Standing in the doorway was a fresh-faced and pretty nurse whom they had never seen before. She had a medical record in one hand and the other held a pen as it rested on the doorknob.
The nurse had frozen in place after seeing the unexpected scene before her and she only snapped out of her daze when she registered what Tony had said. She stammered as she flushed, “P-Pardon me. I saw that the door was open, so I came in without knocking.”
Meanwhile, Myra was blushing all the way down to her neck as she tore herself away from him despite his firm hold. As she straightened her posture, she shot him a deadly glare before turning to give the nurse a sheepish look. “I’m sorry; are you here to check up on him? I can step away for a bit while you do your work.”
The nurse hummed pensively in response. Myra could be wrong, but she thought there could have been a cold gleam in the nurse’s eyes as the latter acknowledged her. However, the nurse resumed her demure countenance as she glanced over at Tony and asked warily, “H-Have I perhaps arrived at the wrong time?”
He eyed her placidly and he was nonchalant as he replied, “You may proceed with the check-up.”
“Oh, of course!” The nurse placed the medical record on his bed as she hastened to assess his wounds. When she was done, she scribbled notes onto the record. Then, she nodded as she declared, “Your wounds are healing just fine, but you have to be careful not to tear them again.”
“Thank you, Miss,” Myra interjected gratefully, having stood at one side throughout the nurse’s assessment.
Upon hearing that, the nurse turned and appraised her with a frown. Myra shrugged it off, thinking that she was peeved after she had caught them fooling around earlier. After all, she did mention that he had to take care not to tear his wounds open.
Tony, on the other hand, abruptly pulled Myra toward him, but he had strained his arm in the process and his wounds tore open slightly. Seeing this, the nurse let out a small gasp and quickly held his arm.
When she saw that the other two were giving her an odd look, she regained composure and managed a disapproving look as she chided, “He’ll tear his wounds if he strains himself like this. I’ll have to get someone to bandage them up again.”
An alarmed Myra said apologetically, “Sorry for putting you through the trouble.”
With nothing more to say, the nurse rushed out the door, but she was stopped in her tracks when Tony frowned and countered stonily, “It’s nothing serious. There’s no need to bandage the wounds again.”
Myra stared at him. “Why don’t you stop messing things up?”
He settled down slightly when he caught her pointed gaze. The nurse, on the other hand, had frozen in place before she saw their exchange and now hurried out of the room with an unreadable look on her face.
It wasn’t long before she returned with another nurse and the both of them had a cart between them.
After they had changed the dressing, they each let out a sigh of relief and the second nurse nudged the first one as she teased, “I’ve never seen you this serious when you do your rounds, Hayley. We only have to do three rounds each, but you’ve done at least five or six of them here. Are you perhaps angling for a better performance review this month?”
Hayley had felt a lump in her throat when she heard the first part of her colleague’s words and she had almost reached out to grab the latter’s arm to make her stop talking. However, upon hearing the second half of the statement, Hayley visibly relaxed.
Her gaze darted quickly to the impassive-looking man on the bed before she retorted nonchalantly, “I don’t care about the performance review.” She looked as though she was about to say something more, but swallowed her words after casting a sideways glance at Myra.
After having wrapped up their task in Tony’s hospital room, the two nurses pushed the cart out the door. Then, the nurse playfully bumped her shoulder against Hayley, snapping the girl out of her daze as she asked, “What’s going on with you? Do you have a thing for Director Hart?”
A shocked Hayley made to clamp her hand over her colleague’s mouth, but the latter had dodged in time and raised a quizzical brow at her. “There’s no point trying to keep it a secret from me. Director Hart’s fiancée might not have noticed it, but everyone else can tell you have feelings for him—it’s written all over your face.”
Hayley was taken aback at first, but a slow smile started to tug on her lips as she turned to look at the other nurse. “Are you saying that everyone knows except for Miss Stark?”
“Well, of course.” The nurse rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious. But, Hayley, seeing as both our fathers have maintained a long-standing friendship and you and I are rather close as well, I think it’s my duty to tell you to stay away from that man. I’ve heard that he was the one who pursued Miss Stark romantically and she’s the only person he’ll marry. There were plenty of women who threw themselves at him a couple of years ago, but he didn’t so much as spare them a glance and he couldn’t even be bothered with the attention they gave him. You know that lady who stays on this floor—the one with the badly disfigured face? She ended up in this terrible state because she offended Miss Stark. One can’t help but feel sorry for her.”
The nurse then patted Hayley’s shoulder and added, “Your father’s been setting you up with a couple of dates, hasn’t he? Take this chance to find a good man to settle down with—someone whose status is similar to ours. Trust me, you don’t want to get yourself entangled with Director Hart.”
“I don’t like how you’re putting it, Marianne,” A displeased Hayley protested. “Isn’t Director Hart and his family way out of Miss Stark’s league too? Besides, we come from political families, Marianne. Who is to say that I can’t be useful to the Hart Family?”
Marianne frowned. “The Hart Family would naturally have strong political connections, so they’ll have no use for people like us. I’m just looking out for you. It won’t end well for you if you fall too deep.”
“I know,” Hayley replied as she nodded while they made their way toward the nursing unit. She knew that Marianne would only continue to nag if she did not accede to her advice. “I know you mean well and I promise I won’t overstep my boundaries.”
However, their conversation only made her more determined to pursue the man. Why shouldn’t I go after the most eligible bachelor? We’re both unmarried, so I have every right to pursue him. Besides, didn’t Marianne just say that everyone can tell I have feelings for him? Does that mean that he knows too?
As Hayley dwelled on that thought, she told herself that she liked him not because of his wealth, status or family background, but for who he truly was. She convinced herself that she had his best interests in heart and having done so, she felt much better.
…
Meanwhile, Myra had waited until the nurses left the wars before she shot Tony several affronted looks. “I was the one who made the meal—right to the very last dish. You can either eat it or go hungry for the rest of the night!”
She was furious at how he didn’t seem to care about his own body in the slightest.
When he heard that, his expression softened and he beckoned her over to the bed.
Myra pursed her lips and refused to budge. Seeing this, he raised a brow and made as if to get down from the bed.
He had only just been put on the IV and she grew worried that he could very well detach the cannula. Out of resignation, she sauntered over to him.
Tony reached out to clasp her hand in his and his voice was flat as he responded, “I’m hungry, but my hands are rather clumsy at the moment.”
She nearly sputtered at this. He was a proud man, but he had as good as told her that he was hungry and he wanted her to spoon-feed him.
An amused Myra glanced at their overlapping hands and pointed out, “You have to let go of my hand if you want me to bring the dishes over.”
Tony nodded and released her so that she could bring the dishes over to him. However, instead of feeding him, she placed the containers down next to the bed and added, “Here you go. You’ll have to eat dinner on your own because I need to ask the nurses whether you have to be on the IV for the rest of the night once you’re done with this bottle.”
With that, she stepped away from him and headed out the door.
He watched as she walked away with her straight back. Then, he raised a brow as his lips curved up in a smirk.
…
In another hospital room, Gemma had regained consciousness after the sedative wore off and her previously calm demeanor was swiftly replaced with several rounds of her hysterical fits.
