Love Redux: Fated to the Handsome Doctor

In that evening, Andre barely closed his eyes. He was in his apartment, but his heart and mind were still in Lara’s hospital room.

“Sigh… Lara, how else can I bring you closer like before?” He murmured while staring at the pale blue ceiling of his room. Lara’s presence was deeply etched in his heart. Andre couldn’t just let it go. He wouldn’t give up, especially now that Lara was no longer someone else’s wife.

Andre’s phone vibrated. An unknown number appeared on the screen. Andre furrowed his brows in confusion, but… his intuition told him that he had to answer this call.

“Hello?” Andre greeted coldly. He didn’t recognize the number displayed. Whose voice would greet him was still a mystery. Andre had to remain vigilant.

“Ndre. It’s me, Lara.”

Instantly, Andre’s heart raced faster than usual. His cold demeanor disappeared into thin air. Andre sat up straight and responded warmly to Lara’s call. “Lara? Whose number is this?” Andre asked to confirm.

“It’s someone’s number that I don’t recognize. But, the point is… I need to talk to you, Ndre,” Lara replied.

“Oh, right, your phone was destroyed in the accident yesterday, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct, and this phone is a gift from…” Lara’s voice stopped abruptly. Her chest heaved as she suppressed the anxiety, fear, and frustration over the futile sadness all this time if her mother hadn’t actually died.

“Lara?” Andre called out to her. Lara seemed to be taking a deep breath. The rough sound of her breath echoed clearly in the doctor’s, her friend’s, ears. “A gift from whom?” Andre wanted to know the continuation of Lara’s story.

Lara was ready to answer. “Mom.”

“W-what?!”

***

Lara and Andre’s conversation floated without direction, as they decided this discussion had to continue face to face. The next morning, Andre immediately visited Lara, and now they were face to face.

“Tell me, Ra! How did your mom contact you?” Andre asked, curious and concerned. Was it true that Lara’s mother hadn’t really died? Or… was Lara actually being deceived by someone?

“So… yesterday there was a strange man who gave me this phone, Ndre. Then, Mom called. I only talked briefly and then turned it off,” Lara recounted.

Andre shook his head in disbelief. This truly baffled him. But, on one hand, he felt relieved because the opportunity to restore his family’s name was finally open.

“So, now you understand, right, what I meant?” Andre said, looking straight at Lara.

“About what?” Lara asked again.

“Not my family, Ra, who killed your mother. No! Moreover, the accident was really just a scrape, not life-threatening,” Andre explained. But Lara remained unmoved. She still found it difficult to understand everything.

“Read and find out for yourself here, Ra. This is a copy of the police investigation documents, well, I got it secretly because I have to prove to you that I’m not gu-”

“Sssh… Yes, Ndre, yes. I believe,” Lara interrupted, placing her index finger on Andre’s lips to stop him from talking too much. But instead of stopping, Andre kissed her finger tenderly, then… “May I kiss you, Ra?”

Lara widened her eyes, but this time she didn’t refuse. With a faint nod, Andre finally crossed the romantic bridge he had longed for. Lara. The woman finally opened her heart.

“Mmh…” Lara sighed in pleasure from the deep kiss Andre gave her. It seemed difficult for him to stop, but… a ringing phone managed to make them come back to reality.

“Who is it, Ra?” Andre asked irritably. He was truly annoyed by the irresponsible call.

“I-it’s, Mom….” Lara answered ambiguously. She still didn’t know whether it was her mother or someone else pretending to be her mother.

“Hello?”

“Lynn! You finally picked up the phone. Meet Mom on the rooftop, now!”

“Mom? Are you really my Mom?” Lara demanded an explanation. Her eyes teared up with pent-up anger that was growing hotter. Andre immediately landed a hug to calm his beloved woman.

“This is Mom, Lynn! Have you forgotten your mother’s voice?”

“This is impossible!”

“Lynn! Go up to the rooftop and Mom will explain everything.”

Lara ended the call and looked at Andre with a skeptical gaze.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“What did she say?” Andre asked curiously.

“Mom wants me to go to the rooftop now, Ndre.”

“Let’s go, I’ll accompany you!”

Lara nodded. She had to confirm with her own eyes that her mother was indeed still alive and had been deceiving her for years.

***

Meanwhile, at a Japanese restaurant, Seno, Miriam, and the President Director of Andromeda-Miriam’s father, were having a secret meeting.

“An interesting offer,” the President Director said while stroking his long beard.

“Papa is interested in this distribution offer?” Miriam asked, flipping through the documents in her hands.

“This drug will be a massive success for both of us. I have also secured cooperation with the Ministry of Health to ensure that this drug circulates widely in society,” Seno explained with his sweet charm.

After Madam’s large capital was withdrawn instantly, Seno’s company was in trouble. Fortunately, Seno had made a backup plan by secretly collaborating in the black market.

There were several sponsors willing to replace Madam’s position, of course, with equivalent compensation.

“I think it’s good enough. Especially with the opportunity to open our hospital in other areas for expansion. What do you think, my Princess?” the President Director asked attentively. Miriam was indeed his favorite daughter. Her thoughts and arguments were truly mature considerations in every policy.

“I agree, Dad. This is the right step to start expanding the business,” she said, staring intensely at Seno. Miriam knew that this step was the first step to make their romantic cooperation a reality.

Seno’s success would lead to the disappearance of Lara from his life and Andre’s. Miriam would cooperate well to ensure their goals were achieved without any obstacles.

“All right, Mr. Seno. I approve this contract.”

“Thank you, Mr. President Director! I really appreciate it.”

The business meeting was warm and friendly. In his heart, the President Director saw the compatibility of his daughter’s aura with the CEO of the S-Group. “Sorry, are you already married?” the President Director asked suddenly.

Miriam was taken aback, as was Seno. However, their relationship was purely business.

“I already have a wife, Sir.” Seno didn’t want to dig his own grave by lying. In this digital era, background checks could be done in a timely manner. Olivia Wilson had been registered as his legitimate wife, replacing Lara.

With a little grease money and powerful hacking skills, all digital traces of him and his ex-wife, Lara, would be easily erased. No one would know that Lara Selene Smith had once been his partner.

“Well, it’s a pity, isn’t it? I really like you. We should have met earlier so you could be my son-in-law,” joked the President Director, which Miriam didn’t find funny!

“Dad! That’s not funny!”