Scars of Time

Chapter 54: "Nothing important"

Hope's POV

Before heading out, I took one last glance in the mirror to ensure my makeup was impeccable, as it always is. Michael is not that bad of a guy, he just gets on my nerves for being a know it all. I thought he hated me as we always argue about our patients. But I guess not, because if that was the case he wouldn't want to eat with me. Given that Alex and I are not getting anywhere, maybe it's worth considering the possibility of dating him instead.

I informed my assistant that we could wrap up early today, allowing her to head home. Before leaving, she kindly complimented my appearance. After bidding her farewell, I switched off the lights and noticed a car parked outside the office, its headlights shining brightly, indicating it was waiting for me. However, my decision to approach it was interrupted by the arrival of another car, parking right beside it.

I know both of these cars very well. And I know the men inside them.

One of them is stressing me out at work and the other one at home. Which one should I choose to go with? Interestingly, both of them stepped out of their cars, exchanged glances, and began walking towards me.

True to his fashion, Michael was dressed in a chic manner, always radiating sophistication and modernity. Sometimes, though, his impeccable style can be quite irritating. As for Alex...well, he's Alex. He could be wearing a potato sack and I’d still feel my heart do that stupid little flutter thing it always does around him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Alex while he was staring at Michael from head to toe.

"I'm here to pick you up," he said, his tone about as warm as a snowstorm in January.

"You should have called beforehand, because I have plans." I replied, gesturing to Michael, who was now standing there looking like he’d just won a prize he didn’t even know he was competing for.

"Who is this?" Alex asked, his voice dripping with enough disdain to make Michael scoff and shake his head like he was dealing with a particularly rude child.

"Dr. Michael Tod" Michael said smoothly, extending his hand like the gentleman he apparently was. Alex, of course, ignored it. What was his problem today? Was he jealous? No, that couldn’t be it. That would mean he actually cared, and that was...well, ridiculous. Right?

"Anyways." Alex said, turning back to me, "Time told me to pick you up. So let's go."

"I told you I had plans with Miachael."

"Cancel them. I drove for 15 minutes. I need to get paid." Alex shot back, crossing his arms like a petulant toddler.

"I never asked you to come."

"Time did."

"Then ask him to pay you."

"He already is. From today, I am your personal driver and bodyguard."

I blinked "What?! I never asked for a driver."

"That's your problem, so sort it out with Time. Don't interfere with my job and hop in."

"I'll talk with Time later. So just go away. You're embarrassing me." I muttered through clenched teeth.

"I'm embarrassing you?" Alex said, deliberately raising his voice. "You weren't embarrassed of me this morning!"

Oh. My. God. I grabbed his arm and dragged him away from Michael, who was probably rethinking every life choice that had led him to this moment.

"What is wrong with you?" I hissed.

"I'm just doing my job." Alex said, shrugging like this was all perfectly normal.

"You are acting like a child. I have a reputation to maintain."

"So do I. I have to ensure that I do my job properly, so that I can have a shot at being hired again in the future."

"Well, I'm not coming with you."

"Then none of us is going anywhere."

"Yeah? And how do you plan on stopping me from going with him?"

Alex leaned in, his voice low and smug "I could tell him the reason I know you have a mole in your body. And I could point out exactly where it's located."

I gasped, "Are you threatening me?"

He smirked. "I am."

....................

Alex's POV

I don't know if I won the argument or not, but I was driving the two of them to their date in my car.

Time asked me to be Hope's bodyguard and it goes without saying that I accepted. He told me to start tomorrow but I was not going to wait until tomorrow to see if she was doing okay. What if something happened to her before then? What if Evan Astor showed up? What if Ian showed up?

No, I couldn'f leave her alone.

It's truly remarkable how I managed to hold myself together while Time recounted all the hardships they had endured. How do they find the strength to remain steadfast when they were the ones who lived through it all?

Now I'm hating myself even more, knowing I touched her without being able to love her truly, as she deserves. What difference do I have from them then?

Her reflection caught my eye in the mirror, and Time's words played on repeat in my mind. My grip on the wheel tightened, and I failed to notice my excessive speed until she urgently called out my name.

"Sorry, I got distracted. I'll be more careful." I muttered, trying to play it cool. But seriously, how could I focus when this guy wouldn’t stop yapping?

“Oh, by the way, Hope,” Michael said, like he was hosting a TED Talk, “you mentioned that Mr. Fridrick is still going strong at the university, right?”

"Yeah. He never ceased to utter those words, 'I am going to quit,' 'I am going to quit,' yet it was crystal clear to everyone that he was just bluffing." Hope replied, sounding way too interested for my liking.

"Deep down, he truly adores his students." Michael added, nodding like he’d just solved world peace. "Though he may push them a bit harder at times, it's all in the name of their growth and success."

"Personally, I've never had any issues with him because he liked me."

"Me too." he chimed in. "I've never quite grasped why everyone had such a strong dislike for him. All he ever wanted was for us to dedicate ourselves to studying. If we followed his advice, there wouldn't be any issues. Isn't that what every teacher hopes for?!"

"Exactly." Hope agreed.

Meanwhile, I found myself silently contemplating how adeptly she masked her sadness. It was truly remarkable how she managed to keep her emotions hidden, leaving everyone oblivious to her inner turmoil. If Time hadn't revealed the truth to me, I would have remained clueless as well.

Only now can I comprehend why the light in her eyes always appears faded. Even though she wears a smile and engages in conversations like everyone else, that light is absent. They snatched it away from her.

"We're here" I announced after parking the car, maybe a little too aggressively.

"Thank you. You can go now." Hope said, like I was some random Uber driver.

"How are you going to come back?"I asked, because apparently, I’m the only one here who thinks about practical things.

"I'll call a taxi."

"I can wait."I said, because no way was I leaving her alone with this guy.

"Don't you have a job to do?"she shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly, and you're not letting me do it."

"I'll have to talk to Time about this later,"she mumbled uder her breath.

"Besides, I'm kinda hungry."

"You're not planning to join us, right?" she asked, her tone dripping with disbelief.

"Why? Was this supposed to be a date?Did I ruin it?" I said, feigning innocence.

"No. It wasn't a date." she said quickly, but I noticed the way Michael’s jaw tightened.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I joined, right, Miachael?" I asked, turning to him with my best fake smile.

"Not at all" he replied, although his annoyance was evident in his expression.

"Great. What are we eating?"I asked, rubbing my hands together like I was genuinely excited. Spoiler: I wasn’t.

They didn’t answer me, of course. They just strolled inside, sat down, and started talking like I wasn’t even there. I might as well have been a potted plant.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes when she casually told him, "We should do this more often." I bet she didn't even mean it.

"I agree" Michael said, nodding like a bobblehead. “I never thought we’d have so much in common.”

Oh, please! In common? Don't make me laugh. It's evident that you're merely pretending to agree with every word that comes out of her mouth.- Internally, I grumbled, making sure not to let my words slip out. What exactly does she see in this guy?!

"I'd really like to thank you for today. If it weren't for you I would have felt so guilty towards that client"

Wait, what? What client? What did I miss? I was too busy trying to figure out what she was talking about to notice Michael’s smug smile.

"Your assistant made the right move by reaching out to me" he said, like he’d just saved the world. "However, if you don't mind me asking, is something wrong? I know your phone is open 24/7, so I wondered if you were okay!"

"Yeah. Ummm...I got caught on to something."

"So, nothing important, right?"

"No. Nothing important."