Chapter 120
Sebastian had never seen her smile at him like that before. He pressed the horn, but it didn’t
help.
The road ahead was completely jammed. Every car was crawling forward like turtles.
Sebastian rolled down the window. Cold wind rushed in as he held a cigarette between his fingers, resting his hand on the edge of the window. He flicked the ash once.
A pale trail of smoke drifted out, blurring his vision. But it was not enough to blur Valeria’s
face.
There were a few cars between him and the bus stop.
She was wearing a blue coat today, with a beige scarf wrapped around her neck. The cold wind blew through her hair as she stood talking and laughing with the man beside her.
When she smiled, her red lips revealed perfect white teeth. It was innocent and alluring.
The heavy traffic lasted for 20 minutes before traffic began to inch forward.
Sebastian watched as she and the man boarded a bus. It was just a short distance ahead of him. The bus moved slowly, then turned onto the BRT lane two blocks later, gradually pulling away.
Sebastian made a turn, heading toward the hospital.
Around noon, Sebastian dropped by the pediatric surgery department.
It was already 12:00 pm, and Terrance Merrill was in Consultation Room 2 seeing patients. Sebastian waited 20 minutes until he finished before knocking and entering.
Terrance looked a little surprised. He hadn’t expected the hospital’s star cardiothoracic
surgeon, Dr. Grant, to show up at his office. He had just been about to shut down his computer and stand up.
“Dr. Grant, what can I do for you?”
Word was, Sebastian came from a prestigious background.
Some said he was the grandson of the highly decorated veteran commander, Lewis Bond.
He was the youngest son of the Grant family from Slate City.
His background was a stack of privileges, like layered buffs in a game.
Usually, he seemed distant and aloof, not one for small talk.
Terrance had barely interacted with him before, and now he was surprised to find him here in
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his office.
“Yesterday afternoon, was there a patient named Selena who came in under your care?”
Sebastian asked.
So it was about that. Terrance nodded and pushed up his glasses. “Yes. A six–year–old. We ordered an ultrasound and ran some bloodwork. Would you like to see the report, Dr. Grant?”
Technically, accessing a patient’s medical records required hospital authorization, but in practice, the rules weren’t always so rigid in this system.
Sebastian sat down in front of the computer, frowning slightly. “Dr. Gordon just had an opening in his surgery schedule for the week after next. We can go ahead and book her in.”
“I mentioned that to her mother. She said she’d rather wait until winter break. That way, the
girl can recover while school’s out,” Terrance replied.
Sebastian nodded.
That worked too.
He gave Terrance a quiet thank you and turned to leave the office.
Terrance was still a bit surprised.
So, Sebastian came all the way here just for that? Did he know the family? Was it a relative of
his?
It didn’t seem like it.
But Terrance didn’t dare ask too many questions.
Valeria had lunch with Queenie and Lindsey at the rooftop cafeteria.
They ran into Rory again.
The cafeteria on the top floor was reasonably priced. Whenever they were tired of takeout and didn’t have discount codes, they’d come up here for some simple home–cooked–style meals.
The Golden Lux Building had 28 floors.
Valeria typically stayed within her department’s area.
She had seen Rory earlier that morning while waiting for the bus after dropping her daughter off at school. They had met years ago when she was interning at a law firm. He had been in the legal department.
They lost touch after she left the company and exited the group chat.
Chapter 120
She hadn’t expected to find out he now worked on the 17th floor at a law firm in the same
building.
The budget–friendly cafeteria was nearly full. After Valeria, Lindsey, and Queenie sat down, one seat remained.
Rory took it.
Valeria briefly introduced him to Lindsey and Queenie.
Upon hearing he was a lawyer, Lindsey casually brought something up. “Back when I was renting with a roommate, she kept bringing her boyfriend over. It happened more than once.
“One time, I came out of the shower and ran into him, and another time, she wasn’t even home. It was just me and her boyfriend, and the way he looked at me… it was really creepy.
“I tried talking to her, but she accused me of trying to seduce him. I got so fed up, I moved out. The thing is, we split the rent and deposit, and now she won’t give me my half back.”
Rory pulled out his phone. “Let’s exchange WhatsApp.”
After they exchanged numbers, Lindsey continued explaining her situation. Rory glanced across the table at Valeria and suddenly froze.
He had never realized how beautiful she was. She had a quiet kind of charm that only grew
over time.
Back when she was just a 23–year–old intern, Valeria hadn’t known how to dress. She was awkward and inexperienced.
But now, she wore light, natural makeup that softened her features. Her coat was draped over the back of the chair, revealing a white knit sweater.
When she lowered her head, her long hair slipped over her slender shoulders, and she casually tucked it behind her ear.
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