Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 4: Miles’s Younger Uncle
This morning, Rory was on duty in the outpatient clinic.
As a private hospital, Elysian charged much higher registration and treatment fees than public ones, so there were very few patients.
Rory had graduated only a year ago and was just an attending physician, so there were even fewer people who booked appointments with her.
She only had four appointments booked for the entire morning.
After seeing her fourth patient, Rory gathered her things, and was ready to head back to the inpatient ward.
"Look, I just have diarrhea. Just give me some medicine for it. Hurry up, I have a meeting in a bit."
A middle-aged woman was sitting on a bench in the lobby. And she was sharply ordering her subordinate around.
Her subordinate hesitated. "But didn’t you just say your heart was bothering you, too?"
The middle-aged woman grew impatient. "That’s a chronic issue of mine. It’s just been acting up more frequently lately. Never mind that."
Rory had already started to leave the lobby, but after a moment’s thought, she turned back.
"Hello, I’m Rory, a cardiac surgeon at Elysian," she began. "Your symptoms could be from viral myocarditis. I suggest you get a blood test to check your cardiac enzymes."
The woman had short hair and was dressed in a sharp business suit, clearly a successful professional.
She was clearly skeptical. "What is wrong with this hospital? Will you do anything to rack up charges for tests? What does diarrhea have to do with my heart?"
"Diarrhea is one of the main symptoms of viral myocarditis. It can be life-threatening if not treated promptly. Why don’t you go ahead and get some medicine for the diarrhea, and I’ll cover the cost of the blood test. As a doctor, I’m also hoping it’s just a simple case of it."
Rory’s tone was exceptionally sincere.
The woman sized her up and down, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, fine. I’ll get the test done."
While filling out the lab request form, Rory learned that the woman’s name was Megan Underwood.
The lab results came back quickly.
Megan’s relevant enzyme levels were over eight hundred—hundreds of times higher than the normal range.
It was indeed viral myocarditis. She had to be admitted for treatment immediately.
Rory escorted Megan to the inpatient department.
As they walked along a tree-lined path on the hospital grounds, Rory had the faint feeling that someone was watching her. When she turned to look, the area was empty.
’Was I just imagining it?’
Rory took Megan to her room in the cardiology ward and helped her with the admission paperwork before heading downstairs to eat.
She had a surgery scheduled for two in the afternoon.
As Rory headed to the cafeteria for lunch, she received a call from Mrs. Thorne asking about Miles’s dietary habits.
Rory carefully recited them for Mrs. Thorne, one by one.
For example, Miles only ate steamed fish, and its eyes had to be removed before being served. He had to have toast with scrambled eggs and avocado once a week. He didn’t eat roasted asparagus, and so on and so forth.
Until that moment, Rory had never consciously compiled a list of Miles’ preferences.
She had simply made a habit of remembering everything he mentioned.
It was only now, as she listed them for Mrs. Thorne, that she realized just how many annoying habits the man had!
What was worse, she had actually put up with it all these years!
After carefully noting everything down, Mrs. Thorne said, "Miss Linden, actually... Mr. Harrison has a new girlfriend, but I don’t think he’s over you..."
"Mrs. Thorne, that’s about all I can remember. Harrison and I have broken up. You don’t need to tell me about his life anymore."
Rory hung up and walked into the hospital cafeteria.
At Elysian Hospital, the food served to doctors was the same as that for patients and their families, just with separate dining areas.
Rory didn’t hesitate to get a serving of Spicy Boiled Beef.
She had loved spicy food since she was a little girl. A meal just wasn’t complete without some kick to it.
When she was a student, she never dared to spend money carelessly. Her only small luxury was using her allowance to buy a bag of spicy snack strips.
Unfortunately, Miles couldn’t handle spicy food.
All these years, she had always put his needs first, never once expressing her own preferences in front of him.
Thank goodness.
They had broken up.
If she had actually married Miles Harrison, she would have had to compromise for the rest of her life.
-
Rory was on duty that night. After her afternoon surgery ended, she checked on the patients she was responsible for. Once back in her office, she resumed browsing an app for rental listings near the hospital.
Elysian Hospital was in Veridia New District, surrounded by either newly constructed apartment complexes or old neighborhoods, at least thirty or forty years old that had yet to be demolished.
The rental prices for these two types of properties were worlds apart.
Rory’s salary at Elysian wasn’t low—in fact, it was significantly higher than most of her peers from medical school.
But she wanted to pay back the money the Harrington Family had spent raising her as soon as possible.
Although the amount she had tallied would inevitably miss things like fuel costs for car rides and the depreciation of daily necessities, she had recorded most of the expenses.
Paying back even a part of it would lessen her sense of indebtedness.
Rory found a one-bedroom, one-living-room apartment for 800 a month that came fully furnished with appliances.
The main reason for the low rent was that it was on the top floor of a building with no elevator.
That wasn’t an issue for Rory.
She was just about to contact the agent, and planned to take a look after work the next day when a call came in.
The caller ID on her screen read—
Auntie Irving.
It was Miles’ mother, Evelyn Irving.
Rory’s heart skipped a beat.
During the home stay all those years ago, there had been one other person in the house besides her mother: Evelyn Irving.
Her mother had died from multiple stab wounds while protecting Evelyn Irving.
Evelyn had treated her very well over the years.
Evelyn had also been the one to suggest that she and Miles Harrison start dating four years ago,
"Auntie Irving, hi."
Rory took a deep breath, her voice clearly tense.
She was afraid Evelyn was calling to convince her to get back together with Miles.
"Rory, my mother-in-law is having heart trouble. I’m bringing her to the hospital now; we’re almost there."
Evelyn’s voice was tinged with anxiety.
The mother-in-law she spoke of was Charlotte Rhodes, Miles’ paternal grandfather’s second wife.
"I’m on duty tonight," Rory said, already heading out the door. "I’ll go to the emergency entrance and wait for you. Tell the driver not to rush. Just drive slowly and keep the speed as steady as possible."
"That’s wonderful. We’ll be there in a minute."
Evelyn sounded relieved.
Rory went to the emergency department and asked a nurse to bring a gurney. After waiting for about five or six minutes, the Harrington Family’s car arrived.
Rory helped Evelyn move Charlotte onto the gurney, then wheeled her off to run the relevant tests.
The test results came back quickly.
The emergency room doctor read the test results and said, "Let’s admit her for a few days of observation. She might need a cardiac stent." He then looked to Rory. "Dr. Linden, what do you think?"
Rory was a cardiac surgeon, so she was the specialist with more authority on the subject.
"She’s been treated with medication before, but the effects weren’t significant. A cardiac stent is indeed more suitable."
Rory stated her opinion as well.
"A... a cardiac stent? Does that involve surgery? Mother-in-law is so old... Why don’t we let Sean make the decision tomorrow?"
Evelyn looked worried. She didn’t dare agree to something so major on her own authority.
’Sean?’
In all the years she’d spent with the Harrington Family, this seemed to be the first time Rory had ever heard that name.
"Sean Harrison," Evelyn said, and glanced at Charlotte as she explained, "Miles’s youngest uncle."
