Catherine's POV,
I slammed the door shut behind me. Dropped my pouch on the floor. My heels too.
Straight to the couch.
I buried my face in my hands. My chest wouldn't stop pounding. My lips wouldn't stop burning.
God. What just happened?
I pulled at my hair, pacing the living room. Back and forth.
I hate her. I hate her so much.
So why can't I stop shaking?
I caught my reflection in the mirror across the room. My cheeks flushed. My eyes are wild. My lips… swollen.
I covered my mouth with my hand.
That was my first. My first kiss. And it had to be her.
I sat down on the floor, hugging my knees. Tried to breathe. My heart keeps on beating fast.
Her face wouldn't leave my head. That shock in her eyes. The way she said my name. The way she followed my cab.
"Stop," I whispered to myself. "Stop thinking about her."
But I couldn't.
And that scared me more than anything. She disrespected me. Kissed me without a warning. I gave her what she wanted- her date, and yet, here we are.
Sunlight stabbed through my curtains. My head was pounding.
I didn't even remember falling asleep on the couch. Same dress. Makeup smudged. Hair a disaster.
The banging on my door was louder than my heartbeat.
"Cathy! Open up!"
Alorra. Of course.
I dragged myself up, feet heavy, body numb. Opened the door without even looking.
She barged in, holding two cups of coffee. Stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me.
"Oh my god." Her eyes widened. "You look like death."
"Thanks," I muttered, collapsing back onto the couch.
She set the coffees down and sat beside me. Studying me. Too quiet. Too serious.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
I stared at the floor. My hands. Anything but her.
"Nothing."
"Cathy." Her voice is sharper now. "Don't lie to me."
I swallowed hard.
What the fuck should I tell her?
"I—" My voice cracked. "I kissed her."
Silence.
Alorra blinked. "You what?"
I buried my face in my hands. My body is trembling all over again.
"You kissed-"
"She kissed me."
"What the hell, Catherine? What did you do? Did you like it? What happened afterwards? Don't tell me you did something? Did you do something?!"
"That was my first kiss, Alorra"
"Wait- you're first kiss? You go on dates. One-night stand-"
"I don't allow kissing."
Alorra burst out laughing. "Are you serious? How do you do sex without kissing?"
"All body of course"
"That's messed up. Wait- So what happened?"
I groaned, burying my face into a pillow. "Nothing happened. I ran."
"You ran?" Alorra's jaw dropped. "You kissed her and then ran? Oh my god, Cathy."
"It wasn't supposed to happen!" I sat up, clutching the pillow to my chest. "I don't even like her. I hate her. She's—she's impossible."
Alorra leaned back, grinning like the devil. "Yeah, sure. You hate her so much that you gave her your first kiss."
I threw the pillow at her. She dodged, laughing even louder.
"Shut up, Alorra!"
She wiped a tear from laughing too hard. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry—this is just insane. Catherine Luis Lavander, queen of cold shoulders, finally breaks her rule for one woman. And it's her."
My chest tightened. My throat ached.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," I whispered.
Alorra's smile faded. She reached over, grabbing my hand. "Maybe nothing's wrong. Maybe you just… felt something real for the first time."
Her words stung more than I wanted to admit.
"You're not suggesting I like her, right?"
"Nope," I sighed in relief. "I am kindly saying that you love her." Her smile grew wider, and she looked like a maniac.
"Fuck you," I blurt out, covering my face with a pillow.
I buried myself in work the next day—double rounds. Extra charts. Anything to keep my brain from going back to last night? To Alorra's stupid words. To that kiss.
Love? Please. Ridiculous.
The knock on my door nearly sent me jumping.
"Doctor Lavander?" A nurse peeked her head in. "Someone is asking for you at the lobby."
My brows furrowed. "At this hour?"
"Yes, ma'am. She said you'd want to see her."
My chest dropped. I already knew. Why couldn't she just leave me alone? Does she expect me to ever talk to her again?
I shook my head immediately, gripping the pen in my hand tighter. "Tell her I'm busy. I don't see visitors outside patient hours."
The nurse hesitated. "But, Doctor—"
"That's an order." My voice came out sharper than I intended.
Silence. Then the door quietly closed.
I leaned back in my chair, exhaling shakily. My hands were ice-cold, my heart pounding like I'd just run a marathon.
Two weeks passed. Two weeks of silence. Two weeks of convincing myself that maybe she'd finally gotten the hint.
I was wrong.
Another knock on my office door.
"Doctor Lavander," the same nurse said carefully. "She's here again. At the lobby."
My grip on the chart tightened until my knuckles went white. "Tell her I'm not available."
The nurse shifted uncomfortably. "Doctor, she's been waiting—"
"I said no." My voice cracked sharper than I meant.
The nurse nodded quickly and slipped out.
I sat there, frozen. My chest is heavy, my throat dry.
Why was she back? Why again?
Almost a month had passed. She's been coming back and forth.
"Doc-"
"I will not see anyone."
"Actually," the nurse cleared her throat, stepping inside, "she left you this and left the hospital."
I looked at the paper the nurse was holding. I hesitated for a moment before finally taking it.
I buried myself in work. Extra shifts. Extra surgeries. Extra everything. My office was overflowing with charts, coffee cups stacked like trophies of exhaustion. If I kept moving, I didn't have to think. Didn't have to feel. Didn't have to remember.
Dinner with my father was the only thing that forced me out of the hospital. He insisted. Always insisting.
Same table. Same chandelier. Same fake smile on my face. He was talking. I was barely listening.
"You look dead tired again," he said, sipping his wine like he wasn't the one stressing me out half my life.
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. But it's okay, at least I've sent enough people to France to build your dream hospital. Strong engineers. Persistent ones. One even pushed the board until they approved her design. Andres, I think?"
My fork slipped. Clanged against the plate.
He kept going, unfazed. "Annoying woman, really. Reminds me of you. But effective. That's what matters. She's the reason the expansion project is still alive."
My chest tightened. My pulse was everywhere.
"Elai?" The name escaped before I could stop it.
Dad looked at me, raising his brows. "You know her?"
I froze. My throat is dry. My hands are cold.
She's an engineer. She's one of his. She's with the company.
Of course. Of course, it was her.
"I—" I swallowed hard. "She was my patient."
He chuckled, like it was the funniest coincidence. "Well, isn't that something? Small world."
Small world. My world is collapsing.
And just like that, I couldn't breathe anymore.
My dad kept on talking the whole dinner, and I could barely keep up. All I was thinking was that Elai is one of our engineers. Is that why she hasn't been in the hospital for almost four months now?
I didn't go home after dinner; I went to the hospital.
"Cathy, what are you doing here?" Alorra was shocked to see me. "Something came up?"
"Where is her letter?" I said.
"What letter?"
I didn't mind her. I went towards my cabinet and took the folded letter she left that day. I took a deep breath before finally opening it.
"Going somewhere, this will take a long time. Don't miss me much." I looked at the very bottom.
"I'm sorry for kissing you without your consent. I was mesmerised by your beauty, I couldn't stop myself."
To Be Continued...