regina. A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. I hope to work well here.”
Regina smiled broadly. She looked at each of the doctors in front of her.