Love Redux: Fated to the Handsome Doctor

“What? Who has the authority to fire you?”

“The President Director.”

“How dare he!”

“Sister! Calm down. He owns the hospital.”

“Even so! How dare he fire my cute little brother! This can’t be allowed! I’ll report this to my husband! Ndre! Be strong! Sister will come soon!”

“Sister… that’s not what I meant. Sister, please tell-”

Click… Click… Click…

The call got disconnected. Andre was furious and even more annoyed. He shouldn’t have contacted his sister and asked for help. “I just wanted her to tell grandma! Why did it become so complicated?” Andre regretted his actions.

***

Dusk was creeping in, Andre drove his sedan at a moderate speed towards the safe house in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta. The streets were quite congested, and Andre had to be patient.

“Why has CCTV become a problem lately?” He muttered while looking tiredly at the road, leaving only a hand’s width of space between one car and another. Andre sighed deeply. He wanted to know why Seno could smoothly plan each of his criminal actions.

“Damn!”

Andre couldn’t contain his curiosity. He wanted to revisit the scene of Lara and Mahya’s accident. With determination like a detective, Andre wanted to find a loophole that could be used as evidence in court.

“That scoundrel can’t escape!” Andre felt frustrated because most of the evidence leading to Seno’s charges were indirect. A lawyer of Hoffman Pariz’s caliber would easily be able to refute the prosecutor’s arguments.

*Honk!*

“Oh my God!”

Andre suddenly slammed on the brake pedal when a little girl suddenly jumped in front of his car.

“PRINCESS!”

Andre could hear the panicked screams of the girl’s parents from behind. He immediately pulled over and turned on the hazard lights. He approached the accident victim with a shaken heart.

“Are you okay, dear?”

“PRINCESS!”

Two middle-aged women began to arrive alternately, hugging the crying little girl. “Sir, please forgive my daughter,” one of them bowed her head, understanding that it was indeed her daughter’s fault.

“She didn’t want to take her medicine, so she ran away,” explained the plump woman while carrying the little girl who was about 5 years old, with two pigtails tying her thin hair.

“No problem, let me check. I’m a doctor.” Andre reached out to check if there were any inflammation or wounds on the girl’s body. Fortunately, Andre wasn’t speeding. He could easily stop his car.

“Oh, really? Thank God! Princess, let Uncle Doctor check you.”

“Sob… sob… okay…”

The little girl nodded amidst her tears. Andre immediately checked for any wounds that might be on her hands and legs. Her head was fine. She was just startled and slightly bruised. There were open scratch wounds on her knee, elbow, and some areas of her hands.

“Wait here for a moment,” Andre said as he walked back to his car. He took out a bag of medicines and brought it near the little girl.

“Hold on a bit, we’ll get rid of the germs,” he said with a smile. The girl nodded obediently and began to grimace slightly as Andre cleaned her wounds with alcohol.

After carefully cleaning the scratch wounds, Andre treated them with antibiotics and bandages to prevent infection. He performed all the procedures gently, trying to calm the crying little girl.

“It’s okay, dear. Uncle has cleaned your wounds. Now, we’ll treat them so they heal quickly, okay?” Andre said gently while patting the girl’s head.

The little girl was still crying, but she nodded slightly in agreement. Andre continued the treatment carefully, making sure that the wounds were neatly and safely bandaged.

“Alright, now the wounds are bandaged. You have to take your medicine diligently, okay? So your wounds heal quickly,” Andre said lovingly.

Andre provided pain relievers that might be needed, although they didn’t necessarily have to be consumed. “Children usually get cranky when they’re slightly hurt. But if she’s strong, there’s no need to give her medicine,” he advised the mother.

“Thank you so much, Doctor. We’re really sorry for the trouble.”

“No problem. I was just shocked. Fortunately, everything is okay.”

“Yes, Doctor. This girl is a bit naughty! She had the flu for days and only given medicine, until she almost had an accident like just now,” the mother said with a growl, looking sharply at her daughter. The girl just looked down and dared not look at her mother.

“Pretty girl, obey your mommy, okay?”

The little girl nodded again while looking at Andre with teary eyes. She felt a little relieved because there was someone who cared about her when her mother seemed about to pounce on her.

“Thank you, Uncle Doctor,” she said softly while looking at Andre with gratitude.

Andre smiled and gently patted the little girl’s head. “You’re welcome, dear. Be careful, don’t get hurt again,” he said affectionately.

After making sure that the little girl was stable and comfortable, Andre wanted to say goodbye because there were some things he needed to chase after.

“Doctor, please stop by for a moment,” the mother offered.

“Ah, it’s not dinner time yet.”

“Eh, it’s almost night. If you drive at this hour, Doctor, you’ll get stuck in traffic. Come on, just for a moment. I just reopened my restaurant. Do you like seafood?”

“Re-restaur…?” Andre’s eyes widened. There was only one restaurant around here, and supposedly, it had been closed for a long time. “What’s the name of the restaurant?” Andre’s heart raced. Was this a stroke of good luck finally coming?

“Loka Bahari Restaurant. Not far from here, let’s go! We’ll go there,” she said excitedly.

Andre’s eyes lit up with joy. Yes! That was the restaurant he was looking for! “Let’s go there using my car.”

“Alright. Our house is behind here. My restaurant is at the end of that street. If it’s not too much trouble, let’s go there.”

“Okay!”

They quickly got into Andre’s car to go to the restaurant in question. Andre felt really relieved; at least there were local residents he could ask for help.

“If I may ask, why was the restaurant closed for so long, Ma’am?” Andre asked casually. He didn’t want to seem like a police informant conducting an investigation. Andre had to stay calm to get information.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“Oh, yes. My parents in the village were seriously ill. So, we went to Lamongan for a long time. Our seafood cuisine is inspired by the seafood in our village. This is my aunt, she helps me cook there,” said the little girl’s mother, introducing the rather old woman to Andre.

“Oh, yes, hello, Ma’am!” Andre greeted warmly. They almost forgot the woman because she was too quiet. Her sad and wrinkled face only lifted slightly at the corners of her mouth to look friendly. Andre appreciated her response by nodding his head.

“Well, we’re here.”

Andre clicked the turn signal button and immediately turned into the parking area on the left side. A barrier pole stopped them, before opening automatically after the button was pressed.

“There, Doctor. Let’s go straight to the main porch,” the mother said, pointing to the neatly arranged dining area with an open-air concept.

The quiet area on the side of the road had its charm. Visitors could enjoy the breeze with the refreshing green scenery. Andre enjoyed the atmosphere in this restaurant, but… it was a pity, that wasn’t his main goal.

“Ma’am, can I ask for a favor?”