Part 74 # Important Acquaintance
Carol and James exchanged glances. However, a nod from her brother made Carol wink her eyes.
“Alright, Doctor. We’ll entrust all of this to you.”
“Thank you, please don’t cause any trouble. This needs to be resolved calmly, hm?” Andre said, staring straight at his two guests.
“Alright….”
After exchanging greetings, they left the doctor’s office with light steps. There was nothing more for them to worry about. “Just in case, I’ll still hire our lawyer,” James said before they left the hospital lobby.
“Alright, Brother. Do what you think is necessary. I’ll monitor from Mahya’s room. I’ll copy the files related to this case.”
The two Channel Insight executives were no longer seen in the hospital area. Meanwhile, Andre was calling his old friend to collect a favor he had received.
***
“Bro, meet me at the club tonight.”
“Wow! Andre inviting to the club? What’s going on?” His friend teased with his distinctive voice. Andre just smiled wryly and reluctantly responded.
“I’ll cover all the orders. Anyway, we have to meet, okay?”
“Okay, Bro! Got it!”
The phone call ended as a knock on the doctor’s door startled him.NôvelDrama.Org is the owner.
“Miriam? Is there something you need?” Andre asked with a puzzled expression. It wasn’t usual for Miriam to visit his office in the afternoon like this.
“I want to talk, Ndre. Do you have time?” Miriam asked with a smile on her face.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Not now, tonight,” she said again as she entered her fiance’s room.
“Sorry, I can’t tonight. Let’s talk now,” Andre folded his hands on his chest. Meanwhile, Miriam looked annoyed. This was the umpteenth time Andre had refused her invitation for dinner.
“Can’t we go out together like a normal couple, Ndre? I’m your fiancee!” Miriam’s voice rose.
“I’m busy, Miriam. You know how the hospital has been lately!”
“At least for a day… just one day, Ndre! If you still have a piece of heart for me, even if this engagement is out of obligation!” Miriam’s face turned red. Andre widened his eyes. What possessed Miriam to get so angry like this?
“Sorry. I also want to talk to you, but… not today. There’s something I have to tell you before meeting the CEO.” Andre finally expressed his intention to cancel the engagement, as naturally as possible.
He didn’t want Miriam to go berserk and end up harming Lara, if she knew that Lara was the main reason for this conversation.
“Wwhat?” Miriam’s heart pounded. She didn’t expect Andre to say something like that to her. “May I know what this conversation is about?” Miriam started to ask, although… deep down in her heart, she knew the answer to her question.
“It’s not appropriate to discuss it here. I’ll talk about it when we can relax,” Andre refused to disclose the topic of conversation.
Miriam felt even more hurt. “Is this about Lara?” She finally speculated while biting her lower lip. Miriam hoped that what she was thinking was wrong. Miriam hoped that Andre had already moved on from his first love.
“Hhhh….” Instead of answering, Andre just sighed deeply. He didn’t want to give any clues because Andre had to be cautious. Moreover, there was a dangerous element surrounding Lara and also Mahya.
“No,” he finally lied so that Miriam wouldn’t suspect.
“Oh, okay. Well then. If it’s not about that woman, I want to talk to you,” Miriam said with a happy smile.
“That woman?”
“Do you think I don’t know about your affair with Lara, Andre? She… your first love, right?”
“Hhow did you know?”
“Come on, Ndre. Let bygones be bygones. Now, we’ll welcome a new day with our own story, right?” Miriam approached Andre. The man could smell a different, sensual scent from her than usual.
“Did you change your perfume?” Andre asked, walking backward away from Miriam. Suddenly, he felt nauseous and dizzy because Miriam’s perfume was very strong.
“Yes. Do you like it?” Miriam acted shyly, playing with her hair. Andre shivered and couldn’t believe what possessed the woman in front of him?
“Change your perfume, Miriam! A doctor shouldn’t wear such strong-scented perfume!”
“Wwhat?!”
***
After Miriam left, Andre could finally concentrate again. He was really puzzled and couldn’t believe that his fiancee was so troublesome.
“Why, Her?” Andre was still wondering why Miriam was acting so unusually. For a woman in her early thirties. Miriam’s attitude was like a teenage girl craving attention. Andre remembered his neighbor’s child who was in high school. So annoying, talkative, and attention-seeking.
“I wonder what her response would be if she knew I wanted to break off the engagement. Hhh….” Andre was still murmuring. But, the alarm on his phone immediately reminded Andre that he had to go to the nightclub as scheduled.
“I have to hurry.”
***
At Lunar Club, Andre tried to find his friend, Riko. The man was a graduate of the same university as Lara and Mahya, and even attended the reunion back then.
Riko’s family and Andre’s family were friends. When they were in Canada, Andre’s family helped his family a lot, and now… it was Riko’s family helping Andre to readjust back in their homeland.
Remembering the camaraderie of the two families warmed Andre’s heart. If only his mother hadn’t betrayed them, this friendship would have continued until now.
“Hey, Bro!”
“Hey!”
Riko had just arrived, along with two girls on his right and left sides. “Long time no see?” he asked, and Andre just shook his head.
“Can we talk alone?” Andre asked.
Riko nodded then released his embrace on the two girls who were his dates. Andre just laughed, understanding his friend’s unchangeable nature. Since forever, Riko had been known as a ladies’ man.
“So, what’s up? Rarely you look for me first,” Riko began discussing his friend’s needs, accompanied by a cold whiskey and a bottle of vodka. He snapped his fingers to call his exclusive waiter, and seconds later, a scantily dressed woman appeared carrying snacks and various food.
“It seems I need Uncle’s help,” Andre said with a sad face.
“Oh? Rare? Usually, you always refuse help from my Dad, Bro! What’s going on?” Riko asked, making sure that Andre wasn’t joking.
“The problem is complicated, Rik. And, this is the only thing I can rely on. Lara. Remember her?”
“Lara? Your first love? The geeky girl in Canada back then?”
“Yeah. We met before, right? Well, unfortunately, she’s already married, but the good news is… they’re divorced now,” Andre provided information. Riko seemed to listen attentively to Andre’s words. “And then?”
“She had an accident yesterday. She’s still in a coma, Rik.”
“Oh my God! Sorry to hear that! What can I do to help?”
“Mahya-Lara’s friend, the girl we met at the reunion. You remember her, right?”
“Hm….” Riko tried to recall the moment he met Mahya, but unfortunately, he couldn’t remember because Mahya was just one of a thousand girls he met in the past month.
“Well, anyway, Mahya and Lara had an accident, and they’re accused of being the perpetrators! It doesn’t make sense! Their car body is just dented! They must have been hit, right?” Andre explained, showing the evidence of Mahya’s car body at the scene. He got it from Carol as assistance information.
“It was indeed hit. And then?”
“Well, I want Uncle to help pull Mahya’s case. It’s really nonsensical, isn’t it?”
“It seems someone’s playing games here. Okay, easy!”
“Thank you, Bro!”
“Anytime, Bro!”