Chapter 44
“Dr. Grant, you’re here too,” the nurse greeted with a smile. Sebastian’s face was one of the most recognizable in the hospital.
The nurse glanced at the polished beauty dressed in a Chumette sweater and a beige checkered cashmere coat. The outfit screamed “wealthy socialite”.
Sabrina looked at Valeria. “Valeria?” she asked, frowning.
Valeria nodded and pushed back her hood. “Ms. Lawson.”
Hearing her hoarse voice, Sabrina let out a small laugh. “Wow, Valeria. Your voice is
completely gone. I didn’t even recognize you just now.
“Sebastian, this is one of my staff. We had dinner together once at the Kingdom Restaurant. Do you remember that?”
She knew full well he wouldn’t. He never paid attention to things like that. She was just making small talk.
She didn’t have any real relationship with Valeria. They were from different circles. Still, Valeria’s work had always stood out. Even Nathan favored her.
However, at the end of the day, she came from an ordinary background, was divorced, and was raising a child on her own.
This was just a way for Sabrina to appear approachable in front of a subordinate, especially with Sebastian present.
Valeria smiled faintly and didn’t say anything else. She lowered her gaze to her shoes, the floor, and the IV needle in her hand. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Sebastian sitting beside her.
The nurse walked off toward the station, no doubt ready to gossip about seeing Sebastian with his girlfriend in the infusion room.
Valeria shut her eyes, trying to rest. However, she could feel a pair of eyes skimming over her face. Every second sitting here felt like sitting on pins and needles.
She listened to Sabrina’s soft voice as she chatted casually with Sebastian. At one point, her phone rang. It was Martha calling to check in. She asked if he was with Sabrina and reminded
her to rest well.
Sabrina answered sweetly, saying Sebastian was right there with her.
Valeria looked up at the IV drip and watched each drop fall, slow and steady, down the clear
tubing into her arm.
Half an hour later, she finally finished. She got up and left quickly.
Sebastian watched her go.
“She’s one of my team members. Don’t let her youthful face fool you. She already has a daughter.” Sabrina was seizing the chance to keep the conversation going.
She didn’t really believe Sebastian would be interested in Valeria since she was a divorcee and a single mom. There were too many well-bred, beautiful ladies to choose from in their circles.
Besides, Sebastian had always been distant and detached. There was no way he would go for someone like Valeria.
Sabrina smiled. “I’m sure you don’t remember her, but we all had dinner together at the barbecue place. They were all from the same department.”
Sebastian asked casually, “What university did she graduate from?”
Sabrina hesitated. “She was personally hired by Mr. Ford. She wasn’t highly educated and went to a design trade school. When she first joined the company, there were even rumors that she had something going on with Mr. Ford. Some people said her daughter was his illegitimate child. Otherwise, why would he hire someone like her?”
Sebastian’s brows furrowed. That strange feeling of familiarity came over him again. It was like his instincts could spot her in any crowd.
He knew he shouldn’t keep thinking this way. He kept telling himself that Valeria and Jane were two completely different people.
One went to a design trade school, and the other was top of her class at Stredview University. Jane majored in architecture.
It was like Jane had become a ghost in his mind. She was always there, quietly gnawing at him to the point that he found Jane in someone else. He had tried everything, but the thoughts
never left.
That evening at six, he was scheduled to cover the night shift in inpatient care. Before he left, he agreed to see a movie with Sabrina the following Monday.
He figured maybe it was time to try to move forward and open up to someone new. Maybe if he did, this fixation with Valeria resembling Jane would fade. He needed to move on.
However, when Monday came, he didn’t show up for the movie. Right before clocking out, two emergency patients were rushed in. He ended up working past eight.
….
Chapter
Valeria had been busy too. The client wanted everything urgently, and the first draft was rejected.
Semoon, the brand she was designing for, had set up a meeting with their rep, Joshua Simpson, out at a garment factory on the outskirts of town.
A new batch of fabric had just come in, and the initial prototypes had to be recut.
The samples had to be finished fast. Semoon was a livestream-based brand with quick turnaround and trendy styles. Inside the factory, the hum of sewing machines drowned out her phone buzzing.
By the time things wrapped up, night had fallen.
Joshua offered to drive her back but had to stay behind for other matters. Instead, he booked
her a car.
The factory was in the far northern part of the city, a place filled with small-scale
manufacturers. The roads were wide and quiet. It was nowhere near as bustling as the city
center.
Valeria never liked enclosed spaces. She liked to crack the window open, especially with a male driver. The mix of leather, cheap cologne, smoke, and sweat was making her dizzy.
However, she couldn’t open the car’s windows.
She asked politely, “Would you mind rolling down the window a bit? Thanks.”
“You’re a local, aren’t you?” The middle-aged driver didn’t open the window. Instead, he struck up a casual conversation.
“Yeah,” she responded, already uneasy. In the tight silence of the car, she heard the metallic click of a lighter. The sharp, acrid smell of a cheap cigarette began to drift toward her.
Valeria held her breath, brows pinching together. She reached into her bag and quietly pulled out a mask. She just wanted to go home.
“It’s late. Why are you still working? You must be busy. Does your husband not worry about you? A woman this pretty should be getting picked up by her man.” The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
Even with most of her face covered, those eyes alone could stir trouble.
Valería tensed. Her hand moved instinctively toward her bag, her fingers grazing the small bottle of pepper spray inside.
