Chapter 2
Charles's pen paused mid-stroke, like he wanted to ask about something else. But in the end, he kept it to himself.
He tore off the prescription and handed it to her.
His fingertips inevitably grazed hers.
Her hand was icy cold.
His hand, on the other hand, felt almost burning to the touch.
Both of them jerked their hands back as if they'd been shocked.
Charles stood up, his white coat trailing in a crisp, cold arc. "Get your daughter admitted first. I want all her test results."
With that, he turned to leave, as if even a second longer in the room would be pure torture.
Joyce, holding Selina, was about to get up as well.
Just as Charles was about to reach the door, he paused. With his back to her, he asked in a hoarse voice, "So... What's her name? How old is she?"
Joyce stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn around.
The hallway was bustling with people, the noise echoing all around.
But Charles's question hit her like a stone tossed into a deep well, setting off waves inside her.
She was silent for a few seconds. Then, in a voice that was almost cold, she said, "Selina Christ. She's nine."
With that, she didn't linger. She hurried off with Selina in her arms, heading straight for the nurse's station.
She could feel Charles's gaze burning into her back—so heavy and intense, it was like it could drill a hole right through her.
The whole process of getting Selina admitted was a real hassle, but Joyce stayed surprisingly calm and methodical.
She filled out the forms, paid the fees, and picked up the meds.
All her thoughts were focused on Selina's condition, making herself not think about Charles at all.
But no matter how hard Joyce tried, Charles's name, and that stunned expression on his face, kept popping up in her mind, completely out of her control.
Ten years had passed. Time truly flew in a fleeting moment.
The boy who once told her "don't wait for me" in that tiny apartment had become a respected doctor.
And Joyce, once a girl who thought love was everything, had become a mother willing to carry the world for her daughter.
They were already on totally different tracks, living lives that couldn't be more apart.
This encounter was just an accident. Nothing more.
*****
Selina got a private room in the pediatric ward.
After she got a shot to bring her fever down, the heat finally dropped a bit.
She fell fast asleep, her long lashes still wet from crying.
Joyce sat by the bed, holding Selina's tiny hand, still shaken by what had happened.
The door to the room was gently pushed open. Charles walked in.
His white coat was gone; now he just had on a light blue shirt, sleeves rolled up with meticulous care.
He seemed less like a distant doctor now, and a little more like the guy from Joyce's past.
Joyce immediately stood up, her whole body tensing up, like a hedgehog ready to fight at any moment.
"Some of the results are in," Charles said quietly, careful not to wake Selina.
He handed her a few reports. "The blood test shows a viral infection, and her inflammation levels are off the charts.
"It looks like viral encephalitis, but we'll need to wait for the EEG and lumbar puncture results to confirm."
Joyce took the reports.
She didn't really understand all the medical jargon, but the words "viral encephalitis" made her heart clench. "Is it serious?"
"It's too early to say. We'll have to see how she responds to treatment."
Charles's gaze lingered on Selina's sleeping face, his eyes full of complicated emotions. "I'll keep a close eye on her myself."
"Thank you, Dr. Carter," Joyce said, her tone polite but distant.
Charles swallowed hard. "Joyce, can we talk?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Joyce refused, her tone cold. "If you want to discuss Selina's condition, I'm always available. But if it's anything else, we've already said everything that needed to be said."
"That's it?" Charles let out a bitter laugh, his voice simmering with barely contained anger. "Is that all our past means to you?
"You walked out without saying a thing, and I haven't heard a single word from you for ten years.
"If we hadn't crossed paths here today, were you going to keep me in the dark forever?"
He stepped forward, crowding her space.
"What exactly am I hiding from you?" Joyce shot back, her eyes icy as she stared him down. "That I got into grad school? Or that I actually made a life for myself?
"Charles, you were the one who said you were moving back home and told me not to wait for you ten years ago.
"I let you go. Was that so wrong?"
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Charles's voice spiked, but he quickly dropped it to a harsh whisper, careful not to wake Selina. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant with my child?"
"Your child?" Joyce scoffed, as if he'd just told her the funniest joke she'd ever heard.
She met his gaze, speaking each word with icy clarity. "Dr. Carter, you're mistaken.
"She's my daughter.
"From the moment she was born, the father's section on her birth records had been left blank.
"She has my last name, and I raised her with my own earnings.
"When she got sick, I was the one who carried her to the hospital on my own.
"She has nothing to do with you. Not now, not ever."
Her words hit Charles so hard that he couldn't retort.
He stared at her stubborn, icy profile, feeling like someone had grabbed his heart and twisted it.
Joyce was right.
For ten years, he hadn't been there for his daughter.
He hadn't even known he had a daughter out there.