Chapter 3

A yawn could be heard as a lady stood in the parking lot stretching her body in frustration. Her waist was tapered and she had a burnished complexion. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Her delicate ears framed a button nose. It was a pleasure to see her flowing, moon shadow-black hair. Her enticing, constellation-blue eyes gazed at the cars over her puffy, heart shaped lips. She strides towards a car and began to gaze at herself in the mirror while encouraging herself for a job well done. She had come over to the garage to collect some documents from the head doctor and had intended to leave, but then ended up exercising. This weary doctor was still gawking and speaking to herself at the tinted window of the driver's seat when, to her surprise, the window glides down revealing the driver. She folded her lips and stepped back a bite while revealing a set of dazzling, angel-white teeth while intending to wizzle off his sight because she felt flustered. However, her feet halted when this driver suddenly requested he take her home. Quickly, it was refuted as she claimed she would be fine on her own. Somehow, she felt she had seen that face somewhere before.

"I don't think so…you look…" He paused and narrowed his eyes at her. She had ruffled hair, pyjamas and flip flop slippers with a bag which was hug on her left shoulder. Her face looked paled and the mascara on her lashes seemed to have washed off. He certainly knew she was unkept, and might feel awkward appearing outside that way. His discovery was that, perhaps, she spent a few hours taking a nap before attempting to depart for home.

"You look terrifying" he commented, and she scoffed, keeping a frown while bringing out her glasses to see clearly. He let out a smile and offered to ease her of the embarrassment. She requested to see her appearance in the rear mirror and gasped while the driver giggled silently. Meanwhile, the master sergeant had been discharged and was heading towards the parking lot to drive home, only to discover the captain had ridden off with the doctor. As for Simon, he was struggling to carry the luggage of the master sergeant to the parking lot and had intentions of collapsing when he saw no trace of the car. The captain had deserted them for the doctor who got his attention at first sight, and now she had cast a spell on him. However, they never thought he was this serious about winning her over.

"I'm the patient, not her!" He snapped and Simon tried not to laugh as he loved the fact that the captain was gone for a while, and he wouldn't get scolded. Both men took a glimpse at themselves and then at the garage.

"What do you think of Ryan?"

The master sergeant muttered, attempting not to get affected by what just happened as the only way to cuss at the captain was to bring up a chat about him privately.

Simon shrugged his shoulders and dropped the luggage which got him limp, wondering why this man had so many items when it was just two days he spent in the hospital.

"The captain is probably the best so far and gets what he wants" he composed, gulping deeply and the next word the sergeant told him was;

"Liar"

They both laughed but then ceased as they realized they needed to walk to their apartment because their wallet containing money and withdrawal card was left inside the car.

"It's been a while since I last saw him smile" the master sergeant sadly muttered, beckoning on Simon to share the luggage with him so that the burden gets easier.

"I heard, he had been on the battlefield all his life" the juvenile began stirring up a conversation and the master sergeant nodded.

"Back then, he never related with anyone and was eager to kill anything he rages at" the master sergeant narrated to the intrigued Simon, who preferred hearing the Captain's tale than any other thing as it was quite motivational. Having lost all his family in a day, he chose to be a soldier at a tender age, conceiving grief and hatred at such an age. Though he failed in many ways, but there was a pushing force that pulled him back to pressed on. Most of his comrades joked that he was married to the battlefield, as he worked hard to become a captain of the army force and never got distracted. Whenever it comes to war and duties, he was dangerous and unrecognizable because he becomes brutal in his dealings. However, he knew how to relate with his comrades despite possessing these attributes. From observation, he looked like one who would prefer work to family, hence didn't venture into any relationship until recently when he was stationed to his hometown to train some newly recruited soldiers at the army combat center. The master sergeant had gotten injured during one of his training with the battalions and hospitalized. As a friend, it was proper he pays a visit and there he met her. The first woman who stole his heart. He admired her dedication and funny attitude. Though she seemed unorganized as a doctor, but that was her charm. During his stay, he often visited her and decided to take her on a date where he could probably propose. The doctor fell in love with him when she learned to understand him. Though, he never told her secrets about himself, and she never deemed it necessary to ask. They began to go out on dates. Their relationship would have been the perfect one, but he never shows up for any of the dates being set up. Their dates were typically interrupted halfway. The captain known as Ryan receives his orders to be deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Talak along with the master sergeant and didn't even have time to say his farewells to his fiancée who was going through a difficult time; stacy the doctor, recently found out that she had been passed over for a professorship favoring a less-capable colleague who had familial connections to the hospital management. Though, her life was upside-down as she barely concentrated on work but to maintain a relationship which wasn't stable as Ryan was barely with her. The shook of him leaving her alone made her depressed as she never understood herself ever since they began this relationship.