Chapter 20 Symptoms
JAMES’ POV
The call ended as my phone slowly lowered from my hands. I stared at the screen for a moment, still processing what I’d just heard.
Symptoms? How could they be having symptoms?
The drugs were made to cure the illness. They were designed specifically to treat it down to the root. So how did they suddenly begin to have symptoms 3 to 5 years later?
It didn’t make sense — not scientifically, not logically. Unless something went wrong. Unless something was overlooked. But that was impossible. We made sure every formula was perfect. I tested every dosage, every combination. There shouldn’t be anything wrong.
“Who was that and what did they say?” Melissa asked, her voice laced with suspicion as she stared at me from a few feet away.
“It’s the company,” I said, already moving toward the hallway. “They’re claiming something that shouldn’t be possible. I’m heading to the office to check out what they’re saying.” My footsteps were faster than my thoughts. I just needed to get out of the house, get away from this moment, and figure out what this mess was.
“I'm coming with you,” Melissa suddenly said, her heels clicking against the tiled floor as she started walking up to me.
I stopped immediately, letting out a small sigh before turning to face her. I didn’t need her complicating things right now. This wasn’t just a routine check-up. Something was really wrong, and her presence would only add more tension.
“Why are you coming with me? There’s no need to,” I said, holding her stare.
“So you expect me to just let you go where you want so you could meet up with that secretary of yours and fuck her, right?” Melissa snapped, folding her arms.
“What?” I blinked in disbelief. “I literally just said it was work that called me.”
“The other day you cheated on me, you also told me the lie that you had to go to work,” she said, her voice rising. “And I didn’t know you were going to work on another woman’s body. That’s not going to happen again.” Melissa walked past me, heading for the front door.
“You’re talking like a child right now," I said, following after her. "Are you saying you’re going to follow me around everywhere I go?”
“That’s for you to answer. Do you have something to hide?” she shot back, fixing her hair as she turned and glared.
We got into the car, and immediately, I drove off. The engine’s rumbling was louder in the silence between us. I didn’t respond to the rest of what she was saying. I just ignored her while focusing on the road. The anger, the accusations, the tension, I let it roll off my shoulders as I kept driving until I saw the sign for the medical company.
A small wave of relief passed over me. Even if this situation was bad, at least I could deal with it in peace, without her voice drilling holes into my skull.
We parked and stepped out of the car. She walked around from her side to mine, a big, bright smile suddenly on her face. Then she held my hand and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.
I could see the people standing outside staring at us with big, cheerful smiles on their faces. They probably thought we were the most in-love couple in the world. That our love was so sweet and perfect. That our lives were flawless.
A smile appeared on my face. She couldn’t be the only one faking this perfect moment. I had to play my part too. The perfect fiancé. The doting partner. The man who had it all together.
We walked into the building like the perfect couple, hand in hand, like we didn’t just have an argument all the way here. Like every word spoken wasn’t laced with threats and accusations.
Once we walked in, my head medical officer rushed up to me immediately.
“Sir, I’m happy you’re here because we have a small issue that needs your attention immediately,” he said, slightly out of breath.
“What’s all this you’re saying about the patients having symptoms after all this time of taking the medicine?” I asked as we walked deeper into the office. The hallway felt quiet. Too heavy. Like the walls were listening.
“It’s just like I said on the phone, sir,” he replied. “We don’t know what’s wrong, or why the patients would start having symptoms. But this has never happened before, and it could cause a lot of problems.” His voice held a hint of panic.
“Every problem has a solution,” I said, trying to reassure both him and myself. “Before we find the solution, we need to find the main cause of the problem. Why are the patients having symptoms again? Could it be that something is wrong with my drug?”
“Well that can’t be possible,” Melissa cut in suddenly, sounding confident. A little too confident. “The whole procedure to produce the drug formula was flawless. There was basically no room for mistakes. She said it herself.”
I immediately paused mid-step. My heart dropped to my stomach. I turned slowly to look at her. My eyes widened. Melissa just said something she shouldn’t have said.
“She? Who said it herself?” the head medical officer asked, confusion clear on his face. “Was there someone else assisting you when you were developing the formula?”
I stared at Melissa, trying to hold myself together. I couldn’t believe her carelessness. One slip, and everything could unravel. I forced a small, stiff smile.
“I’m just as surprised to hear what she said as you are,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Babe, you must have made a mistake, right?” I added, hoping she would understand what I meant.
“Yes,” Melissa said quickly. “I meant to say he told me himself. My lovely fiancé, that is.” She slowly rubbed my arm as she spoke, trying to recover from the slip.
The head medical officer looked a bit convinced by what we just said. But I knew he was still suspicious. She needed to be more careful. One careless word could expose everything.
“The patients aren’t that many,” he continued. “But we need to fix this before word gets out.