Page 142 of My Heart's Doctor

“Party pooper,” he said, laughing.

“It’s almost eight in the morning, Cavaller. You need to have breakfast and get ready for work.”

“I can go in later. The company is mine,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and completely forgetting his stance as a serious and responsible businessman.

“I have to be at the clinic by ten.”

“We can have breakfast and then... then I’ll explain,” he said, laughing.

And he made sure to explain to me in exquisite detail what he had in mind, and he did so while we were showering.

That day I had a rather long and tiring schedule. I started with appointments for my little patients at ten in the morning and finished at one in the afternoon. After that, I only had half an hour to eat something, and then I had pediatric duty until nine at night.

While having a light lunch, I was able to talk first with William and then with Aurora, because I knew that by the time I got home, it was unlikely I’d find Aurora still awake. At that moment, I also took the opportunity to mentally review the gifts because the next day was Christmas Eve. For Aurora, we had bought several games and the long-awaited Rapunzel costume. William’s gift had given me a lot of trouble because he was a man who had everything, and I really didn’t know what to get him. In the end, I had decided on a gold-nibbed fountain pen from a well-known luxury brand.

William had wanted to pick me up, but it was common for me to leave much later than scheduled when I had duty shifts. Besides, I had gone in my car, so I had asked him not to come and to take advantage of the time to stay with Aurora.

As I had anticipated, instead of leaving at nine in the evening, I ended up leaving after ten. When I reached the parking lot, I got into my car and immediately my phone rang. I grabbed my purse as quickly as I could because I assumed it was William. He had called me several times earlier because he was worried about me since I had been working so many hours. His care made me feel so protected and safe that I often wondered if I was in a dream and it was all just my imagination.

When I looked at the phone, I saw it was a number I didn’t have registered, and the first thing that came to mind was that it was from the clinic and I had to go back. Before meetingWilliam, I wouldn’t have hesitated and would have quickly gotten out of the car, but at that moment I had a family waiting for me, and I was eager to get home. Nevertheless, I would never turn my back on my profession.

“Dr. Dulcet,” I said as soon as I answered.

“Hello, my queen. How lovely to hear your voice,” he responded, and I immediately recognized Lino’s voice.

After all the lies he had told, hearing him made me furious, and an impressive amount of anger welled up inside me.

“How dare you call me?! I have no idea how you got my phone number, but I have no intention of talking to you. Fortunately for me, you’re no longer part of my life, so stop bothering me and... go to hell!”

Lino let me speak without interrupting, but I didn’t give him a chance to reply and ended the call. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so furious. My anger grew just thinking about the huge lie he had created to separate me from William.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again. It was him again, but I didn’t even bother to answer.

“Damn wretched, deceitful, resentful man!” I exclaimed, though no one could hear me.

It rang once more, and just as I was about to turn it off, I saw it was William. I immediately answered.

“Hello, my love.”

“Hello, ‘Dulce,’ is everything okay?”

“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?” I inquired, because it seemed like he knew about Lino’s call, though that was impossible.

“Because you’re taking so long. If you stay much longer, I’m coming to the clinic and carrying you out over my shoulders,” he declared, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m already in the car and…”

…the passenger door opened and Lino sat down beside me.

First, I was startled; second, I stared at him in surprise; and third, I exploded. Flames of rage burned inside me. It was enough. All my fury fell upon him, but I had the sense not to hang up the phone, allowing William to hear everything this man had to say. Very carefully, I let the phone slip from my hand and fall to the floor, still on. It was a premonition—I felt that William had called at the perfect moment and that he needed to hear whatever Lino was going to say.

“Get out of my car right now! You have no right to be here, you miserable bastard.”

“Calm down. I know I deserve this, but you need to…”

I didn’t think too much. The monumental, resounding slap I gave him left my hand hurting, and I immediately regretted that act because I wasn’t a violent person, but this man wouldn’t let me live in peace and it was enough. I wanted him out of my car and my life, forever.

“You’ve got a good hand, my queen, and I must admit I deserved it. But let’s agree that I’d prefer you use those delicate hands on other parts of my body,” he joked, as if I would find his stupid jokes funny.