The Royal Contract

1182 Two peas in a pod

She had lost her mind.

That was the only explanation for her actions.

She still could not believe that she had sought him out. Instead of waiting for his response, she went looking for him, barged into his place of work without an appointment, and asked him on a date.

She always thought of himself as a modern woman, capable of doing what men could do. But she had never done any of her actions lately. Not with any men. But then again, she had her reasons.

“Dr. Sheldon.” Suddenly, her name echoed on the hospital walls as someone paged her, demanding that she should report to the emergency area.

Either a senior doctor called for her, requiring her assistance, or an old patient wanted to see her, but the bottom line, she had to report immediately.

She rushed along the busy hallway, avoiding running. But she still quickened her pace, hurrying to get from point A to point B. In just a few minutes, she stood in the middle of the Emergency Room, attending to several casualties of food poisoning.

“I want you to assist Dr. Jacob.” Her attendee instructed, telling her what she should do. It was her first time handling this kind of massive casualty.

She counted at least twenty casualties, laying in pain on the beds with different severities of illnesses. But they said there might be more. They attended a wedding ceremony. Then, one by one, each guest collapsed in the middle of the reception.

.....

She could still the siren outside the door wailing. She guessed more were coming as expected. She moved quickly and walked straight to Dr. Jacob, who instructed her to examine the three beds nearest her.

She started interviewing the patients, asking what they ate. “When did you feel the pain? What were their symptoms? On a scale of one to ten, how high was the pain, with ten being the most painful.”

She gathered most of the answers were different from the others. But one thing stuck in her mind. It might be the sashimi platter since it was the common factor with all the patients.

She knew, for a fact, that eating raw fish can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain, especially if the catering company did not handle the preservation of the meat properly.

“Just relax, and I will get back to you once I have the result.” She assured one of her last patients before returning to the desk to consolidate her diagnosis.

Of course, she could not rule out the other possibilities. But the laboratory would confirm her diagnosis once they gave the results. So far, the other doctors had yielded a few different prognoses.

But she believed that was not uncommon. It could sometimes be helpful if they could brainstorm on a situation and give different opinions. It could lead them to a better understanding of the situation.

“All we can do now is wait.” She told the nurse frustratedly, realizing she had nothing else to do, but have some free time.

She was glad of the chaos earlier since it gave her the distraction to keep her thoughts away from two things. Then, she corrected herself. She meant two men.

“What is wrong with you?” The doctor right next to her asked, probably noticing her uncharacteristic behavior. Under normal circumstances, she was bubbly and a lively person. But today, she could hardly put a smile on her lips.

“Nothing.” She handed all the finished charts onto the desk and walked outside the ER to get some fresh air, leaving the other doctor to stare at her back.

But she was barely outside the door when the other doctor called her name. “Roseann, wait up.” She called to her.

She slowed down, knowing she could not outrun her. She was physically fitter than her since she used to be a varsity athlete back in the day. Although she could run, her friend was faster.

“What is wrong with you?” She repeated. “And don’t you dare deny it...” She looked at her with those piercing eyes as if her eyes were running an MRI machine on her head and reading her thoughts.

She stopped on a bench where they usually sat down if they needed silence, away from the buzz and chaos of the hospital. Then, she took a seat and stared at the sky above.

Her friend sat beside her without speaking, but she knew she was waiting for a reply. Shamefully, she had never told her friend about this, but she guessed it was time to hear her thoughts.

“I think I am in love.” She said, but her face looked like someone had just died.

“Say again.” Her friend was surprised, understandably so. It was the first time she was hearing her say things like love. It had never been in her vocabulary since they met, and she thought it would be a while before she would utter that word.

“I know it sounds crazy.” Roseann looked at her friend, exasperated by her situation. “I and love don’t mix.” She repeated what she kept repeating in her head, but her heart did not want to listen.

“And who is this lucky person?” She asked, but her eyes narrowed at her before retracting her words. “Should I say, unlucky man?”

She still could not even say his name, afraid that if she said it loudly, it would become real and not just her fantasy. Of course, the last thing she wanted was to encourage her feelings. On the contrary, she wished to suppress it.

“I think you know who?” Roseann finally decided that telling her friend was the better option. Maybe her friend could guide her to the right path.

Her friend took a while to realize who she was talking about as her brows knitted into a tight knot at the center. But when her lips formed an O shape, she knew she had figured out the man she had been coveting.

“Oh my...” She expressed in shock. “No...” She still denied it. “No...” But this time, she sounded convinced when she nodded in affirmation. “Really?” She asked again for final verification. This chapter is updatᴇd by ɴovel(F)ɪre

“Yes.” She confirmed her suspicion with words. She knew she had discovered her secret even without saying the name. “And I don’t know what to do.”

“Damn! I warned you before never to get too close.” She mumbled, slightly hinting at disappointment, anger, and pity. “But you still let your guard down.” Her friend shook her head as if she still could not believe it.

“Now, you can tell me. I told you so.” She told her friend, who had been her companion through thick and thin during their premed days.

“I told you so.” Her friend finally said, with a sad smile. “Anyway, I hope you are not thinking of pursuing this path. You know nothing good will come out of this.” She reminded her.

“Of course, I have no plan of wrecking my sister’s future. I firmly believe she will wake up soon, and they will be happy together.” Then, Roseann remembered the scene she had witnessed last night.

She watched David reaffirm his love for her sister by throwing a beautiful, romantic dinner for their anniversary. She saw how much David loved her sister and that not even her illness or death could break them apart.

“That is good to hear.” Her friend expressed a sigh of relief after hearing her statement. “I think you need a distraction.”

She heard the wheels in her friend’s head turning. She could see her eyes rolling as she came up with an idea. “You should start dating. I know a guy that would be perfect for you.” She hurriedly recommended.

“I already started dating.” She said, then realized that was not accurate. “I meant I already asked a guy for a date tonight.” But that was the problem. He still had not called to confirm their date.

“You what?” Her friend’s eyes almost popped out from her astonishment. “What guy? And why am I only hearing about all of this?” She looked pissed.

She faced her and stared into her eyes. But she was not afraid of her. Her bark was scarier than her bite. And she believed she could handle that. She just needed a few minutes to settle and calm down.

“Remember the man I met at the bar a few weeks ago.” She began to explain to her friend what happened, sparing no details. Then, she related to her the proposal she offered him.

“Are you crazy, Roseann? He could be a killer, a psychopath...” Her friend would go on and on about her opinion of her actions if she did not stop her.

“I know that. But I already made a few background checks on Adam. So far, he seemed ok.” She looked down at her hands, wondering if she was still thinking straight.

“I am all for equality between men and women, but are you sure you can handle sex without commitment?” Her friend asked, looking skeptical about her plan.

“Don’t you see? It is perfect.” She tried to convince her friend. “You know I can’t handle committed relationships. In this way, whatever this thing I feel for David would eventually disappear if I am distracted with Adam.”

She was not a prude. Of course, she had slept with men. But she did not like it when they started getting attached. She did not want a relationship, especially when they demanded things from her, like time.

Therefore, she believed that Adam was her answer. They were two peas in a pod. They were in the same situation, and they both needed a distraction. They were perfect in this situation if only he would agree with her.????n????????e????????. ????o????