Kiss Me, Heal Me

Chapter 3

Now this is interesting… Luxien Pierce thought. It has been a year since they last had a resident doctor in their hospital. The last one made one hell of an issue, and the board didn’t wish it to happen again. He was staring out of the window of his office. It was facing the entire garden of the hospital.

His father didn’t ask his opinion about accepting new residents. Did he even talk to the board about this? Or was it his sole decision? Or… his dad didn’t consult him on a purpose because he knew he was not going to agree?

He smirked to himself when he saw a shadow reflected on the window. It was from the door which he forgot to close. The figure was familiar. It was Doctor Clarke.

He wanted to chuckle earlier at Dr. Clarke’s reaction. She shut her eyes hard and bit her lips, maybe after realizing that he was technically going to be her attending. The new resident was transparent. He could easily see her emotions through her facial and body expressions. He can even tell that the woman wanted to stab him during their first encounter. Right there and then. The way she squints her eyes and purses her lips in frustration is just adorable. He shook his head. No, adorable isn’t the right word for it. It was sexy.

There was just one thing that he could notice. Shaking Dr. Clarke’s hand earlier tells him something that is not right. He knew it wasn’t her nervousness or embarrassment. There was something else.

Luxien shook off the thoughts and cleared his throat.

“Would you mind closing the door when you’re done ogling at me?” He cannot help himself from teasing her. He knew that she was intimidated by him because of what happened earlier. And he could not deny the fact that watching her expressions was quite entertaining.

Seeing Dr. Clarke’s reflection startled, he faced the door. It was as if her body went rigid. “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ogle—wait, I am not ogling at you, Doctor Pierce,” she defended, stressing the word doctor.

God, Clarke’s beautiful. She’s beautiful in broad daylight and beautiful in his dim-lighted office. She’s beautiful in every way.

He saw her face and ears turn red. He slightly shook his head. Such a shame. It was such a shame that she was his father’s new woman.

“Wait, Dr. Clarke!” he called when she started to walk away. “I’ll tour you,” he offered. “When are you starting, anyway?”

“Me?” She asked, pointing to herself.

“No, your bag,” he sarcastically remarked. “Of course, you,” he added. “Come on.” He put both of his hands on Dr. Clarke’s shoulders and guided her to the elevator. He felt her shoulder stiffen when her palms landed on it. There was really something with this woman. “Floor B is where the chiefs and professors can be found.”

He felt her lower her right shoulder, and he took that as a cue to release her. “I’m sorry about that,” he said.

Dr. Clarke smiled. It wasn’t a sweet smile. It was something he cannot determine. “It’s fine,” she assured him. Of course, it is not. Why on earth would she stiffen or go rigid when he was touching her?

“So, when are you starting?” he asked, letting his curiosity slide—at least, for now.

“I’ll be here tomorrow.” Her voice was soft and he almost didn’t hear it.

“On call? Already?”

“No, doc,” she shook her head. “I will be looking at a case.”

He nodded. “Luxien will do, it’s just the two of us, anyway…” Now he sounds like a cheeky, high school boy. Where did his flirting skills go?

“Luxien, okay—Luxien, Luxien, Luxien…” She repeated it as if she were practicing her tongue to say it. It’s okay. He had no issue if she wanted to say his name as smoothly as she could. But her soft voice while uttering his name… damn it. It was making his mind hazy. For heaven’s sake, this woman can make his thoughts go crazy by just calling his name! And what’s worse was he just met her earlier. “Reeva, then. You can call me Reeva.”

Luxien nodded. Reeva sounds good.

He started to move his hand. “Since this wing is the non-medical department, you’ll just have to go down to the tenth floor,” he informed her, trying to divert his thoughts. “There’s a connecting bridge from there to the medical wing’s tenth floor.” He saw Reeva nod. It was brief, as if she was not interested in what he was saying.

The elevator dinged and opened on the tenth floor. They could immediately see the footbridge from where they were standing. “This way, please,” he said.

There was, again, a brief nod. His brows started to crease. He was starting to get annoyed. Why wasn’t she talking to him?

“This is the tenth floor of the medical wing,” he said. Luxien tried to get a reaction again but there was nothing. Reeva was just roaming her eyes around like he was not there. “This… This is where the suite rooms are,” he added while watching her. “Ninth floor is where the deluxe, the eighth is the charity ward, the second is the critical, the third is the OB department, fourth is pediatric…” He finally sighed. “Am I boring you?”

Reeva’s eyes grew wide and she waved her hand. “No—No! I’m sorry, I was just spacing out—it’s just that, this place is so unreal,” she explained. She even spread her arms as if to feel the large space of the place. “It’s more like a hotel than a hospital. And I’ve never been in a hospital as grand as this.”

He smiled. “Thank you,” he genuinely said.

“And you’re the successor, just wow—”

Luxien laughed lowly. It was what he hated the most. He can’t help but be attached to the hospital’s name. He gets it. He is a Pierce. He knew he could change that fact. What he loathes the most is he was always seen as his father’s son. Always his father’s son, his father’s shadow.

He was busy making a name for himself through numerous successful surgeries, but people were also busy tagging him as the next Larren Pierce. He was not happy about that. He wanted to be Luxien. The first Luxien Pierce. Not a second Larren, nor the second Pierce to succeed the hospital.

Luxien tried to continue. “Fifth is ours,” he said. “The surgical unit.” He saw her eyes sparkle in excitement. He knew he had successfully diverted the topic just like that.

He explained that they got five operating theaters that can perform three surgeries at the same time. “Are we going there?”

He nodded. “I’ll introduce you to them. It’s been a while since we had a resident on our team, so this might be a shock to them.” Been a while, it is. But he can still remember how embarrassed he was back then. He dated that resident. He dated Lianne. And his father dated her, too. At the same f*****g time.

“How many are you on the team?” Reeva asked.

“You mean, our team?” he teased. “It’s going to be your team as well.”

“Right,” she said. Her eyes sparkled again. Damn, it was just like that and his thoughts of the past were cleared. Goodness, this powerful woman.

“In total, we have seven surgeons—four in-house, and that includes me. Then, three affiliated surgeons.” They entered the elevator again and he pressed the fifth-floor button.

He saw Reeva’s reflection on the elevator walls.

“So… how long have you and Dad been in a relationship?”

“What—”

“You,” he stressed, facing her. “Aren’t you my dad’s new woman—”

And just like that, a palm landed on his cheek just in time when the elevator opened. He heard some gasps and oohs.

He pressed his tongue on the inside of his cheek. It was one hell of a slap. A good one, actually. Because something inside him was awakened by that slap. Was it guilt? Was it regret? He doesn’t know. It was as if he was blinded—because all he could see was the pain and resentment in Reeva’s eyes. He knew he was wrong at that instant.