Nathaniel came for the routine checkup the next day and seeing him was constricting her heartbeats.
To find herself as a stranger was too much for her but sadly, there was nothing she could do.
“The cops have returned your things. So you are not from here, what brings you to Amsterdam, Miss Zariah?”
He nonchalantly questioned while she was staring intensely at him with a visible hopelessness which he ignored and focused on the file.
“Work,”
He hummed, “I see. What do you do?”
“Cops have already did their inquiry, you don’t need to know-”
Matt was about to growl, certainly hating him.
For the way she was staring at him, the way his boss acted around him was enraging them.
“I am a business woman, doctor.”
But, not caring about anything, she replied in her most charming tone, tilting her head to get a proper glimpse of his beautiful face.
‘What aesthetic calmness,’ She thought, etching his features to her core.
“What type of business?”
“Real estate for now,”
“Good,”
He flashed a brief smile before placing back the file, turning to his nurses to instruct them.
“Doctor Nathaniel,” She called when his broad back faced her.
“Yes?”
Curling her lips in a sincere smile, she murmured wholeheartedly, “Thank you for saving my life,”
“I am just doing my job,”
Responding coldly, he gave instructions and left her in her turmoil where finding him so far away was stinging her chest.
Nathaniel scoffed the second he came out, “Tsk,”
Curling his hand in a fist to contain his emotion, disapproving how devotedly she stared, he walked away for a moment to peace.
Nathaniel was indulging in his coffee, knowing he had to go for a survey again in a few minutes.
Using his phone, he didn’t realize and started to whistle.
Everyone exchanged glances, noticing how perfectly his lips were producing that sound.
He failed to notice and wallowed in his time until Keith called again.
“You know what, Nathaniel?”
“Hmm?”
“Sometimes your whistling reminds me of the criminal who was executed last year on international TV.” He spoke with amusement.
“You meant Plague Doctor?”
Nathaniel replied without looking up from his phone with no reaction.
“Yeah, I have heard he used to whistle in his Plague Doctor mask. They called his whistling a melody of death.”
Another one spoke, shivering to imagine what kind of deadly sound it would be that brought nothing but destruction.
“Of course! He was the biggest criminal of the underworld. He once massacred an innocent town. That man was a monster.” Keith nodded with a disgusted face.
“They say he wiped out entire gangs in Milan only to get a castle there,”
“Rumors say he gave it to someone as a gift,”
Nathaniel whispered under his breath, “A meager gift,”
“In fact, I heard that he holds sensitive informations of higher ups like politicians and billionaires to blackmail them,”
“That was for recreation,”
“What?”
Nathaniel hummed too, not even bothering to pay attention and using his phone.
“Yeah, I agree. Good thing he died,”
“Have you guys wondered what type of life these vicious mafia leaders would lead?”
But when someone shared their interest, he paused, lifting his eye-catching emerald gaze, finally piqued by their curiosity.
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Nathaniel questioned, curling his lip in a tempting smile.
“I mean, no one knows how they look. I wonder how they live? In disguise, like normal people or what?”
“Well they are humans in the end so naturally they had to blend in their culture and society. Why would they stand out?”
Nathaniel nodded, inclining his back against the seat while curling his hand in a fist to cover his mouth to refrain laughing.
It amused him to the core to hear normal people’s perception.
“Exactly. They must be devilishly rich with their corrupted money, must be living deliciously in a castle with many women and all the riches of the world,” Keith scoffed, totally against those people, rolling his eyes.
“Riches of the world huh?”
“Exactly. What problem would they face in their lives? They literally have anything, kill openly too. They must be living the best lives,”
To their repulsion, Nathaniel smirked, “Don’t worry, people like them shall rot miserably in hell,”
They nodded in agreement, “Exactly, they deserve it,”
“Those who live by destroying others, with curses, with blood, sins and immorality, can never live happily,”
Exactly.
And then again, the doctor who started the conversation, ended up chuckling, standing firm on his words.
“But I still think seriously that if we make Nathaniel wear a Plague Doctor mask, make him whistle and present him to the world, people will get fooled.”
Including Nathaniel, they all laughed because it sounded so… silly.
How could their best surgeon possibly be in the mafia?
They found it so, ‘so’ funny.
But, disappearing Nathaniel’s amusement, Keith stated what clenched his chest with a disheartened sensation.
“Don't be stupid. Nathaniel's hands are blessed. They are meant to save lives. I doubt they could hurt anyone.”
“But, I will call him our Plague Doctor,”
“If you want me to die nonetheless then tell me,” Nathaniel cracked a joke.
“Sorry, sorry,”
Yet, continuing to smile, he rose from his seat, waving his hand.
“Okay, you guys continue, I am going. I have a surgery, a follow up then I need to check outpatients,”
“You sure adore curing people,”
“What can I say? I rip cures out from their souls after all,”
After leaving them, he walked down the empty corridor, standing at his hands with dejection.
He passed by that boy’s room who was recovering.
Remembering his parent’s blessing yet he refused to consider this as a possibility.
His jaw clenched, resenting the premises of it as he growled under his breath before walking away furiously.
“Like hell these hands are blessed,”
In the next few days, he decided not to pay Zariah a visit anymore. He couldn’t bring himself to witness a glimpse of hers anyways.
He had enough.
But, one way or another, fate was colliding as his nurse came with a frown.
“Sir,”
“Hmm?”
“That shot patient, Zariah, is demanding to be discharged. I have told her that only the doctor can allow it. What should I do?” She sighed in disappointment, placing Zariah’s file in front of him.
“I will visit her in the end. Let her whine,” He muttered, motioning to her to leave.
“Okay,”
After taking his time and doing a thorough inspection to know if she could leave, he came to her around evening before leaving for home.
“Yes, Miss Zariah? I heard you are demanding to leave,” His stern tone came to show he was displeased with her decision.
“She must go back to work,” Andy spoke coldly, helping Zariah to sit.
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes when he saw Andy placing his hand over her hand and then moving it to her shoulders to help her sit, causing his jaw to clench.
“That is none of my concern. She is not fully recovered. However, if you want to leave in that condition, you must sign the agreement,” He muttered, averting his gaze to contain his wrath inside.
“What agreement?”
“We warned her already that she is not recovered but she insisted on leaving and in that case, if anything happens to her, the hospital won’t be held responsible. Her life is in her hands,” He informed.
“We understood. She must go. We cannot waste time here any longer. Whatever you have to do, do it and prepare it,” Andy spoke, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
Zariah kept her gaze lowered, she knew she must return for her work but her heart was screaming to stay and drown in the man before her.
That one year had burned her enough.
“You heard it, nurse, complete the formalities. I will sign the papers,” Nathaniel ordered, turning to leave but stopped and glanced over his shoulder with a heartless expression.
“May you never come back. Take care.”
Usually they say it for their wellbeing but his words came from his heart, earning an inaudible gasp from Zariah who stared at him in disbelief.
Her lips trembled, latching her eyes with his in desperation but how could those lips call him when he held unaffectedness?
‘Why did he sound so cold? Why… so heartless?’
“Shit!”
The second Nathaniel was gone, she slapped Andy’s hands away and looked down.
“Boss?”
She couldn’t reply and prepared to leave believing-
‘Maybe he needed more time. Maybe this wasn’t the time for us to greet each other.’
She was ready to wait for him till her last breath after all…
“Oh, she is leaving already?” Keith asked when he saw Zariah leaving with difficulty.
“Hmm,” Nathaniel, who was using his phone, sounded disinterested.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking through bakeries to get some sweets, I am thinking of paying my sister a visit this weekend. I wonder what I should get.” He mumbled, finding some pastries and other sweets for his family.
“Pay my regards to Prince,” Keith smiled.
“Hmm, hmm,”
When he was engrossed in his phone, Zariah, who was about to leave, espied at him for the final time, dying for the time for them to become one again to arrive as soon as possible.
‘Please become mine now,’ She thought, heartbroken.
But her voice didn’t reach him as he placed his phone back and walked away without bothering to look at her.
With disappointment, she left.
The next day, Nathaniel came to work, he met some patients as usual, and did a survey on the admitted ones.
After collecting some reports, he was in the doctor’s lounge.
He was whistling to himself until Mark ran to his side, gaining attention but his pants echoing in the room.
“Nathaniel! Nathaniel!”
“What happened now? What is with your rush?” He sighed, glancing at him with bewilderment.
“That patient you took in, the high society woman with guards.”
He paused, looking around when everyone turned to wonder what happened that he was mentioning her.
“Yeah? What about her?”
Nathaniel asked and was about to turn back to his work to keep the frontage of disinterest but his whole being froze when Mark yelled.
“The flight she took yesterday got crashed! No one got out of it alive!”
“What!? What the hell are you saying?!”
Slamming the reports down, an instant growl came to his face, glaring at him for what he dared to announce.
“Yes! It’s all over the news. They are showing the names of people that died. Her name is there!”
His eyes were wide, jaw dropped, an utter incredulity sank into him. My heart began to pound madly, body shivering when he heard it.
“You have got to be kidding me- no, no, no,”
He looked at his trembling hands and then turned on the LED.
Mouth gaped with sweat collecting on his forehead but he saw her name there and fell on the couch.
“This can’t be. I fought the authorities to save her. How could this be possible?”
Slamming his hand down to express his frustration, he growled, losing his mind. Pulling his hair, he was visibly distressed.
“Fuck!”
His dismay caused the doctors to exchange nervous glances. Keith rose from his seat and placed his hand over Nathaniel’s shoulder for reassurance.
Nathaniel was grieving but amid this hopelessness, Keith told him seriously, a reality of life-
“Life and death is not in our hands after all, Nathaniel. Her death was written, either by that bullet or by the crash.”