Recipe for Disaster

Callie and Wendy exchanged amazed glances, struggling to process the revelation. Callie couldn’t help but feel a sense of astonishment at Elias being a soldier, as he wasn’t dressed in uniform. But then, it would explain all the bullet wounds and scars on his body. Lieutenant Colonel—a high-ranking position, she assumed, given the young soldier’s respect. There was something undeniably alluring about a man in uniform. Wendy, always the romantic, seized Callie’s hands, her eyes shining with excitement. ‘Oh my gosh, Callie! Are all soldiers that ridiculously attractive?’ Callie was about to respond, but a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over her like a rogue wave. Her head spun, the world blurring into a whirlpool of confusion. And then, without warning, her legs buckled beneath her, and she slumped to the ground in a heap. ‘Woah, hold up!’ Wendy lunged forward, but before she could catch Callie, a pair of strong arms swooped in and cradled her limp form. ‘Callie!’ Wendy reached for Callie’s hand. Elias, his brows furrowed with concern, shot Wendy a stern glance. ‘Seriously, nurse? You should know how to handle this situation.’ Wendy covered her mouth, her eyes wide with astonishment as she watched Elias embrace Callie protectively. His voice dripped with annoyance, tinged with an underlying worry. The man cared, that much was obvious. Pulling herself together, Wendy found her voice. ‘Right, follow me.’ Elias scooped Callie up effortlessly, his strong arms cradling her gently as he followed Wendy’s lead. The trio made their way through the hallways of Rosedale Hospital, Elias’s powerful strides matching Wendy’s hurried steps. *** The sterile white room hummed with the soft sound of medical equipment. Callie’s eyes fluttered open, and she found herself lying on a hospital bed. The scent of disinfectant filled her nostrils, and she noticed the IV needle secured to her arm, administering a mixture of saline and glucose. She sat up, feeling exhausted and disoriented, her head throbbing. Before she could gather her thoughts, Nurse Wendy hurried over, placing a pillow behind Callie’s back. ‘Easy there. You fainted, remember?’ Callie rubbed her temples, trying to recall the events that led to her current predicament. ‘Fainted? But why?’ Wendy removed the IV needle carefully and tended to the puncture on Callie’s hand. She scolded Callie gently, ‘You shouldn’t have been moving about after donating so much blood.’ A sigh escaped Callie’s lips as she leaned back against the pillow. ‘I guess I pushed myself too far. Two surgeries and donating blood—it was a recipe for disaster.’ Wendy nodded, her face etched with a mix of admonishment and concern. ‘Girl, you should know better. Your blood sugar must have tanked after all that. Seriously, as a doctor, you should take better care of yourself. If Lieutenant Colonel Westwood hadn’t caught you in time, you’d have bashed your head against the floor.’ ‘Lieutenant Colonel Westwood?’ Callie muttered the name. ‘Yeah, Elias Westwood, that’s him! A commander in the Special Forces,’ Wendy answered casually. ‘The soldiers admitted here earlier are his men. And let me tell you, he’s got quite the high rank. You should’ve seen the way Director Colman fawned all over him.’ Wendy rolled her eyes. ‘But our director never said a word about the medical mishap his precious daughter caused earlier. Almost killed one of the soldiers when she nicked the wrong artery during surgery.’ Callie let out a resigned sigh. ‘Let’s not dwell on that. The important thing is that the soldier survived. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let it slide.’ A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and Callie beckoned the person inside. It was none other than Elias Westwood himself, striding into the room with an air of commanding confidence. Callie’s grip tightened involuntarily around Wendy’s hand, nerves fluttering in her stomach. Wendy withdrew her hand with a playful wink. ‘Dr Hawthorne, you have no idea how worried Lieutenant Colonel Westwood was about you. I thought he might explode with anger if anything happened to you. I’ll leave you two to chat. Rest up, Callie!’ With a knowing smile, Wendy discreetly slipped away, leaving Callie and Elias alone in the hospital room. Elias closed the distance between them, his steps deliberate and purposeful. With a low, almost whispered voice, he uttered a heartfelt ‘Thank you.’ Callie, taken aback, furrowed her brows. ‘Thank me? For what?’ ‘For saving my men.’ Not only did she step up and perform the surgeries, she gave her own blood to one of his soldiers who otherwise might not have made it. ‘Oh, that.’ Callie shrugged. ‘You don’t have to thank me. I’m a doctor. It’s my job to save the patients in any way I can.’ Elias’s gaze softened, his eyes lingering on her calm expression, his mind wandering back to the image of her tear-stained face. This woman, who shed tears for others with such sadness, treated herself with such ruthless disregard. It stirred an uncomfortable feeling within him. ‘Why did you cry?’ Elias’s voice held a trace of coldness, tinged with a flicker of anger. ‘Just because of the man who betrayed you?’ Callie’s fingers tightened around the glass of water, a flicker of pain flashing through her puffy eyes. She had always clutched her emotions tightly, not wanting anyone else to witness her sorrow and amplify her misery. Yet, this man kept barging into places where he had no right to be. ‘I didn’t cry! I didn’t!’ Callie’s voice rose, her eyes welling up with tears once again. She couldn’t understand why her eyes stung and tears flowed so easily. ‘What’s the big deal with crying anyway? It’s none of your business!’ Tears streamed down Callie’s face as she defiantly confronted Elias. His irritation grew as he stared at the tears on her face, a maddening sensation overpowering his reasoning. It made him want to shatter the fragile vulnerability of this woman standing before him. In a sudden burst of anger, Elias seized the glass from Callie’s hand and set it down on the bedside table with a loud thud. Callie, startled, glared at him. Elias’s hands closed in around her, his long legs pressing against hers, trapping her against the bed. It was a stark contrast to their previous encounter, where he was the one lying in bed and she the one standing.