The car stopped at the entrance of Spring Grove Hospital. It had been a few months since the last time that Katherine visited the place and a sudden uneasiness filled her heart. She didn"t know why, but she felt the urge not to go inside. Her hands balled into fists in an attempt to stop it from shaking.
Damien got out from the backseat of the car and waited for Katherine to follow but she remained glued to her seat. He peeked in and his brow raised when he saw her in a daze. "Ms. Miller?"
"Hmm?" Katherine turned her head and realized that he was waiting for her. "Ah - yes." Carefully, she alighted the car, and the two of them entered the hospital.
Arriving at Dr. Martin Cheng"s clinic, they sat on the wide sofa as they waited for the neurologist to arrive.
Damien, who was sitting next to Katherine, noticed her trembling hands. His brows slightly furrowed upon seeing her tensed expression. His gaze landed on the tiny scar on her left thumb that she constantly puts pressure on as though it was helping her to calm down.
"If you don"t want to do this today, we can come back some other time," he stated.
"I"m okay," she responded almost instantly.
Feeling warm, Katherine glanced down and saw Damien"s large hand on hers, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. Her trembling instantly stopped and her heart began to pound in her chest at the same time that her cheeks started to blush. His hand, although slightly rough, was very warm and she liked it. She turned to him and met his stare.
"Don"t be nervous," he said, "I"ll be right here."
As soon as Katherine heard those words from him, it was as if she was enveloped with a warm blanket over her shoulders to keep her from getting cold. She had seen the doctor several times in the past but she was always alone. She didn"t like bothering other people and thus, she always tried to fix everything on her own. Having him there was definitely better than being alone.
Wanting to say something but didn"t want to sound cheesy, Katherine ended up saying: "You"re paying for this visit, right? Because I"m broke."
She saw his eyebrows scrunch up a little before he shook his head and chuckled. He couldn"t believe she was still thinking about something like that after what he just said. "How cute."
"Don"t worry. I"m taking you under my wing. Naturally, I"ll pay for everything." Another excuse for him to pay for anything that has something to do with Katherine. He would love to spend his cash on everything as long as it was for her. May it be clothes, food — heck, he would buy a mansion for her. "Chill, Damien. You"ll get there."
He tightened his hold on her hand, happy that she hadn"t brushed his hand away. "This is nice."
"I"m sorry for making you wait, oh-" Dr. Cheng was surprised to see that Katherine was not alone. And with her is this expensive-looking man who was holding her hand. It was the first time that he saw her with someone.
"You"re not alone this time. Is he your boyfriend?" he asked as he searched for something in his file cabinet.
"What?" Realizing that Damien was still holding her hand, she gently pulled away from his grasp and shook her head, "No… umm… h-he"s my b-"
"Actually, I"m her fiancé," Damien shamelessly admitted, making Katherine"s lip twitch and her eyes widen.
"What the h.e.l.l?" She glared at him. "What ar-"
Damien grabbed her hand once again and squeezed it as if he was telling her to keep quiet. "I"m here to know more about her condition."
Feeling Damien"s hand again, her heart skipped a beat. "Why is this man lying so casually? And why does he need to hold my hand?"
"Of course," Dr. Cheng returned with a folder in his hand. He didn"t seem bothered at all and was ready to tell Damien about Katherine"s amnesia.
"Today is May Fourth. It"s been five years and over two months since the patient was brought to this hospital…" Dr. Cheng started explaining Katherine"s memory and ident.i.ty loss. But everything that he told Damien was nothing new as the latter had already read the notes from Markus" investigation. And for some reason, Damien didn"t have a good feeling about the doctor. However, he kept his opinion to himself and let the doctor finish.
As soon as Damien and Katherine stepped out of the doctor"s clinic, they got in the car and left the hospital.
"Why did you lie back there?" she wondered.
"What lie?"
"You told Dr. Cheng that you"re my fiancé. Why?"
Damien shrugged, "I had to know your condition. Wasn"t it more believable that I said that instead of telling him I"m your boss? What boss would care about personal stuff like this?"
Katherine suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, "You could have just said "boyfriend". Why fiancé?" she mumbled to herself but Damien clearly heard her.
"Would you have wanted that instead?" He tilted his head and formed a teasing smile.
"Want what?"
"Me, as your boyfriend," he responded seriously.
Katherine turned her gaze away from him and looked at the window, ignoring the man next to her.
A few minutes later, Damien pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned to his a.s.sistant. "Markus, have you called Jeff?"
"Yes, Boss. Shall we drop by his hospital now?" Markus glanced at the rearview mirror.
Damien nodded before he turned to Katherine. "You"re switching doctors."
"What? Why?" She was confused by his announcement. "He has been my doctor for five years. Why do I need to change now?"
Not wanting to worry her, he formed a smile on his face before he casually tapped on his phone. "Changing doctors isn"t a big deal as it happens all the time. I just feel that I can trust someone I have already known for a long time. Dr. Evans is a great doctor."
Looking at Damien, she didn"t see anything unusual about his answer. Besides, he was already helping her so what was there to worry about? All she needed to do was meet another doctor and she can finally recall her memories.
"When was your accident? He said you were brought to the hospital in February?" Damien carefully watched her expression as she answered.
"Yes, February 22nd. I was transferred from another hospital but they couldn"t tell me anything else. So I don"t really know what happened before I was moved there."
Damien narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "What happened to you?" he muttered in a low voice, it was almost inaudible.
Seeing the change in his expression, Katherine questioned, "Why?"
"February 18th." After exhaling a sigh, he continued. "The last night that I saw you was February 18th."
Katherine knitted her brows and gazed at Damien whose stare was so intense. All of a sudden, she sensed that the man in front of her was someone familiar yet a stranger at the same time. "Who are you, Damien Park?"
Just as Katherine was about to ask further questions, they have already reached their destination.