I can't believe we're now like strangers

Carl was also surprised to see Anne. He wasn't expecting her either. It was even more surprising that she standing in front of him but unlike Anne, Carl didn't have a surprised look on his face. Yes, he was actually surprised to see her but he didn't show it on his face rather, he maintained a stoic expression.

Being the natural gentleman that Carl was, he opened the door widely and motioned for Anne to come inside the ward since she was standing at the doorstep of Noah's ward like she was about to come in.

However, Anne gave Carl a searching look waiting for him to at least say hi to her but he was quiet. To be precise, any random girl would've felt special if somebody as hot as Carl had opened the door in a gentleman-like way but Anne didn't feel special. She knows Carl to be a well-cultured man so it's a normal thing to her. She only felt sad because she felt like a total stranger to him.

If things between Anne and Carl didn't change, Carl wouldn't have just opened the door widely for her to get in, he would've given her that killer smile that says 'you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen'. He would've hugged her as soon as he saw her and probably plant a soft kiss on her forehead like she was the only thing that mattered to him in this world.

Anne missed that a lot. She missed the old Carl who loved her unconditionally and showered her with lots of attention. However, this new Carl had a straight face, waiting impatiently for her to get inside the ward so he'll leave too.

Since Carl wasn't going to say anything to Anne, Anne decided to put herself together and walked inside Noah's ward feeling depressed like there was a hole in her heart. She felt so uncomfortable with this new treatment from Carl. It was suffocating her and she does not know how long she'll be able to endure it.

"What's up pretty face? …Are you okay? You don't look so good" Noah said to Anne after Carl has shut the door closed.

Anne forced a smile on her face that wasn't convincing at all to believe she was okay. She was obviously sad and was thinking about Carl.

"I'm fine Noah… you're the one who's on the hospital bed so I should be the one asking you if you're okay," Anne said to Noah.

"You said you're fine? Do you really think I'm gonna buy that? C'mon, that fake smile isn't good enough to convince me that you're okay" he said.

Anne sat down on the hospital bed beside Noah and sighed deeply.

"you're sad because you miss him isn't it?" Noah said.

Anne slowly nodded her head in affirmation. "I can't believe we're now like strangers," she said sadly.

"How did we become like this?" She asked herself looking at Noah.

"…I think I made a mistake, I shouldn't have pushed him away because I'm full of regrets now" Anne lamented.

"You know, I don't think it's too late for you to tell Carl how you feel. I think you should make yourself happy by confessing how you feel to Carl and who knows, he is still waiting for you to go back to him with open arms" Noah said. He knew that Carl still feels something for Anne so he strongly believed that it wasn't too late for Anne to confess her love to him except Carl decided to reject her.

"No, I can't do that" Anne shook her head.

"Why can't you? I thought you love Carl… Don't you wanna be with him or do you wanna keep dying in silence" he said.

"Of course, I wanna be with him but I'm scared he's going to reject me," she said.

"You'll never know unless you try"

"I don't wanna try and fail… besides, I don't think I deserve Carl after how badly I treated him," Anne said as she thought of how she rejected Carl in the most painful way. That day, Anne didn't just break Carl's heart, she crushed his soul.

"Maybe this is my punishment for having commitment issues. if only I had given in to Carl when he used to love me things between us would've been different" Anne delivered a shaky sigh. She was hurting so much on the inside.

Anne cleaned her eyes which were welling with tears with her fingers trying to focus on why she came to this hospital in the first place. She came here to check up on Noah not to think about her failed relationship with Carl.

"By the way Noah, how's your arm?" Anne said to Noah.

"wounded as you can see but it'll heal very soon. Hopefully, I'll be getting discharged by the morrow" Noah said positively.

"I heard it happened because you were trying to protect my brother," she said.

"Dexter's my boy and I have to protect him. I mean if anything happens to him, who's going to volunteer to be my new errand boy" he said and Anne laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Noah," she said with a soft smile feeling grateful to Noah.

......…..

Meanwhile, Treasure was looking for Dexter at the nurse's lounge in the hospital. Dexter said he'll be there so she had to go there to look for him. Her eyes wandered around the place and she saw him sitting on one of the sofa chairs, browsing his phone and she walked towards him.

There were other nurses who were either off duty or were taking a break at the lounge which seemed perfect for resting.

Dexter saw Treasure standing in front of him and he kept his phone in his pocket. "Don't just stand there, please sit" he said, gesturing for her to sit down on a sofa chair very close to him.

Treasure placed her right hand on Dexter's chest looking at Dexter who looked very confused about what she was doing. He was lost.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a fractured rib?" Treasure said to Dexter as she withdrew her hand

"Anastasia!" Dexter slapped his forehead frustratedly. He didn't want his sister to tell Treasure anything about his health condition but Anne spilled the beans regardless of the warning look he gave her.

"You know, I'm really glad your sister told me everything," Treasure said. "Why did you pretend you were okay when you were actually hurt?" she scolded.

"Treasure it's not a big deal" Dexter muttered.

"it might not be a big deal to you, but it's a big deal to your sister… and to me," Treasure said.

"I didn't want you to get worried or blame yourself for what I went through… And I figured you were going to leave me or stop being my friend if you found out that I got hurt because of that psychopath" Dexter said.

"Well, to be honest with you, I would've done that. I would've left you and stopped being your friend just to protect you from that man… But after a little conversation with your sister, I now realize that telling you the truth would be easier for me to protect you... You said that you're my friend and you won't leave me right?" she said waiting for Dexter's reassurance.

"of course!" Dexter responded sharply.

"then promise me you won't look at me differently once I tell you everything about that maniac and his relationship with me," Treasure said. She has always been scared that Dexter was going to judge her for her past and that was why she felt reluctant to share her secret with him.

Dexter held her hand and intertwined his finger with hers, staring intently into her beautiful eyes.

"I'd never look at you differently. I promise" he said truthfully.

"Hey please excuse me but this lounge is for nurses only and I suggest that you two should sit in the waiting room instead" A nurse who looked like she was in her forties said to Dexter and Treasure.

Treasure mentally groaned. Now that she was willing to tell Dexter everything, this nurse has literally interrupted them.

"Can you please give us like five minutes?" Dexter said to the nurse.

"I'm afraid I can't" she replied.

Dexter sighed and they both stood up from their seats, still holding hands and they went straight to the waiting room.

..

In the waiting room, Carl was sitting down on one of the chairs staring into space when he saw Dexter and Treasure together, walking towards his direction. Although, his eyes were on Dexter since he had no idea who Treasure was.

"Dexter, you're still here? I thought you must've left." Carl said to Dexter.

"Actually, I was at the nurse's lou…"

Suddenly the entrance door of the waiting room opened and the creaky sound from the door interrupted Dexter.

Behold, the lady who came inside the waiting room appeared to be Cassandra, Carl's substitute secretary. She was in a red bodycon gown and a white long coat. She had a beautiful smile on her face as soon as her eyes met Carl's.

Carl was surprised to see his substitute secretary in the hospital at this time of the night. He would've guessed that she was here to see a sick friend of hers but that lovesick smile on her face said otherwise.

Cassandra had that smile because she was very happy to see Carl. As a matter of fact, Carl was the reason she came to the hospital. She wanted to see the man of her dreams.