THE EX-CRUSH AND THE FATHER-IN-LAW

"How can this be?" Ceres asked with trembling hands when she received the papers that Eli marked. It was her first exam and she expected to pass it without any problem. Contrastingly to her expectation, she failed. [Why did you fail the exam?! We need to pass to eat something delicious! I'm tired of eating the food from the hospital.]

'If we passed the exam on the first try, he will suspect us even more.'

[But I wanted to eat spicy food!]

Belle didn't retort that. She also wanted to eat something spicy like a hotpot or something but she didn't want Eli to doubt her even more. "74%! Can't you round it off?" She persuaded even though she knew it was not going to happen.

"That is 74%, no more and no less."

"Not even in decimal form? Maybe it's 74.75%. We can round it off to 75."

Eli didn't think that she could be this stubborn as well when it comes to the exam result. He thought she would just be like oh-whatever, but watching her right now brought a smile to his lips. She appeared cute even when she was acting childish.

[Cute? Who?!] Eli turned around to pinch his face to bring himself back to the present. He feared that he was daydreaming during work and it could be fatal to his patients. "Sorry, but our deal is off. You have to do better."

Hearing his response, Ceres stood up and clasped her hands together while giving him her most pitiful expression with poor puppy eyes expecting something from him. She never thought that she'd be acting like this in front of him. Belle already felt like fainting because of what Ceres was doing. "Can't you make exceptions just this time? It was my first exam. This is already a miracle that I remember this much. Please? Just this once."

"Fine." Eli gave in and smiled helplessly. "What do you want to eat?"

"Spicy hotpot."

"No, can't do." He refused instantly which deflated Belle like a balloon. "We can't have spicy hotpot in the hospital and you are not allowed to go out. Let's have it once you get discharged from here."

"Then, let's have spicy prawns or shrimp, or spicy noodles. I want more eggs if you can get some spicy noodles. It's hard to choose. What restaurant is closer to here?"

"I haven't gone around to check the restaurants in the past years. I'll ask someone and get any of the food you like. How about the books?"

Ceres thought about it and sighed. She really wanted to find something she can enjoy reading, but right now, she really just wanted to find some clue about the Raptors. If what she discovered was true then, Eli's life would still be in danger. "I don't really know what book I should get. You can just get whatever you think is interesting."

"Alright." Eli picked up the papers and his laptop but he remembered that Belle hadn't used up her five minutes of computer time yet. "Do you not need to use my laptop today?"

"Aren't you leaving already?"

"I can leave it here and get it back once I return from food and book shopping."

"Great! Thanks, doc."

Eli finally left to get the things that he promised her and Ceres was left alone to do some searching with his computer. This time, she was not searching for the Raptors. Instead, she was trying to get some money from her old bank account.

[Can you really do that? Aren't you reported dead when you jumped off the building?]

"I have different names and my savings were put under different identities. I also know a little about hacking; just the basics that could get me through security checks."

[What are you planning to do now? You can't just act recklessly. Even with my insurance, it will be expected that Neon and I will have a hard time after I get out of the hospital. If someone finds out why I have so much money, they will start suspecting me.]

"Trust me. I have things planned properly."

[Isn't that what you think when you wanted to leave your organization? Look at where you are now. You are stuck in my body.] Ceres suddenly fell silent and Belle felt guilty for rubbing salts on the woman's wound. [Sorry. It was wrong of me.]

"Nah. You are not mistaken. I was really careless and I trusted the wrong people."

Belle wanted to say something more but Ceres suddenly stiffened and goosebumps formed on her arms. Her skin hair stood as if she was rubbed in the wrong way and alarm bells were ringing inside her brain. She sensed it. A predator was checking her as if she was weak prey.

"Who's there?" She shouted and not five seconds later, the door to her hospital room was pushed to the side and she saw a beautiful woman peeking at her head. [Who's this woman? She's really strong. She might be stronger than me.] To answer her query, Belle showed Ceres the knowledge she has about this woman.

"Hi. I'm sorry if I disturbed your rest."

"Ah? Not really. I was wide awake and heard something outside. Did something happen?"

Jillyanna scratched the tip of her nose and smiled awkwardly because the woman in front of her could not remember who she was. "I'm Jillyanna Madrigal. My husband and I usually bring our kids here for their annual check-ups and my little girl likes you. So, when we learned that something bad happened to you, I came to check if you ever need some help. I'm not a bad person."

"I apologize for not remembering you and I really appreciate your kindness. However, I don't need anything at the moment. I'm doing fine and I'm slowly recovering." [ Is she really kind or just hiding her true nature? We should avoid this woman at any cost.]

"I'm glad if that is the case. I hope you will be discharged soon and return to work. My children like you so much. They were looking for you during their last check-up."

Jillyanna stayed for almost five minutes before bidding goodbye since her husband was already calling her. It wasn't until she was gone that Ceres realized she was sweating coldly. Her back was already damp. "That woman is something. I never felt so scared in my entire life until I met her. Have you known her for a long time?"

[A year after I moved here, Dr. Rivera introduced her and her children to me. From then on, whenever they come for an annual check-up, I always accompany the kids. Her little girl is really pretty and cheerful.]

"I don't want to meet that woman ever again."

[Don't say it now. We don't know what's in store for us in the future.]

And they thought that their problem has ended that day. Not even ten minutes since Jillyanna left, Ceres found a middle-aged man who was sneaking glances at her from behind the door. Fortunately, she didn't sense any danger coming from him.

"Uhh...is there anything that I can help you with?" she asked which caused the man to come out from where he was hiding. He was wearing a lab gown and there was a stethoscope hanging around his neck which means, he was a doctor as well. "Are you here to check on me? You didn't have to be wary."

"I was a little troubled since you can't remember most of the people you worked with, not that I have worked with you in the past but we've crossed paths several times already. Has Eli been taking care of you? I'll ask him to bring some nutritious soup tomorrow. I heard that he was monitoring your reviews to help you gain your memories. He can be a little stubborn when it comes to studying but I'm sure he's only doing this for you. My wife really wanted to meet but she was worried that Eli will get mad for disturbing you which is why I'm dropping by to see how you are doing so far. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm - "

"Dad?"

Both Belle and the doctor looked toward Eli who just came back from buying food and books outside. From the expression on his face, Belle could tell that he didn't expect to see his father in her hospital room either. She didn't even know what to say. The doctor was mumbling endlessly as if someone was chasing after him and she could not cut him off.

[This is payback time. You deal with this. I think this doctor is misunderstanding your relationship with Dr. Handsome.]

"What's there to misunderstand? I'm a patient!" She muttered through gritted teeth which were inaudible to the two men in front of her. One was smiling suspiciously while the other was sighing heavily.

"Why did you leave her alone for so long? What did you buy for her?" Dr. Elijah Rivera, Eli's father, inquired with a little scolding on the side. "She can't eat so much spicy food. How could you bring that for her? Even if she's your girlfriend, she is still a patient."

[Huh?! Girlfriend? Whose girlfriend? Is he talking about me? Like me, Isabelle Ignacio?]

Eli was scolded by his father on and on but nothing registered in Belle's brain anymore. The thought of her being mistaken as Eli's girlfriend already sent her to the moon and she didn't know how to get back. She wasn't even happy. She was worried and ashamed! [How did I become his girlfriend?!]

'Are you still dwelling on that? The doctor already left.' Ceres retorted and when Belle tried to push her to the front line once again, she refused. 'This is your life and your body. Deal with it.'