Hush, My Sweet Darling

Chapter 46: Special Task Force

Without an ounce of hesitation, Kiko blocked the number.

She wasn't sure what had kept her from blocking that number before. Perhaps it was the foolish part of her—the rebellious girl who appeared hard from the outside but was actually terrified of being alone.

Strangely, that little act managed to subdue her anxiety. Knowing she had to get up in just a couple of hours to make her morning shift, Kiko let out a sigh of relief and slowly drifted off to sleep. 

It was six in the morning when the blaring sound of the alarm on her cell phone woke her up. The pulsing pain in her head and face wrung out a growl of suffering from her lips, but she refused to succumb to it. Besides, Dr. Gao would undoubtedly have a field day if she missed some calls during the surgery rotation. There was no way she'd allow the nasty resident that kind of satisfaction.

Groaning out a curse, Kiko reluctantly opened her eyes and forced herself to get up from the bed. She turned off the alarm and took a bottle of aspirin from her nightstand drawer. She was popping two of the pills into her mouth when a message notification came in.

It was from...Ren Wu?

She knew for sure they hadn't exchanged phone numbers, so how did his number find its way to her cell phone and get saved neatly under her contacts?

She opened the message.

Hey, not sure if you're already awake, but I called your hospital and talked to your resident in charge. Told him you have a family emergency. So stay in today and rest.

How did you get my number? And how did I get yours?

You left your phone unlocked when you went to the toilet last night ;)

You could have just asked me for my number, you know?

Where's the fun in that?

Kiko smiled as she typed in her reply. Thanks, Dr. Wu, but not sure if that's a good idea. Dr. Gao will make me eat dirt if I miss my shift.

His response came in immediately. Nah, he won't.

My experience in the past weeks begs me to disagree.

My experience in the past decade trumps yours. So, don't worry about him and stay home. I got your back.

Without warning, a warm, fuzzy emotion flared from the very center of her chest. She lay back down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. After her split with Glenn, she realized she'd subconsciously only been attracted to emotionally unavailable, narcissistic men. The consistent pattern alarmed her enough to make her swear off men for a while.

It had been fairly easy because such was her willpower. Once she set her mind on something, she made sure she would see it through. So, this tender feeling she had toward Ren Wu? It was nothing. A mere bagatelle because she would never act on it. As simple as that.

With that thought in mind, she dozed off again.

Several hours later, Kiko arose to the beeping of her front door entry code being punched in. Unalarmed, she lazily lingered in bed. There could only be one person that had access to her apartment and would drop by unannounced.

Not even a minute later, Violet appeared in her bedroom. She took one look at Kiko, and her eyes started to glaze over.