Chapter 6

Gabriella jotted down her observation about the patient in the charts. She knew the patient was observing her every movement. “That’s upsetting.” Audrey pouted her lips and acted offended. She caressed her right chest. “Now my heart feels uncomfortable. Does that count as the discomfort you asked about earlier? I guess I’m actually not fine.” Gabriella halted writing. She looked straight at the patient and saw her hand caressing the right area of her chest. She then turned to Levi and instructed him. “Contact one of our neurologists on duty. We might have to examine Miss Hill’s brain for any damage.” The nurse looked confused. He looked at the patient, and when he realized what the doctor meant, he nearly chortled, but he refrained from doing so. Audrey abruptly threw her head back, laughing like she had been tickled by an unknown and unseen force. “What the fuck are you talking about?” she exclaimed. “Are you deaf? I said heart, not brain. You need to get your ears checked, doc.” “Yeah, but it seems you might have a problem in your medial temporal lobe, where your entorhinal cortex is located, which is responsible for your sense of direction.” While Levi let out a sneaky grin, Audrey appeared as if she was lost in a wilderness, unable to make sense of what the doctor had said. “Other than that, you’re fine. You can leave the hospital today if you want.” Gabriella was ready to leave. She flashed a genuine smile at Audrey and said, “It’s on your left.” Audrey’s eyebrows raised in confusion. “Your heart,” she added. “It’s on the left side.” Knowing she had won the last laugh, she turned around to walk out of the ward and end the tormenting situation. But then Audrey wasn’t about to give up. She spoke again. “You operated on me, and I woke up, so I should still be thankful to you, doctor. Or should I call you Mrs. Martinez?” There was sarcasm in Audrey’s voice, and Gabriella didn’t fail at catching that. She turned to face her again with a smile. “I’m thankful that you feel thankful. I’m just doing my job,” Gabriella answered and thought that was it, she could leave. Of course, she was dead wrong. “Aren’t you curious about my baby?” Gabriella’s muscles instantly tensed. Audrey was continuously jabbing at her, and she didn’t know how long she could last. All she knew was that she needed to last to save her face. She managed to calmly reply. “I’m not interested in your personal affairs.” “Well, you should be. This is your husband’s affair, which makes it your business too.” Gabriella couldn’t answer. Internally, she agreed with Audrey. It was definitely her business if it concerned Izaak. “It was Izaak’s baby," she proudly said. "We love each other. He promised a wedding to me after he divorces you.” Gabriella thought she was already broken, already so shattered and pulverized that there was no way she could get smashed further. But no, for the nth time, her heart dropped, shattered like glass, and bled nonstop. Levi couldn’t bring himself to watch Gabriella get bullied. So he stood up for her. “Shut the fuck up!” “Levi…” Gabriella warned him to stay out of the conversation. Levi was too enraged to listen to her and looked at Audrey with viciousness. “You are the worst human being in the world! You fished a married man, bore his child, and still had the face to say stuff to his wife? Aren’t you even ashamed?” Gabriella’s feet were nailed to the ground. Her whole body froze and became numb. She swallowed many times as she felt a huge lump in her throat. She was afraid she would break down crying in front of Audrey. “Well,” Gabriella managed to croak. She gulped again as if that would give her strength. “It doesn’t matter now. Your baby’s gone. And if Izaak really wants a divorce, I have to hear it from him directly. Otherwise, I won’t believe it.” She gazed at Levi. “You take over.” Then she left the ward with light and careful steps while holding her breath as if that would make her pain less visible to others. Levi walked near the bed, his heart full of contempt for the patient who bullied the doctor. He grabbed her arm harshly. Without warning, he inserted a needle into her blood vessel. “Aw! That hurts!” Audrey glared at the nurse. Levi shrugged. “I volunteered to be assigned her so I could do this.” He pulled out the needle without feeling sorry. Audrey groaned in pain again, which brought satisfaction to Levi's fuming insides. He leaned closer to her ears, and in a menacing voice, he said, “If you bully her again, I can kill you with a piece of needle and a syringe. The right dosage of potassium can cause sudden cardiac arrest, and no one will know. Not even the great Martinez.” Audrey’s mouth ran dry at the nurse’s threat. The nurse forced a smile after straightening his back. “If there’s nothing else you need, I’m leaving.” With his threat, Audrey shut her mouth. The nurse headed to the office and saw Gabriella sitting by the window in a daze. Her white porcelain-like skin was pale. Her delicate face was stoic, but her eyes were inexplicably nearly crying. “What’s with the half-dead face? Make a fuss, Gabby. Show that woman you’re not someone she can mess with. Or get mad at your husband.” “And then what?” Gabriella answered without looking at him. Her eyes were focused outside. “Would it solve anything?” she pointed out. “Probably?” Levi argued. “I can’t invest my emotions in something probable.” “Ironic,” Levi commented. “You wasted your life marrying your husband when it’s not even probable. ” “Levi, please,” Gabriella begged, already emotionally strained. She stood up and went to the corner of the room. She poured instant coffee into a cup and poured warm water. "What about the embryo specimen? It wasn't on my table anymore," she asked. "I threw it away when you left it untouched," Levi answered. Gabriella remained quiet as she stirred her coffee as if she was thinking deeply. She took a sip of her hot coffee. “I know you’re frustrated about my life,” she said. “If you’re that frustrated, if it’s that painful for you, how much more to me? So please, I don’t need you rubbing it to my face. ” Levi gritted his teeth in anger. He wanted her to escape her painful life. And he didn’t know how to make her realize running was an option.