Chapter 69

Chapter 69:

My day at TCH was going fine.

I had surgery in two hours, but before then, I was excited to see Xylon, who had come for his monthly check-up.

I had my client’s file in my hand and examined it as I headed to Xylon’s room. It was the patient I’d be performing surgery on in a couple of hours, and there was a lot I had to catch up on in his file.

“Hi, aunty!” Xyla’s sweet voice reached my ears from the bed as soon as I walked into the room.

She ran to me before I even had the chance to look at her.

“Hi, baby,” I laughed, patting her on the back.

I lifted my eyes to look for Xylon, and my smile dropped, sinking low into my stomach in a way that hurt. My hands fell to my sides, and my eyes quickly darted to the floor. No one had mentioned he was here. I hadn’t prepared myself for it.

“G…Good morning.” I had never dipped my head so clumsily before. Lyric, please.

Unlike me, who was suddenly flustered, Jaris was effortlessly calm as he sat on the edge of the bed next to Xylon, whose vitals were being checked by a nurse.

“Lyric.” He gave a curt nod.

I tried to look at him but failed. I had never been so nervous around Jaris. What was wrong with me?

My dream chose the worst time to crash on me. Suddenly, seeing him in the room made it feel more real—

Touching me. Kissing me. Making me feel good.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head.

“Are you alright, aunty?” sweet Xyla asked, snapping me back to reality. Goodness.

“Of course, darling. I was just calculating something,” I said, stroking her hair.

Jaris’s eyes were on me. I wasn’t staring at him, but I could feel his gaze burning into me. Coughing to clear the lump in my throat, I moved forward to meet Xylon. Unfortunately, it brought me closer to Jaris.

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I did my best to ignore the fact that we were in such close proximity.

“How’re you doing, boy?” I tickled his ear, making him giggle.

Gods, his giggles were the cutest thing! How could one child be so adorable?

I chatted a little with the kids until Xylon’s check-up was done. I asked the nurse how he was and got positive feedback from her. Whatever I was doing with him at home was working. I had to keep it up.

I had my hand wrapped around Xyla’s shoulder as we walked out of the room, Xylon and his father behind us.

“Okay, I have to get back to work. See you soon?” I dropped to a crouch before the kids.

“We could play Charades!” Xyla said excitedly.

Charades was a new game we had grown to love.

“Sure! Get ready to cry, ‘cause I’ll be winning today,” I teased her.

“Xyla and I… we won the last time,” Xylon said, melting my heart.

He rarely spoke, so when he did, it was a pleasure to hear him.

A nurse appeared behind me. “Excuse me, ma’am. Your attention is needed p>

I nodded to her before turning back to the kids. “So, make sure you’re good. See you soon p>

As I turned to leave, I made the mistake of glancing at Jaris. Oh, I shouldn’t have done that, because my body did that stupid thing where it reacted to my dream.

I also caught a glimpse of amusement on his face. He must have been surprised that I was so good with the kids. Well, even I was surprised. And it hurt to know I could have been a good mother—had my own kids been alive.

It was thirty minutes to the surgery. I was walking alongside an assisting doctor, heading to the surgical ward while we went through the process. My steps came to a sudden pause when I saw an unpleasant sight before me. It wasn’t supposed to be unpleasant, yet I felt a twinge in my gut.

Before me, Marta, Jaris, and the kids walked toward the exit. Marta was talking to Jaris. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but Jaris was listening to her attentively.

They stopped at the revolving doors, and to my horror, Marta lifted her hands to his collar, arranging it.

She did that in public! In front of so many people.

Jaris had his back to me, so I couldn’t see his reaction. But it must have been something she was used to doing; otherwise, she wouldn’t have done it so casually in public.

The agony struck my heart like a sharp jab.

Suddenly, so many eyes were on me, including the doctor standing beside me. The situation was painfully awkward. I, his mate, was standing aside while another woman fixed his collar for everyone to see.

Well, she wasn’t just any woman. She was the mother of his kids. What was wrong with me?

Like everyone else, Marta’s eyes locked on mine, and I wasn’t surprised by the victorious smile that spread across her face.

Jaris lowered her hands from his shirt, then walked out the door with the kids. He didn’t even turn for one second to look around. He probably had no idea I’d seen that.

But the damage was already done, accompanied by the painful realization that Marta was more important to Jaris than I was. Even on the night we got mated, he spent it with her.

Yet, it was me who couldn’t stop having these stupid dreams.

“Doctor Lyric? We should get going.” The young doctor beside me brought me back to reality.

I blinked rapidly, shaking the thoughts away.