Chapter 44
After a long ride, Lilly arrived at the hospital and pulled over at the parking lot.
“Ugh! Finally! I thought I was never going to get here,” She breathed out tiredly as she removed her car keys, tossed it inside her handbag, grabbed the small plastic bag beside her, and stepped out of the car.
“Hey, Lily. You look good as always,” Lily couldn’t hide her excitement when he colleague complimented her as soon as she stepped into the hospital.
“Thank you,” She smiled and proceeded to her office.
“Hey, Lily,” One of the male nurses smiled at her as he walked toward her in the opposite direction.
“Hey, Donald,”
“Wow! You’re looking beautiful as always. Is there any special occasion? You look different,” Donald raised his eyebrows after he checked her out. Although she has always been a gorgeous young lady, but she looked really different. Unlike every other days she would go to work with no makeup on, it was different today. Her appearance was evident that she really took her time to work on herself especially this morning.
“What special occasion? I’ve always been like this,” She chuckled nervously as she held on tightly to the plastic bag.
“And besides, I’ve always been beautiful,” She shrugged, and Donald nodded.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Yes, but you look even more beautiful today. That’s what I mean,” She blushed.
“Thank you,” She was hoping the reason she dressed like this would look at her. Of course, it was for Miguel to notice her.
“What’s that? Food?” Donald’s face brightened when he noticed the bag in her hand, but she quickly hid it behind her and smirked.
“It’s nothing, Donald. Why would I bring food to work? Bye! See you,” She hurried off to her office.
“That was close,” She exhaled deeply as she slumped on her chair and rubbed her forehead briefly.
“Don’t ruin your make-up, Lily. You can’t afford to look a mess in front of Miguel,” She reminded herself and quickly removed her hand from her forehead.
Her phone started to ring, and she quickly took the call when she saw that it was May.
“This is the perfect time, sweetheart. I’m glad you called,”
“What’s up this morning? You’re good?” May’s worried voice came on.
“Yes, I’m fine. I was going to call to ask you something, but was hesitant. You know how you can jinx things,” She grimaced and rolled her eyes.
“Don’t tell me this is about Mr. Miguel again,” Frustration resounded in May’s voice.
“So, I made something for him to eat. Do you think he’s going to like it? How should I present it to him so he won’t reject it?” She asked anxiously, and heard May scoff.
“Come on, girl. I called for something else—”
“I’m going to hold you accountable for my heartbreak if I don’t get married this year. I promise you that,”
“Ugh! Must you always frustrate me, Lily? Why am I friends with you?” May whined, and she rolled her eyes.
“Whatever! You are already married, so I should get married too. Come on, tell me what to do, sweetheart. You know I love you so much, yeah? Please tell me,” She whined.
“Fine! I can’t believe you are making me do this. Anyway… What did you make?”
“Fried rice, chicken, and salad,” Lily rested her back on her chest with a sense of pride.
“Alright. I think he likes that—”
“Of course, I know he does. I already found out it’s his favourite food. That’s why I made it,” She smiled excitedly.
“Take it to his office and give it to him. Don’t flirt with him, Lily. That might make him reject it. Don’t!”
“I can’t always help myself around him, May. I always feel like my heart is going to explode whenever I’m around him. How am I supposed to control myself and not flirt with him?” She whined like a baby, and May scoffed.
“Just handle things yourself, and don’t even try to call me because of this again. If you get rejected, don’t you dare come to me,” May uttered sternly, and she huffed.
“As if I have someone else,” She muttered and rolled her eyes.
“Why’d you call, anyway?”
“What time are you getting off work today? We should hang out together,” May suggested.
“I’m not interested,”
“I have gist for you,”
Lily’s face brightened with excitement as soon as she heard that, and of course she wasn’t going to miss this for anything in the world.
“Really? Is it about your husband? It doesn’t matter. I will come and pick you up as soon as I get off work. Or do you want me to come to your house instead? What should I get for you on my way?” She bombarded her with questions.
“I’ll be waiting for you. Give me a call when you’re coming later,”
“Alright, sweetheart. I…” She was still speaking when the call disconnected, and she huffed.
“Is she kidding me? I was still talking,” She looked at the screen of her phone with a deep frown on her face, but when she recalled that they had gist later, her anger sufficed.
“It’s worth it, anyway,” She dropped her phone on the table, checked herself out in the small mirror she had kept in her bag earlier before she left the house for work, and finally left for Miguel’s office with the food.
Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she stood in front of his office minutes later, contemplating on whether or not she should knock on the door. The thought of being rejected by him was haunting her.
“You can do this, Lily. You always go for what you want, so you can’t back down. Rejection is nothing,” She whispered to herself and breathed in and out. Furthermore, she knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Miguel’s deep voice sounded from inside, melting her heart. She held the doorknob then twisted it and pushed it open. Her heart skipped a beat when he raised his gaze from the desktop and she made eyes contact with him.
“Lily… I didn’t know it was you,” Miguel spoke simply and returned his gaze back to what he was doing.
“I didn’t send for you. Do you need anything?” Lily bit her bottom lip sadly as he didn’t even spare her a glance.
“He’s trying to push you away. You can’t let him have his way. You need to be the strong girl you have always been,” She told herself and sighed.
“Good morning, Mr. Miguel. You’ve been busy so we couldn’t see each other for days now. How have you been?” She stepped forward.
“Hmm… I’ve been good. You still haven’t answered my question. Is there anything you need?” He finally reclined on his chair, looking at her.
“Oh… Not really. I was thinking maybe you didn’t get to eat before you came to work today, so I made you breakfast,” He raised his eyebrows surprisingly, and sighed.
“It’s your favourite. You are going to like it, trust me. I put in my best,” She smiled nervously, and he nodded.
“Thank you, but—”
“You can’t reject the food, Mr. Miguel. I woke up early to make it, and it won’t be fair if you tell me you don’t want it,” She cut him off, and he chuckled briefly.
“I wasn’t going to reject it,” It felt like a burden had just been lifted off Lily’s heart with those words from him.
“Really?” She squeaked excitedly, and he laughed briefly.
“Thank you for the food. You can drop it on the table. I will eat it when I’m done with work here,” He pointed toward the table, and her smile faded.
“Are you sure you are going to eat it? What if you don’t eat it later?” Her face dropped disappointedly.
“I would’ve rejected it if I wasn’t going to eat it. So, you don’t have to worry. I’m not one who don’t appreciate people’s effort,” He assured her, and she finally dropped the food flask on the table.
“Uhm… I will go get you water. I forgot to bring one for you,” She turned to leave, but he stopped her.
“There’s a water dispenser here,” He reminded her, and she slowly nodded.
“Alright. Enjoy your meal. I’ll come for the flask later,”
“Hmm,”
She waved at him before leaving his office…