Chapter 67 Chapter 0067
•CASSANDRA•
I had barely slept when the alarm rang in the morning. And Dante wasn't in bed.
I was surprised when I heard his voice and Alena's in the corridor, and I wondered how long they had been awake.
I slept around 1 a.m. because I was busy searching for excellent and esteemed lawyers in town who would help me keep Mason away from my daughter.
I didn't even know when Dante slept before I joined him in bed.
"The mighty and strong little arms have gotten you, Uncle D!" Alena shouted, probably running after him.
"Ow, ow," Dante winced. "I surrender!"
I got off the bed and went to the bathroom. When I was done getting ready for work, I found Dante in the kitchen with Alena.
It was the weekend and they were making pancakes together. Dante was still off and Alena wasn't going to school.
"Did you sleep well?" Dante asked when he brought me breakfast and coffee to the dining table. "You stayed up till late."
"Yeah, I am fine," I answered, smiling at him. "Sadly, I can't sit through breakfast with you guys." I looked at Alena and smiled at her. "I have an early morning surgery."
Dante kissed my cheek and told me he had made extra pancakes and packed them in a lunchbox for me.
It was so lovely of him, which reminded me why he was so perfect for me.
"Come early today, Mama," Alena said when I kissed her forehead. "I want to show you and Uncle D all my drawings. I drew them at school."
"I will be home before you know, my little baby," I giggled as I grabbed my handbag and car keys.
When I was done preparing for work, I felt Alena in Dante's care. The two were very fond of each other, and I hoped Alena wouldn't ask many questions about Mason.
I had masked my scent and put on some hair extensions when I went to work as usual. Even though I had fully blended in, I didn't want to risk anyone knowing what I was.
By mid-morning, I was in the corridor outside one of the general wards, reviewing the chart of a patient who had just been admitted with chest complications.
The man was elderly and anxious, and I kept my voice low and steady as I asked him questions and noted his responses.
I wasn't paying attention to the reception area at the far end of the corridor. Not until I heard the voice.
My hand froze on the chart, and I held my breath. Suddenly, the earth beneath me seemed to rotate under my feet.
I wished to turn around and run away before he could see me, but I had to check my patient. It would seem abrupt of me to leave without a word of goodbye or way forward.
I knew that voice. I would have known it anywhere, in any crowd, in any corridor. It had lived in the back of my memory for five years whether I wanted it to or not.
Mason.
I turned my head slightly and looked toward the reception desk. He was standing there with his back partially toward me, broad shoulders tense beneath his jacket, and he was speaking to one of the front desk nurses.
I caught fragments of what he was saying from where I stood.
"I'm looking for a Dr. Frost," he said. "I was told she works on this floor."
My stomach dropped.
I turned back to my patient immediately and lowered my head over the chart, letting my hair fall forward.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath. "What are you doing here, Mason?"
My scent was masked. It was always masked inside this building. But I didn't want him to end up noticing who I truly was.
I just needed to finish with this patient and slip into one of the side rooms before the nurse pointed him in my direction.
"Just a few more questions left," I murmured to my patient, keeping my voice even.
The elderly man nodded.
I wrote quickly, my eyes moving between the chart and the corridor in my peripheral vision. Mason was still at the desk and the nurse was checking something on her screen.
I was almost done. I just needed thirty more seconds.
"Dr. Frost?"
I closed my eyes and held myself from swearing before I turned to her. "Yes?"
The nurse, a cheerful young woman named Petra who didn't absolutely know what she was doing, was walking toward me with a bright smile and Mason beside her.
"This gentleman has been asking for you," Petra answered. "He said it's a friendly visit, and to also ask about a patient in another ward."
Mason's eyes landed on me and he smiled. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Dr. Frost. I hope we will have a few minutes to catch up."