Love Redux: Fated to the Handsome Doctor

Lara contemplated the impact of Olivia’s threat. Yet, typical of Olivia, who couldn’t think too deeply and maturely, the threat was just an empty one she could carry out.

Throughout her observation, Olivia would see Lara’s trapped response and couldn’t do anything else but comply with her wishes.

“Lowly slut…” Lara whispered, her voice already worn out. She couldn’t shout anymore, overwhelmed by the shock. She truly didn’t know how to handle this situation. Her head felt sore, her heart ached, and her body felt powerless, even just to support these fragile bones.

Did she really have to divorce Seno?

“No!” she vehemently rejected the idea. She even raised her head, holding back the tears starting to well up in her eyes.

She didn’t want to appear weak and helpless. She would be a stronger woman, ready to face the consequences of the choices at hand: she wouldn’t divorce, no matter the reason.

“How about it? Do you agree?” Olivia asked, now coming closer to her.

The noisy sound of her footsteps disrupted the tranquility in the room. The ticking of the clock added to the tense atmosphere, as the night grew too old to endure. It was 11 PM. Lara still had to deal with an unwelcome guest.

“I-I…” Before she could answer, a baritone voice of a man startled both of them.

“What’s all the commotion here?”

Doctor Andre seemed to interrupt their dispute. With firm steps, he entered the room and looked at Olivia with a sharp gaze that couldn’t be described.

“Doc-doctor?” Olivia was surprised, and pretended to be sweet. What’s wrong with her?

“Why are you in the patient’s room in the early hours like this?” Andre asked.

“I-I…” Olivia stuttered in response. Lara was puzzled by her. Where was her cruelty and shamelessness?

“She’s just visiting me! What are you doing here?” Lara finally responded curtly because she was more unwilling to have her presence than that of Olivia.

“I-I…”

This time, Andre stuttered. But apparently, he was trying to appear calm.

Lara lowered her tone again and cleared her throat to break the awkwardness. She didn’t want Olivia to suspect their relationship, let alone dig into her past and season it for defamation against Seno.

“Do you two know each other?” Olivia asked curiously.

Shit! Lara really slipped up!

Andre and Lara flinched for a moment, with Olivia’s suspicious gaze.

It seemed that Andre also didn’t want their painful past to leak and be known by uninvolved parties.

“No!” They both responded almost simultaneously.

Andre and Lara looked at each other in a rather awkward state. They even stuttered because they didn’t expect to say that answer at the same time.

“Ah…” Olivia finally sighed. Whatever she was thinking.

As far as Lara knew, Olivia wasn’t the type of girl who could track things down or investigate suspicious things like a detective. She was busy enough with her own agenda: becoming rich in the blink of an eye.

One thing she could do was seduce men with her body and looks. Like she did when she snatched Seno away from both of Lara’s hands.

“Can you leave now? It’s late at night. Patients need rest,” Andre requested, causing Olivia to furrow her brow.

“So, I’m being kicked out?”

“Yes.”

“Huh!” Olivia seemed to pout. With a stomp of her foot, she left just like that. After all, it was late enough, and she had to get up early to go to the office the next day.

***

After Olivia left, Andre suddenly approached Lara. She lay down and pulled the blanket, pretending to sleep. But apparently, the trick didn’t work.

“Lara, can we talk?” Andre asked with a melancholic tone. She didn’t want to talk to him. Should she just kick him out?

“What do you want to talk about?” She asked indifferently. She didn’t seem to care too much about Andre’s expression, which she couldn’t see. She hid under the blanket.

“Lara. I want to apologize for everything that happened in the past…”

“Oh yeah? And what is that?”

She tried to test Andre about his mistakes and his family’s. Did he remember? She didn’t even forget the slightest bit of those painful scenes. How could Andre shamelessly appear in front of her like this?

“Your mother… was hit by our stolen car,” Andre replied with deep emphasis.

“You still deny it? Bastard!” Lara cursed uncontrollably.

“Lara! Please. Listen to me. The car was truly stolen! We no longer own it!” Andre raised his voice. The same reason as the last time they met, at the police station in Canada.

“How can I trust murderers like you? Hah!” She smiled cynically with a voice no less loud. She would never forgive Andre’s family, even though he kept convincing her that the accident that killed Mother was not caused by any of their family members.

Bastards! No thief confesses to being a thief, right? Their family’s sins are too numerous. She couldn’t even tolerate anything related to that family anymore. Let alone the incident of Mother’s accident. Even her father was stolen by their mother! Hah! How could she endure a family of mistresses like that?

“Go away. I’m sick of seeing you. Don’t look for me again. I’m sick of it!”

“Lara…”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Andre began to reach for her hand, she waved it away instantly.

“These are the proofs that our car was stolen. For years I’ve been looking for you to show you evidence that our car was really stolen on the night of your mother’s accident. And somehow, the car suddenly appeared on the side of the road, damaged and hitting someone….”

“Shut up!” Lara snapped, cutting off Andre’s explanation.

Her memory flashed back to the time when her mother was hit by Andre’s family car, coming home from work.

The incident occurred during their time living in Canada. Lara’s family settled there, residing next door to the Andre family, who initially seemed kind and friendly. But as events unfolded, Lara realized that their friendliness masked a deadly truth.

Her father was drawn to Andre’s mother’s charm-a widow-who appeared gentle and understanding. In contrast, Lara’s mother was always ambitious and firm in everything she did.

The exact details of the illicit relationship remained murky to Lara. What she knew for certain was that her father began frequenting the Andre household, spending more and more time there.