From her vantage point, April could hear the voice of the Chairman as he stepped into the office. She had seen him earlier in the morning, yelling at a doctor.
Adrian should have just let her go. Why bother letting her hide? Or perhaps, he doesn't want the chairman to see her, she reasoned, pressing her ear against the door.
"Adrian, what is wrong with you? I thought you knew yourself better. How dare you stoop so low to have a fight with that intern? I am so glad you have the sense to arrest her. That should serve her right. Wait…" he suddenly paused. "Isn't she the one I heard ran in with you from the lobby? Why? What happened? Where is she? Who released her?" he quizzed endlessly.
"Hey, cool it, old man. First off. What did you come here for? How about we talk about that instead, huh?" he fired back.
"You are such a fool. Hear me, son. As long as I am your father, you remain under me. The fact that my dad handed this hospital over to you would not change anything." he breathed.
What? The chairman was his dad? April marveled.
Adrian snorted. "Last time I checked, you were not my father."
The chairman let out a loud hollow laugh. "You can go and tell that to the world. After all, you have the press at your finger tips, don't you?" he sneered.
"I have work to do. So if you have nothing to say, can you please take your leave?"
The Chairman cleared his throat. "I have important news, so it is best you calm your nerves down and listen. Your engagement with Lana would be next week, so if you know what is good for you, set your affairs in order. I don't need any stupid news, rumours or whatsoever, flying around." he warned.
"My engagement? Are you nuts or something?" Adrian sounded mad and furious.
"What? It is high time you two start a family, don't you think? How long would you let your daughter live in hiding?" He left immediately without another word and slammed the door hard.
His daughter? Adrian has a daughter? April wondered, listening to the deafening silence that followed, wondering if she should come out yet or not. Did Lana have a child for him?
"Hey, April. You can step out now. He is gone." He sounded tired and weary.
She came out, relieved she wasn't caught by the chairman. Her mind wandered and pondered on what she had just heard.
"Really? You have a daughter?"
"Just shut up. You heard nothing. If you know what is good for you, you best keep this between us." He warned sternly.
She let out a small laugh. "Sure. As long as I am not homeless."
Adrian gave her a hard-piercing stare now. "Are you nuts? That is a sealed deal, you know. Don't think you can play smart now, simply because you heard a string of jargons. Please leave my office. I should have let you go earlier, Andrea Johnson."
She stared at him in disbelief, too stunned for words. This insult was thicker than she had bargained for. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when Lana barged in at that moment. April felt like her heart had just stopped. She should have left immediately she stepped out from her hideout, she thought, as her eyes met Lana's gaze. If Lana's eyes were to be a gun, April knew she would have been dead from multiple bullets.
"What are you doing here?" Lana hissed at her.
"How dare you ask her that? After attempting to kill her sister." Adrian fired.
Lana looked surprised. "What? What are you talking about? What is my business with the wrench's sister? My business is with the wrench herself, not any stupid sister whatsoever."
"Excuse me? I'm still here." April found her voice.
"Yeah, so what?" Lana took a step forward to her with an intimidating glare, but Adrian held her back.
"It is enough." He said firmly as he nodded to the door for April to go. She gave them one last glance before stepping out in anger and humiliation. Her whole face felt on fire. From her eyes to her cheeks and everything. She restrained the urge to cry as she made her way to her sister's ward. It hurt her deeply to think that they had to treat her like some piece of trash.
April was glad when she finally saw Maya, though she was in a coma. She sighed sadly. At least she was not dead. She suddenly remembered her dad and kid sister ought to have been here. Where were they when Maya had an emergency? She thought, dialing her dad's number. But before the number could go through, a nurse barged in with blazing eyes.
"I can see Dr. Adrian isn't enough for you, and so you want to snatch Lu from me, isn't it?" she breathed.
April wasn't ready to give her any attention yet. "Hello, dad. Where are you?"
''I should be the one asking you, because last time I checked you were in the police cell. Don't tell me you have been released."
April was stunned and speechless for a moment.
"Really, dad? I still can't believe you..." Her dad hung up on her before she could finish, but dazed in shock, she still held the phone in her hands till the nurse lunged at her, snatching the phone.
"Do you think you can be on a pretend call just to evade my question? Or do you think you are the only pretty one here? Tell me if…" a sudden hot slap from an agitated April made her halt at once as she held the offending cheek. "Did you just slap me?" the nurse was astounded.
"Would you mind if I do it again?"
Coincidentally, Naomi,the Head Nurse, chose that moment to walk in, as if on cue. She stopped at the ward immediately. "Really, April? Why was I thinking you were the victim and the pathetic one here?" she questioned.
April was still fuming with rage. What was left right now, was for her to go insane. First, she was still trying to recover from Adrian and Lana's insult, then her dad had to sound mean to her, and then this nurse from nowhere had to rub it on her face in her own way, and now Naomi.
"April, would you also ignore me? I just asked you a question." Naomi was saying.
"I am listening." April spoke in between clenched teeth, struggling to keep her anger in check.
"So you have not been listening the entire time. Where have your ears been?"
"Exactly where yours is sitting on your body! If you have anything to say, just say it!" she struggled to restrain herself from yelling, but to no avail.
"Don't you dare yell at me! Not after parading yourself around as a victim of circumstances, and trying to set the whole building on fire with your canny attitude. You are banned from ever working here. Find another hospital for your internship that would tolerate your flimsy and dirty attitude." Naomi finished with a hiss as she left immediately. The nurse followed behind, sticking her tongue out at April.
After they left, April slumped down on the chair in frustration, her eyes brimming with tears. Naomi's declaration suddenly made it dawn on her that she had really lost her spot at the hospital, whereas in her mind's eye, she had been considering going back to plead with Adrian as Ned suggested, especially since he seemed to have softened a bit from the incident. She wiped her eyes quickly when she heard the door open. She half hoped it would be Jorge as he seemed to have disappeared since. But it wasn't. It was the Chairman instead. She stood up immediately, shivering in fear. He was a round man. Average in height, with a protruding belly that even his heavy expensive suit couldn't conceal. He smacked his lips in an irritating manner as he gawked at her.