¶Chapter Song ~Far away from here¶

¶By~Yaeow¶

"My husband was talking about you all these years, seems like you were his personal favorite." She commented with a devilish smile.

"Yes, He is very special for me too," Arthur said awkwardly.

"Certainly, after all, he was like a Godfather for you. Everyone in the orphanage and college knew it." She chuckled as if taunting him.

"Here I would like to rectify you a bit, he is still my godfather. That's the reason when I needed guidance, I went straight to him." Arthur rectified her walking towards his bookshelf in the room.

"So sorry to hear that."

"Pardon me! You are sorry to hear what?" Arthur turned around to guess her true meaning.

"That you still need guidance. That too of my husband. It feels like you are approving my decision of leaving you and moving on with him." Her facial expressions looked more ruthless than earlier. As if she justified herself.

"Today, I'm a known gynecologist. Earning four times then you might be making in this small charitable hospital of yours."

"I'm sure, you are not here to waste your precious evening, to count my failures, Li..." Arthur paused to rectify his own words, "...Mrs. Jones." He added with indifference.

For a moment she stood still, gazing at the blank face of Arthur, "Certainly not, I'm here to show you, your place in life. And the difference between You and Us is visible. I'm here to warn you! Stay away from my life and.."
Before she could complete her sentence there was a knock at the door.

Arthur was blank at the way she was trying to threaten him. As if his meeting with Dr. Matthew had threatened her.

"Uh...uh... Come in." Arthur cleared his throat and permitted the person to step in without any inquiry.

As all he wanted at that moment was to find an escape from that lady and her false accusations.

He never went to Dr. Jones, because it was an awkward feeling for him. He always hid from Dr. Jones because he would have tried to talk to his ex-wife. How would he had told him that his ex-wife was his wife?"

"Dr. Arthur..." Hailey stepped in breathing heavily as she had been almost running through the corridor. She was expecting some Sheriff etc, with an arresting order for Arthur.

"Hailey! What happened?" To see her like that Arthur got scared that something had happened to Cora or Adam might have done something.

"That's what I came here to know, is everything fine? Cora said you got some call and looked worried." Hailey said curiously before noticing the other person standing in the room.

"I guess, You are Hailey. The mother of that young girl, my husband was invited to operate on. Matthew told me that you were skeptical about his skills as you trusted Mr. Miller more." She said arrogantly as if criticizing Hailey for trusting Arthur.

"Sorry, but may I know who am I talking to?" Hailey replied in the same rude tone.

Arthur got a quick smile as just a few minutes ago Mrs. Matthew was claiming to be a known gynecologist. And here, Hailey was denying to answer her words without an introduction.

"Yeah sure, here. Meet Mrs. Lily Matthew Jones, " Arthur suppressed his smile and introduced them, "Mrs. Jones, this is Miss Hailey Palmer."

"Miss?" Lily questioned with furrowed forehead. As if intended to take revenge for her earlier remark.

Though the remark was genuine by Hailey.

"Yeah, I'm a single mother. Is there any problem with it?" This time Hailey took it offensively.

"Well, if there's any problem then it's yours. I asked just to make sure that Arthur wasn't mistaken for it." Lily stated with a smirk, looking at Arthur.

"No, we have already discussed it." Hailey looked at Arthur, recalling their verbal spat over the issue.

"Is it?" Lily sounded surprised this time, "I thought Arthur is a professional and doesn't interfere in patents personal life."

"Well he is, but that doesn't imply he is not human," Hailey commented sarcastically.

"Certainly he is and seems like you are impressed by that human more than the doctor."

"Excuse me!" Hailey got what she meant, "first you show up and questioned my choice for my daughter's Doctor. Now you wanna discuss my choice of Men!" Hailey busted at once with anger.

Arthur was getting annoyed by the words of Lily's too but the way Hailey busted out it shocked him too. Yet he stood still to let Hailey finish what she started.

"First of all, I still prefer Dr. Miller as my daughter's doctor because she means something for him. Second, Dr. Miller has this reputed hospital in this city, doing such humanitarian job that even your Husband praised him so many times in his interviews. How can you question his skills or my trust in him?"

Lily just grabbed her clutch from the table with her face all red with anger and frustration.

"Congratulations Arthur you got your match! Furious and crazy!" She commented banging the door behind.

"When you heard Dr. Jones praising me in interviews? I thought you didn't know him." Arthur mumbled still gazing at the closed door.

"I didn't. But he praised you a lot when met me. I'm sure even she has never heard her husband's any interview." Hailey replied confidently.

Arthur couldn't help but burst into laughter.

As it is said, Laughter is an infectious disease.

Hailey couldn't stop herself from joining him too. For a minute they both laughed aloud.

Luke came rushing to the cabin, followed by a few nurses and doctors. As most of them had never heard such sound from his cabin.

Even the best jokes and remarks of Luke could get a chuckle only.

"That was too much Hailey. She must ask Dr. Jones about it." Arthur said wiping his eyes, still giggling.

"Oh yeah! She must do that. Only then Dr. Jones will get to know about her visit here. I'm sure he hasn't sent her to boast his skills. He sounded a very grounded person. This lady was not even of his level. I wonder, Where he found her?" Hailey answered still chuckling.

As she said that she observed Arthur's face. His eyes were twinkling with a gleam of mist. Face was radiant but as she said that. The shine of life disappeared from his eyes and face. As if someone had washed it away with a tight slap.

Arthur saw her gazing at himself with a keen look as if her eyes were digging into his soul. He looked away quickly to avoid eye contact with her.

But it resulted in a more awkward position. As he turned around, he realized Luke was standing in the doorway, accompanied by half of the staff.

"Yeah, why you all are here? Come on go get back to your work." Arthur clenched his coat and stethoscope from the table and left the room quickly. "I want every patient reports on schedule. No excuses, come on guys! Move fast!" He announced dispersing the crowd away.

"What happened here?" Luke inquired with curiosity, "I guess, I saw Lily walking out."

"You mean, Mrs. Jones." Hailey noticed the disgust and anger in his voice, the way Luke addressed the lady.

"Yeah, what was she doing here?"

"I don't know. I guess some personal reasons or she got offended to know that I preferred Dr. Miller over her Husband." Hailey air quoted the word 'Husband'.

"Certainly. After all, he is her only accomplishment in life." Luke exhaled, confusing Hailey a bit more. "Was it you both cracking up or that was our wild imagination?"

"Was it that loud?" Hailey inquired, walking back to Cora's room. "Sorry if my laughter caused any disturbance. I don't laugh that hysterically, but when your friend started to giggle, I couldn't stop but join him."

"That's why I am asking. What you both, mother-daughter have done? I have seen him laughing after so long. It seems like ages." Luke's words stopped Hailey at the door, "You made him laugh that too when he had just faced his Ex.!"

"Sorry! Who?"

"Lily! She ditched Arthur! I thought he might be breaking down, the moment I saw Lily. But he was laughing! That's no less than a magic." Luke exclaimed finally.

"What! That's why she! But why? How? I mean if I'm not forgetting Mr. Jones said, Arthur is like a son to him. He married his ex. I mean Dr. Miller's ex-wife married Dr. Jones? What kind of twisted connections are these?" This time it was Hailey's turn to exclaim in shock.

"Hush! Hush! No one knows about Lily. Not even Dr. Jones." Luke hushed Hailey before anyone else could overhear them, "I thought Mer must have told you about it."

"Well, we don't gossip about people. At least not at their back." Hailey replied absentmindedly.

Luke's forehead furrowed at her words.

"I mean, it's not that necessary piece of information that I must know about my daughter's Doctor. And as you know, we have a lot to deal with, in the last few days. So... You know." Hailey tried to act normal to the piece of information she just got to learn.

"Well, even if you didn't know. I am happy that you were there when he faced her. As I'm sure it's because of you, we found him as my friend Arthur. Otherwise, that lady is toxic. She might have injected negativity, self-hatred, and doubts in him only." Luke stated patting Hailey's shoulder.

As if appreciating her.

"I'll take your leave now. My shift is about to start, must run or Arthur will kick me." Luke concluded with a warm smile. "Hailey, that... I hope you know it's a little secret among the four of us. I mean, that Lily thing. Arthur doesn't want Dr. Jones to know about their past." Luke turned back to assure before leaving.

"Yeah, sure. I don't like to interfere in others personal stuff. Don't worry about it." Hailey assured him. Though she was still in shock.

That Lady, her words, Hailey started to analyze it from the moment she entered and saw them in the cabin.

The discomfort was visible on Arthur's face. She was the one taunting with a smirk.

Her praises about Dr. Jones were in fact taunts for Arthur.

Hailey was unable to understand Arthur at the moment, that lady was trying to humiliate him. While as Luke said, Arthur was the one who wanted to keep it a secret from Dr. Jones that Lily might have ditched Arthur for him.

Who is Dr.Arthur? The man who taunted her for being a single mother, or the man who just punched Adam to save her?

Or the one who went to another specialist for Cora, even when he knew it might cause the return of his toxic Ex?

Why was he nurturing the secret of his past?

Among all these thoughts his face flashed in front of her eyes. Red with the excessive laughter, twinkling eyes, yet moist.

"Mom!"