Chapter 45
The morning light barely touched the hospital corridors when Ellie found herself wheeling Alex to the imaging room. One minute, he was strolling around his hospital room with an air of arrogance, and the next, he was lying back in bed, complaining that he felt dizzy and couldn’t get up. Ellie let out a sigh of frustration.
“Get in the wheelchair,” she said, her voice laced with irritation.
Alex, ever the difficult patient, lay there scrolling through his phone, not bothering to look at her. “I’m dizzy. I can’t sit,” he grumbled in response.
Ellie clenched her jaw, trying to control her anger as she fetched the wheelchair. She had no choice but to force him into it. After all, if he wasn’t going to cooperate, she was the one who would bear the brunt of it.
She pushed him down the hallway toward the imaging room, but Alex wasn’t done testing her patience. As they rolled down the hall, he kicked at her arm. “Push my pillow up higher,” he demanded, his tone dripping with entitlement.
Ellie stepped forward, adjusting the pillow for him, trying to keep her composure. Just as she turned to walk away, Alex spoke again.
“I want water,” he said, barely pausing before the words left his mouth.
Ellie frowned, exasperated. “You can have some after the scan.”
Before she could finish speaking, Alex yanked the IV line out of his arm, his face a mixture of defiance and childishness. The nurse exchanged an awkward glance with Ellie, who stopped dead in her tracks, seething with anger. This was becoming too much.
In the hallway, Alex sat sulking on a gurney in his hospital gown. Ellie stood nearby, her white lab coat a stark contrast to his patient attire. They locked eyes, an unspoken tension hanging in the air.
As they waited, the occasional nurse or patient walked by, giving curious glances. Whispers started to swirl around them.
“What’s going on with those two? Are they a couple?” one whispered to another.
“I heard they’re dating. The girl’s a doctor in our department, and her boyfriend is some rich guy.”
“That makes sense. He looks handsome, but like trouble.”
“For sure. There’s probably some domestic violence lurking beneath the surface,” someone else muttered.
Alex remained on the gurney, seething in silence. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, he finally snapped.
“Are you gonna come over here or what?” he demanded, his voice sharp.
The onlookers, unable to hold back any longer, chimed in.
“Dude, treat your girlfriend better!” one of them called out.
“Seriously, can’t you see she’s almost in tears?” another said.
Alex’s face turned red with frustration. “She’s not my girlfriend!” he growled, trying to control his temper.
Just then, a man in a patient gown pushed through the crowd, seemingly oblivious to the tension. “You two will get along. Catch her!” he said before shoving Ellie forward.
With a yelp, Ellie lost her balance and fell straight into Alex’s arms. The impact sent them both crashing onto the gurney, and in that split second, their lips collided.
Gasps filled the corridor as the onlookers whipped out their phones, recording the unexpected kiss. The momentum from their fall sent the gurney careening down the hallway, with the two wide-eyed individuals still locked in a kiss.
The corridor quickly filled with more curious onlookers, some laughing, others snapping photos. The gurney finally collided with a cart next to the nurse’s station, sending them to an abrupt halt.
Ellie scrambled off the gurney, her face flushed with embarrassment. She abandoned Alex and dashed into the elevator, desperate to escape the scene.
Alex slowly sat up, instinctively touching his lips, still processing what had just happened.
The entire day was a blur for Ellie, who hid out in the plastic surgery department, too embarrassed to face anyone. She couldn’t escape the feeling that the incident had sealed some kind of awkward connection between her and Alex, and she had no idea how to undo it.
As the day wound down, Ellie overheard a colleague mention that Alex had been discharged, and a wave of relief washed over her.
Later that evening, Nancy returned home with her husband after a night out. She spotted Alex staring at a painting of a woman on the wall, his gaze distant and dazed.
“You got out of the hospital pretty quick, huh?” Nancy remarked, arching an eyebrow.
Alex snapped out of his trance, hurriedly heading upstairs. “Damn it,” he muttered to himself, clearly rattled.
Nancy finished her shower and came out, multitasking with her skincare routine as she chatted with her husband.
“Honey, it seems like Alex and Haley are really into each other. If he’s thinking about settling down, we should help him out,” she said, wiping her face.
Alex’s father, Todd, put down his magazine. “With his attitude, if he doesn’t find someone who can handle him, I truly worry he’s gonna blow through all his money. Honestly, if Ellie hadn’t gone into medicine, she would’ve been perfect for him.”
Nancy smiled at the thought of Ellie. “That girl’s too soft. There’s no way she could tame your stubborn son. She’d be more suited to be a beloved daughter than a daughter-in-law.”
“As the saying goes, establish a family before building a career. We need to talk to him and ensure he’s ready to take over the company,” Todd replied, turning serious. “He can’t keep being so irresponsible.”
Nancy nodded, determination in her eyes. “We’ll have to talk to him. He needs to understand the responsibility of taking over the company.”
The two of them walked upstairs to find Alex, but when they reached his room, they noticed the door was slightly ajar. Nancy pushed it open, only to find Alex rolling around on the bed, hugging a pillow and mushing his face into it. His breathless sounds of delight filled the room.
Todd and Nancy glanced at each other, shocked and amused at the sight before them.
