Leaning on his chest, Ariana dabbed at her tears with his shirt, slowly regained her composure, and carefully stepped back from Holdenâs embrace.
She looked into his eyes and asked, âSo, when are you going to leave?â
âYou sure know how to switch gears quickly.
â Holden felt resigned.
He lightly tapped her forehead and teased, âAre you trying to get rid of me already?â
Ariana let out a sigh and said, âYouâll need to go back to your place again to see Adele and Sadieâ¦â The moment she mentioned the names, Holden quickly covered her mouth.
âDevin and Shawn are there for Adele.
Iâm not going anywhere.
So donât try to push me away,â he said.
Ariana stared at him, feeling resigned.
She realized she didnât really have a say in the matter.
The next morning, Holden got ready for work.
But before he left, he made sure to watch Ariana change the password back, playfully warning, âIf you donât switch it back, Iâm not leaving.
â
Left with no choice, Ariana changed the password back.
After that, Holden departed, clearly pleased.
Once Holden was gone, Ariana dropped Melon off at kindergarten and went to meet Calvin and the old man they had consulted before.
This time, the meeting spot was a usual one, inside a hospital, though the location was quite distant.
Ariana felt a sense of deja vu seeing the hospital.
It reminded her of the one Sadie had been to.
The hospital was off the beaten path, with hardly any patients around.
It was mostly doctors and nurses here, very secluded.
At the entrance, Ariana approached a male nurse and showed him her appointment slip.
The nurse greeted her with a smile, saying, âAh, youâre the presidentâs client.
â
Ariana was taken aback.
So the old man was the hospitalâs president?
She had only thought he was a particularly good doctor.
After looking at her appointment slip, the nurse was very welcoming.
He smiled and said, âMiss, youâre very pretty.
Why are you considering plastic surgery?â
Ariana gestured towards Calvin beside her.
âHeâs the one who needs it.
Iâm just tagging along.
â
The nurse spotted Calvin standing not too far off, his face uncovered.
Surprised, the nurse walked up to him and blurted out, âWho did the plastic surgery for you before? They did a terrible job.
â