Melodies Of Betrayal: The Toxic Encore ✓

Chapter 10: Sick

Chapter 10: Sick

MAL stared at the doctor's hand that was stretched out, with a small folded paper between his fingers. She accepted the paper from him and glanced at the doctor once again, her eyes wide open with shock.

"Food poisoning?" She repeated, her voice shaking as her vision fidgeted from the doctor to her unconscious lover. His arms were covering his stomach and his head was slightly tilted to the side, and despite the fact that his eyes were closed shut and how he remained still in his side of the bed, Mal could notice how weak his body was. "How?"

"It could be from bacteria, viruses, or parasites. It should go away with time if he gets the medicine and rest he needs." The doctor replied in a monotone voice. "Pay attention to the time and how many times the medicine needs to be taken, and he should be fine, ma'am."

She stared at the paper in her hand, this time unfolding it to take a look at the names of the medicines inside.

"Should I get the medicine now?"

The doctor nodded his head. "I should be going now. Please tell me if any of his symptoms change or if there is any news, ma'am."

Mal nodded in return and unlocked the door for the doctor to allow him to leave.

And as soon as the front door let out a click, letting Mal know that the doctor had left, she turned her attention to her boyfriend, her eyes filling up with tears.

"You're going to be okay, sweetheart." She reassured as she made her way towards his side of the bed. Taking her seat beside her lover, she then grabbed his hand ever so gently and inched herself closer to him. She placed her lips against his burned-up forehead and planted a soft kiss. "I promise."

Her fingers found their way to his cheek. She moved her fingers in a light motion as if drawing invisible circles around his face. She placed another kiss on his other cheek before whispering another sentence, this time more determined than before.

"You'll be fine."

That was the last thing she said before she hurried out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

. . .

Her nostrils were filled with the familiar, heavily disliked pharmacy air as she pushed the door open, then took various steps inside. Soft chattering met her ears, causing them to perk up in curiosity.

"It's her!" Someone whispered.

She rolled her eyes and took her place by the counter.

Her reputation as a CEO preceded her, she assumed.

"Excuse me?" She called out, looking around the place while fumbling with the paper in her hand.

It didn't take long for footsteps to slide quickly over the ceramic floor. Her eyes lifted themselves up from the paper, and her vision focused on the person standing before her.

Soft, chocolate-brown hair. Monolid dark brown eyes. White pharmacist coat covering the person's torso, along with a golden tag attached to their left breast.

Liu Zekai

Pharmacist Assistant

"Hello, ma'am." He began, his sharp gaze piercing her skin. "How can I help you today?"

She set the paper on the counter and slid it over in his direction. "I need everything that's written in this paper."

He solemnly nodded his head. "Right away, ma'am. Please be patient with us, because we have a lot of requests."

Mal rolled her eyes and took a glance at the enormous pharmacy. Around three more people were standing by the counter, waiting for someone to assist them.

"Whatever." She replied, her eyebrows furrowed with frustration. "Just hurry up because I need to be somewhere."

He nodded once again and hurried to the backroom, which had a sliding door located not too far away from the counter. Mal assumed that the shelves ran out of the medicine she asked for and he hurried inside to get something like it.

After all, it was not every day that someone got food poisoning.

Right?

"How can I help you today, ma'am?" Another voice asked the woman, who stood beside her. Mal ignored the voice and reached for the iPhone in her pocket to check the news.

One message from Junwon:

Hey, noona! I just woke up and I feel nauseous again, and extremely dizzy. I can barely type. When are you coming back? I miss you a lot...

Two messages from Santa:

Hey, Mal!

Are you busy on Thursday?

Three messages from Rajwan:

Please, be careful, Mal...

He's in your area. He's looking for you. I'm scared. Really, really scared. I'll try to take the nearest flight to South Korea but I need more time.

Please, stay safe. Please.

The messages caused her face to fall, along with her heart. Trying to gulp away the gulp in her throat, she turned to the assistants and stared at them.

"Excuse me?" She questioned, causing the two assistants to turn in her direction. "Is what I ordered done yet?"

The two shook their heads, glancing at each other awkwardly. Mal continued to stare at them, this time her insides churning in desperation.

"Do you not have it? I can go somewhere else..."

They shook their heads almost immediately. "No, we do! It's just at the back of the store, ma'am. Please, be patient with us."

She shook her head once again and raised her arm to run her fingers through her dark hair.

"Well then, hurry up!" They both nodded at that, taking their turns to stare at each other.

And for a moment, Mal's thoughts swam across her mind.

All she needed was to get back to her lover, safe and unharmed.

All she needed was to hold him between her arms and tell him, and herself, that everything was going to be okay.

All she needed was to help her lover regain his health, with the help of the medicine their private doctor wrote.

Because the last thing she needed at that moment was to have her lover sick with food poisoning.

Because what if it was the last time she saw him again?

The thought broke her heart and shattered it into pieces.

"Here you go, ma'am." The pharmacist assistant spoke, his hand stretched out with the plastic bag of medicine between his fingers. "Have a nice day!"

She flinched at how the sudden noise snapped her out of her thoughts. She took a small glance at the plastic bag with the outstretched hand, her own fingers hesitating to grab the bag away from the assistant's hand.

Her mind sent her another signal, to take the bag. Her body trembled once again, and it didn't take long for her hand to stretch itself out and take the bag from the man.

She muttered a small word of gratitude before hurrying out of the place, tears filling up her dark eyes.

And she could only hope that she could get home safely.