JL drove two times the speed of his usual driving to quickly resolve the patient’s health issue. He saw the patient being transferred to the operating room while he is changing to his surgical scrubs. He removed his wedding ring for the first time and sealed it inside a zip lock where his usual clothes are placed.
The anesthesiologist signaled him to do the surgery with few interns observing the case. The twenty - year - old woman is carrying a three - month - old baby inside her womb. “I need the assistance of the traumatologist. This is a critical case” he requested to the assistant beside him. The traumatologist entered and it is now his task to observe what will happen to the patient.
“This does not look good, Doc JL. The bleeding in her head is severe and there is a chance that she can suffer fetal loss” the traumatologist said after scanning the woman’s charts and progress. JL shook his head, “We should save the child no matter how hard it is” he replied. While dealing with the patient, he thought that every child is special may it be born or unborn.
The joy he felt from his kids’ movement inside Naomi’s belly earlier made his heart flutter and he can’t think of losing it. He knows that the feeling of having a child is priceless and if lost, it will be bad grief. They started the procedure after making the woman’s husband sign the consent letter from the hospital. There is only forty percent chance of success when the surgery will be made but the husband still hanged to the mere percent of survival.
“Let’s get this done” JL said and started cooperating with the traumatologist. The surgery went about two hours; the whole two hours are filled with complications yet JL and the traumatologist made the miracle to happen. After few ultrasounds, they both witnessed the baby’s heartbeat shown in the sonogram.
JL remembered the first time he saw his twins flashed in the ultrasound machine; he reacted coldly that time and it is his regret that chases him why he did not react positively. He breathed heavily and went outside the operating room. He removed his mask and his hair cap and proceeded to his office to quickly change and go back home to Naomi who filled his inbox texting, “I miss you already”.
He smiled upon reading numerous ‘I miss you’ text messages from her. He opened the office’s door with eyes still focused on Naomi’s messages in his inbox. From the floor, he saw a familiar pair of jelly clogs; he looked up with eyebrows raised. “What are you doing here and what are you doing with that?” he asked.
It is Amber who just got outside from an operation. She is holding JL’s zip locked belongings that are ready to be worn the moment he steps out of the operating room. Amber looked at the zip lock’s content and what caught her attention was JL’s wedding ring with an embossed letter “N” in it. Amber smirked and asked back, “I thought you are single?”.
JL went near and forcibly pulled his belongings away from Amber’s hand. “Intern Boromeo, I thought I have settled things with you one month ago?” he replied while wearing his wedding ring. “S-so you are dead serious that you are in a relationship now?” she unbelievably asked.
JL slowly nodded and answered, “I am married now”. Amber gasped with laughs of embarrassment in her face. “How come I missed this event?” she asked awkwardly. JL turned around answered, “I just married just now, this morning, right at this date” he smiled upon announcing his marriage’s occurrence. Amber dropped down a tear, “If I only I should have confessed earlier maybe I am your wife now” she sentimentally said.
JL turned around and faced her, “I am sorry, Amber. I guess I was stuck on loving her that my heart longed and waited for her only” he replied. She wiped her tears and left his office; she aspired to be a surgeon when she saw JL being headlined in the news as a topnotcher.
She worked with her studies and paid thousands of moneys just to get into an elite school for her credentials to get better. She reached her goal with JL as her inspiration. The admiration she had with JL is ended with a mere admiration only. She was the happiest when she got the chance to talk with JL and to assist him in few of his surgeries.
Her life as an intern is colored by JL teaching him the fundamentals of surgeries. Little did she know that it will end up like that. Just like the old sayings, we can’t force someone to love us despite all the efforts we do.
Her eyes are filled with tears of rage. Few people saw her walking outside JL’s office with flowing tears in her face. JL rejected her for the second time and now he feels his own conscience eating him. For him, he did not sound harsh the moment he said that he loves someone else and that he is already married.
Amber’s friends followed her to the hospital’s fire exit stairs. She sat down in the stairs and there she let all of her tears to flow. Her back is being caressed by her friends; they are the people who witnessed how Amber dedicatedly followed JL, the man she admired the most since she was in high school.
“Doc JL is married” she weakly said while wiping her tears. “It is the top issue this morning. Where were you when the gossip spread around the ward?” one of her three friends asked. Amber answered, “I was off duty”. The other friend tsked, “I still remember how Doc JL charmingly delivered hot meals in the interns’ office before we take exams. I thought he has feelings for you”.
Their gay friend gossiped, “Didn’t you know that the famous CEO in Australia is his ex?”. Amber’s eyes widened, “What do you mean?”. The gay intern handed his phone to Amber flashing the news where Naomi ran away from hers and Luke’s wedding ceremony. Amber confirmed, “Naomi Nievez is her name?”.
“Why? Do you know her? Have you seen her before? Her fiancé is looking for her today here in our city. He is willing to pay a million dollars just to get his wife back” the gay replied. Amber shook her head but deep inside, she is already speculating that Naomi Nievez is the pregnant woman who surprisingly entered inside JL’s office.
Amber surfed to the net to find the news article about Naomi. “If this is the only way that I can get you Doc JL, I will gladly surrender your wife to her original partner” she said in her mind while trying to copy Luke’s phone number in the headline.
JL went back home and had a talk with Naomi while having a snack. “You know I was scared to death earlier when we thought the patient’s child will die” he shared about the emergency surgery they conducted. “Thinking about it, I can imagine how much it will pain the mother if you failed to save her child” she replied.
“I just thought that babies are parents’ happiness. The patient’s husband took the risk just to save both his wife and his child and so we did not fail him” he said while peeling an apple for Naomi to consume. “You sounded like a hero just now” she commended while biting the apple JL peeled for her.
“And so, you should keep yourself and our babies safe” he reminded while pulling her up to sit in the kitchen’s island counter. Naomi’s phone rang; Lorenzia sent her a message stating, “Tell my cousin to have a vacation. I will send you the boarding details I gained from the raffle I joined in the airline”.
“Your cousin is inviting us for a vacation. What do you think?” she asked while her head is leaned on JL’s. He got the phone from Naomi’s hand and looked at the travel link Lorenzia sent. “This does not sound bad. Do you want to go?” he asked. Naomi’s eyes widened and she quickly nodded. JL smiled and replied, “Let me make a call first”.
He immediately dialed his secretary’s number. “File me a leave good for two months” he said and it got promptly accepted. “Done, let’s move out first thing in the morning”. Naomi hesitated, “Aren’t you taking it for so long?” she asked; worrying that maybe JL might lose his job at that rate. “I seldomly file absent leaves so I am sure they won’t mind if I take one for a long time” he answered.
“This reminds me of the escapade we did back in high school” she said with a smile. JL bit the cookie in his hand and replied, “This will be the last escapade we will do before we become parents”. Naomi chuckled, “Make sure you will be a cool parent” she uttered while feeling JL’s hand in her palm. “Four more months left before we become officially parents. I can’t hide my excitement” he said with charms in his eyes.
Lorenzia successfully sent the travel link to Naomi’s account. Fonsi exhaled the smoke from the cigarette he lit. She brushed off the stinky smoke and reported, “Well, Fonsi. We should make a move now after baiting JL and Naomi away from Luke”. Fonsi replied, “Glad I saw the release papers of Yilmaz and Blake and moreover, I knew Luke bailed them out. I followed them and I saw Luke glancing over at JL in the convenience store”.
Lorenzia tsked, “How did it turned out like this? Last time I knew, JL is living in a private and in a quiet life” she sentimentally said. Fonsi dropped the cigarette stick and stepped on it to cast off the smoke she hates to smell. “You are the smartest girl I know. How come you thought of making a fake raffle story just to convince Naomi and JL to take the vacation leave?” he asked with a smile of amusement.
Lorenzia answered, “It is just a plain move, Fonsi. We should observe how Luke will react now that he knows where JL lives. He is also smart to know that Naomi is really living with JL”. Fonsi shook his head, “That is automatic. Naomi has no other places to go except for their house and Luke’s house. She does not know anyone here except our circle”.
“This will be terrible now that JL never disagreed to marry Naomi despite all the unsolved issues they chose to avoid” Lorenzia said while sipping her coffee. “Let us help JL dominate Luke. What he did is just to steal Naomi away from JL but how did things become so complicated?” he asked.
“It all ended when Naomi left yet it started again when she ran away from her wedding with Luke” she answered while plotting what went wrong between JL, Luke, and Naomi. “And then Luke came back here with rage and all that he is pointing is JL who really is the culprit” Fonsi added.
“Does it sound like we are protecting the villain here?” Lorenzia asked. Fonsi shook his head, “We are protecting the victim here, Lorenzia. Nothing is wrong in the relationship of Naomi and JL. It is once forbidden just because of Luke’s doing. Naomi is not legally related to Luke so she got married with JL easily” he answered in explanation. Lorenzia is impressed with how Fonsi fixed her query. For the meantime they will drive JL and Naomi away to observe Luke.
FLASHBACK
JL is on his way home when Lorenzia called to discuss the plan. He reported to them that Luke almost got him and that he saw the two criminals which used to be Luke’s allies freed by him alone. “What’s up?” he asked while his eyes are still focused on the road. “You and Naomi should leave the condo unit and stay far from this city” she said that made JL confused.
“What do you mean? Just go straight to the plan” he seriously said. Lorenzia sighed and answered, “I will send a travel link to Naomi later and you should plan to get off work. I will book you both in an island far far away from this city. Fonsi inspected the area and found out that Luke usually goes to that place because it is near the hospital where you work”.
“I got it. Keep making everything controlled. I will update you once I am already prepared to face him. For now, I have to prioritize Naomi and her soon birthing” he replied and said his goodbyes. He went inside the condo unit casually like he is innocent of Lorenzia and Fonsi’s plan. His permission in the hospital is really granted. Their departure will save Naomi and the kids.
END OF FLASHBACK
Though Luke has not fully confirmed if Naomi is truly with JL, he is making sure that JL stays out of the involvement considering the history they left ten years ago.