Chapter 5

Faith woke up and stretched by the window as she always did, but instead of her usual view, she saw Callum working on the gardens. She couldn't help but to notice that he was in really good shape. Dammit, Mira was definitely wrong. He's more than cute. Her eyes got stuck on his biceps as he grabbed the shovel. That was not the idea Faith had of a paediatrician.

In her mind, all paediatricians were like old Doctor Brooks, with a cute and fluffy white moustache dancing on his upper lip as he spoke and thick round glasses in front of his eyes. And he would always give her a lollipop at the end of the appointments, since Faith was one of those children that cried a lot every time she needed to get a shot. The lollipop was her reward for being brave. Faith always thought that doing that was like training a dog. They were trying to condition her to think that the doctor's office was a happy place by giving her candy. And unfortunately, she had to admit it worked. Five-year-old Faith started looking forward to the candy. Her sweet tooth betrayed her.

As Callum got up and stretched his back, he saw Faith gawking at him. He smirked and waved at her. She looks cute in her pyjamas. Callum was pleased to see that she was back to her usual routine. And he had to admit to himself that he might have started working in that particular area on purpose, just to take a quick glance at her. Just to see if Rapunzel would leave her tower or not. Just curiosity, nothing else.

Embarrassed, Faith awkwardly waved back at him and then closed the curtains before disappearing inside her room. Callum chuckled and went back to tending to the garden before his uncle could reprimand him.

As always, Faith followed her step-by-step routine, she ran around the property, took a shower, ate breakfast, got to work around the orchard, sat at her laptop writing the report to send to her dad and made sure that everything was going smoothly so that they could soon start the apple picking process. She wasn't on the best talking terms with her father. He hadn't apologised for his comment, but work had to continue, so she refused to let her performance be affected by a personal matter. Even though her father was one of her employers, she promised herself she would always keep things separate.

"Did your father apologize to you?" Grace asked as she saw her daughter walking down the stairs.

"No, mum. And you know as well as I do that he won't."

"Come here." Grace wrapped her arm around her daughter. "Let's have some tea."

Faith sat in the living room while her mum forced her to drink camomile tea and talk about her feelings. Two things that she didn't particularly enjoy. They might've looked like the spitting image of each other, but their personalities were certainly nothing alike. Faith was a weird, awkward, anxious introvert, while her mother was an extrovert that could hold a conversation about anything with anyone without embarrassing herself even once.

"You know he didn't mean to hurt you, right?"

"I know. He's always like that. He doesn't think before he speaks. And it's not like he's wrong, either. I know that. Life doesn't stop because of a decision I made."

"Why don't you go out for a bit? You are always here working or at your dad's office or at the university. Go out and have dinner. Have some fun."

"With whom?"

"Mira?"

"Wedding preparations." Faith sighed.

"Well, I'm sending you off, anyway. You're forbidden to have dinner at home today. Go out and enjoy yourself."

"What?"

"You heard me, pumpkin. Off you go," Grace said as she yanked Faith from the couch and pushed her out of the living room.

"But mum-"

"No. You're going out. Have fun," Grave dragged Faith up the stairs.

Faith, unable to refute her mother, took a shower, put on some light makeup, a pair of light-coloured jeans, a blouse and a pair of boots that didn't have any soil stuck to them. She grabbed her purse and was kindly pushed through the door by Grace. As she reached the gate, she just stood there. Where was she going? What was she going to do? She could just hide somewhere and pretend she had gone out. But she also knew that her mother was right. Faith needed something to distract her from work and from Ronnie and from everything else that was going on.

"Hi Rapunzel. What are you doing out of your tower?" Callum asked and Faith turned to face him.

"You really need to stop with the princess jokes. Especially Rapunzel. I may be blonde, but my hair is too short. Shoulder length is not Rapunzel at all." Which reminds me that I still need to fix this mess... She thought while grabbing a strand of hair.

"Maybe so, but you do spend most of your time in your tower." He smirked, and despite being annoyed, Faith couldn't help but to think about how charming his smile was. His patients' mothers must love him. She thought, annoyed. Good looking charming doctor... What a cliché... Damn you, Dr Grant.

"I don't spend that much time inside. I ran this morning, and I was in the orchard."

"Yes. But immediately after, you went inside and didn't step foot outside until now."

"Why are you paying that much attention to what I do, Doc?" she smirked.

"I'm not," he blushed and looked away. Callum wasn't one to blush easily, but he was aware that Faith was indeed right. He wasn't sure why, but he had been paying too much attention to her and spacing out every time she walked past him while he worked. It had delayed his chores and made him lose track of time. He couldn't help but to be intrigued by her.

"Well, I'm out and about right now, so I might as well enjoy it. Where are you heading?"

"Downtown. Want a ride on my chariot?"

Such a dork... She thought. But she couldn't help but to smile, regardless. "You can't help yourself, can you?"

He chuckled. "No. I suppose not. I'm sorry." No, he truly could not help himself at all. Callum was starting to really enjoy seeing Faith's little timid smirks and hear her melodic giggles. He would take any chance he got to make her smile.

"Well then, if a chariot awaits me, I can't throw the opportunity away."

"Enjoying your last night of freedom before you go back to your tower and marry a king you don't love to save your kingdom?"

"Ouch. That's awfully accurate."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No." She chuckled. "Well... Sort of. That could have definitely been my reality a few weeks ago."

"I really want to know what you mean by that, but I'm also afraid of asking. Too soon for me to ask about it?"

"Give me a few more weeks and maybe I'll tell you the whole story. Or you can instead go around town asking, and someone will tell you their version of the events."

"I would rather hear it straight from you." He smiled tenderly.

"Thank you." She smiled back. "Shall we go to your chariot?"

He chuckled. "Right this way, your majesty."

The drive was a short one and for the most part they spent it bickering about the radio station. Callum preferred his smoothed jazz station, whereas Faith wanted to hear a pop song so she could sing along. Eventually, Faith won. Once I Wanna Dance With Somebody started playing and she started singing along. Callum was too amused, and the radio station didn't matter anymore, not when Faith looked so adorable even though she was completely off tune.

"So, what are you going to do on your night away from the castle?"

"Why? Are you worried I won't be able to make it back before midnight?"

Callum blushed yet again and smiled. "Your chariot will be waiting for when you wish to go back. And I can assure you it won't turn into a pumpkin."

"Well, then the least I can do is to offer you some dinner. What do you want to eat?" Please say yes so, I don't have to eat alone. She thought.

"There's an Italian place that I haven't yet had the opportunity to try since I got here. Smells amazing every time I walk past it."

"Let's go, then." Faith didn't even hesitate. She wasn't sure on why she was inviting a stranger for dinner. Truth be told, she didn't even know how she was managing to talk so much to Callum when she could barely exchange a couple of sentences with most people that weren't a part of her inner circle. But there was no way that she would be seen in town having dinner alone.

And Callum wasn't really a stranger, was he? He was Mr Grant's nephew, after all. She had heard stories and seen pictures of him. Even though Kade was a man of few words, he would always talk with some much pride about the achievements of his family. And even if Callum was a complete stranger, Faith would still refuse to be seen alone out and about in town. She wouldn't risk being intercepted by the biggest gossipers in town that had been dying to see her out and about after the engagement fiasco. Callum would be her diversion. Everyone could focus on the new stranger in town instead of focusing on the strangest girl in town. And besides, she had to admit to herself that she was dying to know more about the mysterious, charming doctor working as a gardener.

The restaurant smelled delicious, and both of them almost drooled at the sight of cheesy pizzas and creamy pastas. There were the typical white and red chequered table clothes on the tables and the place had a traditional aura about it. Faith ordered a pizza and Callum a lasagna and a bruschetta to start with and share.

"How long have you been here?" Faith asked as she grabbed another piece of the bruschetta. The dough was perfect, and the tomatoes were fresh and sweet.

"I arrived about two weeks ago. Spent the first one resting, but I was getting bored, so my uncle got me the job at your house, and I've been working for a little over a week now," Callum said as he also indulged in the delicious food. "Uncle Kade just talked to your dad, said that he had one of his nephews staying with him that was on sabbatical and that just wanted to help out. Since at this time of the year you are busy with the apples and the festival, I got the job immediately."

"At this time of the year, every extra pair of hands is welcome, that's for sure."

"Don't yours count, too? Or does the princess can't get her hands dirty?" Callum smirked as he took a sip of his drink.

"Stop it." She glared at him, trying to look angry and menacing, but instead, at least to Callum, she looked extremely cute while making that face.

"I'll try. I promise."

"I have a hard time believing you, but anyway. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but I'm more of a bookworm. I spent most of the time studying ways of improving the crops and the fields, that requires a lot of reading, analysing articles, studies, and samples and what not. I also do a little bit of research with the local university and consult for other farms and orchards."

"I understand. So, staying locked up in your chambers most of the day is part of your job."

"I thought that you were going to stop."

Callum chuckled. "Last one."

"What about you? Why is a paediatrician working on an apple farm in the middle of nowhere?" Callum stayed silent for a while and lost his usual charming smile. "I'm sorry. It's too personal, and it's none of my business."

"It's fine. Your question is normal. I'm the one that it's still shaken up by what happened."

""

His smile returned, even though it was more restrained than before.

"I worked at a big hospital, with severe cases. There was this kid that was really sick. Wendy. She was making progresses, and we thought that she was going to get over it. The new treatments seemed to be working, the results were promising —" Callum looked down at his plate as his eyes got red as the tears begun to flood them.

"But she didn't get better," Faith sighed and placed her hand on top of his, gently squeezing his hand, trying to comfort him.

"She did. For a short while. But her decline was sudden and too rapid. It was my first loss. I wasn't ready for it. I mean. I knew that it could happen when I decided to become a doctor. But still. I'm starting to think that I may not be cut out for this. I don't think that I can go through the experience of losing a patient again and again, over the course of how many years my career lasts."

"I don't think that anyone is prepared for that. I think that's something you have to learn to cope with while on the job."

"The funny thing is, my parents warned me that I wasn't cut out for it. They tried to convince me to study something else. Anything but medicine."

"Really?"

He nodded. "They told me I was too emotional. Too kind. That I wouldn't be able to detach myself from the job." He chuckled. "I got so angry at them for saying that. But it's not like they were wrong. And it's not a bad thing being like that, anyway. But that's the reason for this break. One of the reasons, at least. I need to think about what I really want to do." Not only was Callum lost regarding the future path of his career, but he also wasn't ready to face either Ben or Alice. He wasn't even sure if he would ever want to look at their faces ever again, let along go back to a life where they were inevitably a part of.

"How about choosing a smaller office instead of a big hospital? Just dealing with day-to-day consultations and regular checkups?"

"That's what I'm considering."

"You're thinking about staying until when?"

"I was thinking about leaving after Christmas. Since I'm here, my parents are coming over to celebrate it with my uncle, and we'd all leave after that."

"So just enjoy your time here to rest. Enjoy the fall festival and the Christmas fair, and don't worry about a thing."

"I'll try my best to do that."

Faith suddenly realized that her hand was still on top of his, and she quickly removed it. She placed her hands on her lap and looked to the side as she pretended to look for the waiter. Callum couldn't help but to smile while Faith looked at the dessert menu, hiding her blushed cheeks, pretending to be extremely interested in ordering a panna cotta.

"Thank you for the ride. And the company at dinner. I needed the distraction." She sighed and glanced at the house with a worried frown.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm all ears. And if you don't, we can just enjoy Italian cuisine," Callum said, using Faith's words from earlier as he saw her worried face.

Faith smiled. "Let's just say that things have been weird since the whole engagement fiasco."

"Everyone has the right to be truly happy, whether that means with someone else or alone. Whether that means career or family. We are allowed to make the choices that make us happy."

"Listen to your own words, Dr Grant."

"I do. But that does not make the process any easier."

"Good night, Callum. Thank you for the evening."

"Thank you for listening. Good night, your majesty."

"I give up," she grumbled.

He laughed. "See you tomorrow, Faith." Faith's heart skipped a beat as she heard him say her name. He had stopped with the jokes and used her name, and his smile was just something out of this world.

She laid down on the bed and called Mira, that had left her a ton of messages and missed phone calls.

"Where have you been? I've been trying to call you."

"I was out. Having dinner."

"Please tell me that it was with the cute gardener that happens to carry around a first aid kit?"

"How did you know?"

"It really was with him. My sixth sense is that good? Who knew? So, tell me everything about him."

"There's not much to say. We just bumped into each other and decided to have dinner. Turns out he's Mr Grant's nephew, that's why he's working here. He's a paediatrician, and he's taking a break."

"I knew I saw a spark between the two of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm right. I just know it."

"Is this why you called?"

"No. I called because I need to know if you are bringing a plus one to the wedding or not. I need to know asap. You were marked as not having one because... you know... Ronnie is a guest too. But now that you're no longer together... maybe you want to take a plus one with you. Maybe that can help make up for the fact that Ronnie will be there, too."

"Who am I supposed to take? I'm going alone, of course."

"How about the handsome doctor gardener?"

"I barely know him. I met him like... three days ago."

"Then this is perfect. You have the chance to get to know him more and to see him wearing a tux."

"Forget it, Mira."

"I'm putting down his name as your plus one."

"Don't you dare."

"It's done."

"No."

"Now you just need to ask him."

"I'm not going to."

"Yes, you will. There's still some time until the wedding. You will get to know him better until then."

"Is that your sixth sense or intuition or whatever talking again?"

"I know I'm right, and there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

"You're crazy."

"Just stop daydreaming about romance and start living it. Meet new people, go out, take risks. Fall in and out of love and-"

"I'm going to hang up, M. See you tomorrow."

"Wait –"