¶¶Chapter Song~Wrong Direction¶¶
¶By~Hailee Steinfeld¶

"Something is wrong with this girl Arthur," Luke said offering him, a cup of coffee.

"Certainly Luke, or else what's she doing in our hospital?" Arthur replied sipping at his cup.

"Dude! Don't act dumb! I know you know, I'm talking about Hailey, not Cora."

"But my concern is Cora, not her mother. Will you now let me think about her? She was physically weak. In last week she recovered a bit. I was expecting to operate her this week only." Arthur paused for a second, "but now her mother is admitted next door too. How will she take this? For a sensitive child like her, it can be very difficult to see such a condition of her mother. I don't want any more complications for her."

"Arthur." Luke looked at him with concern.

"I'm listening Luke." He replied turning pages of the file he was studying with coffee.

"Don't you think that you are getting too involved with Cora?"

Dr. Arthur got a slight conscious at his words but acted unaffected.

"Arthur, she is a kid and quite attached to you too, but never forget: she will leave as soon as she recovers," Luke said, almost warning him.

"And I will make sure that day comes soon Luke. I'm a Doctor first, then a human or man, or a desperate grieving father. Her well-being is my priority." Arthur replied with a smile which surprised Luke most.

He hadn't seen Arthur smile for years.

"Well, I guess that's difficult to achieve too. As you just said, her mother's condition can cause some disturbance to her emotional condition, and more than that Meril gave me another piece of information. Regarding their financial crisis." Luke added.

"Wait! Did I hear Meril? Instead of Dr. Meril Jacob? Damn Luke! It sounded like you know her for years." Arthur teased Luke at his casualness with Meril.

"Ok, I'm not Dr. Arrogant Arthur Miller! I'm a sweet and simple Luke who was looking for his Miss Right, and Meril can be that for sure. All we need is some time to spend together." Luke accepted his eagerness to get settled in life.

"Then go ahead, who has stopped you?"

"Circumstances!"

"Dr. Luke Scott talking about circumstances! That's shocking." Arthur chuckled taking the last sip of his coffee.

"No, Dr. Arthur Miller giving smile and teasing me. That's shocking!"

"Don't divert the topic."

"I'm not trying even. Remember I asked you about Hailey, if something is wrong with her... She and Cora like family to Meril, she can't think about me seriously until they are fine. Same here with me." Luke exhaled.

"What is with you?" Arthur asked for an explanation.

"How can I think of getting settled when my only friend that is You, is devasted." Luke blurted but at once realized he shouldn't have said that.

"Are you accusing me of your single status?" Arthur raised an eye with his familiar gravity.

"Sort of. As I can't see you alone. Just imagine, My wedding, I'm waiting for my Bride at the altar, she walks in gracefully, I get so emotional to see her, and just as I reach my hand to hold hers'. You shout from the back of my head, in your threatening tone, 'What the heck is this Luke! Why bed number 101's urine bag is still there!' " Luke mocked Arthur's tone.

"Come on, Dude! Does that mean I'll not be invited to your wedding? Or you gonna arrange it here in the hospital only?" Arthur pointed out and chuckled at his weird imaginations.

"I'm serious Arthur. If we keep working like this, like night and day. We gonna end up here only. No place to call home. No one to call our own." Luke said sarcastically.

It reminded Arthur of his empty home.
Home that he made in all these years with
His hard-earned money. Home that he had decorated with all expensive luxury stuff. Home which has an empty children's room, stuffed with soft toys.

"I don't have Luke. As once I had but failed to maintain it. And now I don't want it. But you deserve it. Go ahead. Try. I have seen Dr. Meril talking to you. You guys look genuine together and quite comfy too." He replied pushing his dark thoughts back, "today someone misunderstood me as Cora's father. For that moment it felt like, "

He had to take a deep breath to compose himself and his vibrating voice, " it felt like that child in my arms at the moment wasn't just a child but the remedy for my aching soul. I never knew I was in that much pain. Since then I'm feeling so light. To feel her, sleeping peacefully in my arms, as if I was able to ensure her safety."

Luke got the reason for his composure.

"Arthur, Meril was telling me that Cora is getting attached to you. Like, she's relying on you emotionally. Maybe it's because like you, She was craving emotional support, from her father. I know there is no harm in this bonding but I feel if you got attached it might hurt you worse than losing your unborn child." Luke replied with most sincerity.

For a moment felt a pain, acknowledging it's presence in the void of his existence, "Rubbish! You are thinking too much now. I know she's not mine." Arthur said but realized the gravity of his statement, "leave it and tell me what you were talking about initially?"

"Ah! Yeah, about her operation. Because of this sudden mishap in Hailey's life. She won't be able to pay the remaining bills. Especially the medicines after the surgery."

"That's not the problem, tell her We will operate and finance the after medicines too," Arthur replied carelessly.

"Why? Because it's Cora? Her mother, Hailey will never accept this much charity. Her self-esteem will not allow her. I have discussed it with Meril. "

"It's not about her esteem and all, it's about the life of Cora! How can she be so rude? Is her so-called self-esteem is dearer to her more than her child's life?" Arthur lost his cool at his words.

"Arthur, Meril asked me to find a buyer, for Her apartment. You can imagine how far she will go for Cora! Hailey isn't Her! Stop losing your mind on her." Luke rebuked him in strict words.

"Ok, fine! I got you! I wasn't trying to see Her in her!" Arthur replied uncomfortably as if he had been caught.

"Yes, you were." Luke took a deep breath calming himself, "Not all women are like Her, Arthur. Stop judging." He patted his shoulder.

"I wasn't judging. It's just... It came naturally. I mean, the way that woman denied to launch any complaint against her assault, the way she was behaving lame in front of that weirdo visitor a few hours back. I extremely doubt her judgment skills." Arthur huffed in annoyance.

"Visitor? You think some buyers etcetera? As far as I know from Meril, all they have is Meril and her parents. Hailey lost her father when she was twelve. Her mother died of cancer five years back, that way She has left with no relatives to visit." Luke wondered as Arthur mentioned about the visitor.

"Make your mind clear Luke. Are you interested in Meril or Hailey?" Arthur said sarcastically as he found it quite amusing to see Luke so intrigued in her personal life.

"Now where this question appear from? I was just wondering if He was some random buyer interested in their property or the father of Cora."

Arthur's heart skipped a beat while Luke kept explaining, "I mean, She needs money for Cora, and all of sudden this visitor pops up. I think she might have called him for help. After all, He is her father."

"If he is the father then She is better without him!" Arthur blurted venomously recalling Hailey's pale face, the moment he entered the room.

The tension among them was enough for him to get his intentions at that moment.

"Arthur?" Luke just gazed at him with wonder at the way he just declared.

"Leave it! If it's about Cora, tell Meril you got a buyer. I will pay." Arthur declared closing the file, getting up for the last round of visits to his patients for the day.

*****

"I have to do something Meril, he will come again."

"Yes, he will as you haven't punched his nasty face!" Meril growled in reply, seething with anger.

"I don't want to make a fuss about an Ex. Surfacing back." Hailey replied blankly.

"That's what I'm asking you all the time. Why he surfaced all of a sudden?"

Hailey stayed silent.

"Fine! If you don't have any problem with him then why should I? You again choosing him over me. But this time I will not stay to witness your destruction as this time I know nothing will be left behind. Oh, Yeah! How can I forget? I'll make sure to get custody of Cora! As he's a scoundrel, involved in so many cases. I can't leave my niece with a criminal father and an insane mother." Meril added in frustration collecting her handbag from the side table.

"Meril, stop doing it. You know I can never chose him over you. And I'm not that emotional, foolish, teenager anymore. I know, I have a daughter. A girl can risk her future, her life in the name of love but a mother can never think of risking her daughter's future." Hailey replied calmly as if analyzing something.

"Sounds Good!" Meril smirked at her, "if you are so sure then why are you so worried about his sudden appearance. Yet, you are hiding the reason for it. I'm sure he needs something from you. He never contacted you in the last six years. Even when your mother died." She reminded Hailey of her foolish expectations.

"He... I know what he wants. I'll do it. To make sure he never appears again."

"Great! So how should we do it? Have you contacted any gangster or we will do it ourselves." Meril inquired enthusiastically.

"Meril, stop playing dumb!" Hailey exhaled hanging her head backward.

"Oh, yeah sorry. As you are enough to play the dumb here!" Meril replied with furrowed forehead, "first you denied to lodge any complaint now you are accepting that swine."

"I'm not accepting him Meril! I'm doing all this because I don't want him around me or Cora!" Hailey lost the facade of calm, she was trying to keep so long.

"Wait a minute, he's the one!"

"Yes, he was drunk, with his bandmates. He initiated but I withdrew. He... As we know can't accept 'No'."

"And you saving that son of a...'

"Meril!" Hailey interrupted her in mid with irritation, "I didn't complain because I don't want to see his face again. He came to visit me to thank and apologize for his behavior."

"God! And you accepted his apology! I can't believe you missed the chance to put him behind bars and claiming it your strategy to eradicate his existence from your life! He is that bloody cell of Cancer which can't be treated with a pill of vitamin."

"Meril! Seriously, you prescribe Vitamin tabs for disease?" Hailey made a face.

"It's not funny Hailey Palmer! I want you to lodge the FIR right now!"

"I'm not. I will ask him to leave me alone for good. In return, I will not drag him or his band into any legal issue. All we need to care about is to keep Cora out of his sight. I don't want him to think that I have any connection with him. Just hide my girl from his sight."

Hailey affirmed herself, that she has a great plan to block him out of her life. That night their meet was a co-incident.
As a bar attendant and a customer.

But he tried to get intimate with her, claiming that She was the best girlfriend he ever had. He wanted her back. Her denial in front of his friends hurt his male ego, resulting in the assault.