*Ding~*
"Director."
The director of the OB-GYN department of Arland Hospital, Miranda Robin, nodded slightly as she walked out of the elevator with her hands in her waist pockets. Passing by the respectful female doctor and the two nurses waiting for the elevator, she took the path to her office.
The corridor was wide enough to be comfortable to walk through. Passing by a few offices, Miranda arrived at the door of hers, then calmly opened it after unlocking it with her badge.
However, she froze instead of immediately walking inside. But only for one second.
Calmly stepping inside, Miranda closed the door behind her and addressed the intruder who was in her office while walking to the chair behind the desk:
"Your mother warned me that you would come to me."
A light laugh responded to the woman who had spent the greater part of her life healing fellow women and helping them give birth:
"She knows me so well."
Turning away from the silhouette cast by the sun of the afternoon before the window, Miranda Robin sat down at her desk while flatly commenting:
"Indeed, and seeing you in my office, I don't doubt her words anymore. She said no computer or electronic system could resist your genius."
There was a brief moment of pause, before a bobbling laughter came in reply to the pointed remark:
"What an exaggeration! I simply found your door unlocked when I arrived and I allowed myself in."
Miranda's expression didn't change. She simply turned to the computer on her desk and moved the mouse to get out of its sleep mode:
"Is that so? But now I fear that if I don't give you what you want, you will simply find the systems of our hospital unlocked and allow yourself in there too."
"How could that be, doctor Robin? You are giving too much credit to a playboy with only a good family name like me. I just came for some answers, nothing more."
Alex finally turned around to face the owner of the office, the sky beyond the window now the backdrop for his bright smile.
Miranda glanced at him, then turned away, unable to even bother coming up with a retort. Still, having received word from the Lenner matriarch beforehand, in the next moment, she opened her mouth to narrate calmly:
"Twenty-five years ago, your mother almost lost her uterus. That had been during her third and last pregnancy. She managed to survive the ordeal in one piece, but not without some inevitable scars. And since then, from time to time, they tend to remind her of their existence, and of what happened. She almost lost her life that year."
"…"
Alex saying nothing allowed a heavy silence to settle in the office. His smile faded away, and that was what Miranda saw when she turned to him. Even though the bright sky behind him made his face difficult to get a clear look at, the calm that set in, as unnerving as it felt on someone usually so casual, was clear to the older woman.
She let out a subtle, soundless exhale, then turned back to her computer, a small smile lingering on the corner of her mouth Alex could not see. It came and went in a flash, a brief expression of happiness that her friend of many years had a good child, before her face returned to its usual stern expression.
Her voice flat, Miranda broke the silence:
"Does that answer satisfy your curiosity as her third and last child, heir Lenner?"
Alex's mind came back to reality, and he nodded:
"Indeed, it does. Thank you for telling me. But please, doctor…"
His smile coming back, he went on, his tone once again casual:
"It is 'prospective heir', not 'heir'. It is not good to get it wrong. That could get me into trouble."
Miranda's eyes flickered. She stopped going through her files to look at the young man with what seemed like an eyebrow almost raised as she looked ready to speak, or maybe retort. Before she could open her mouth, however, Alex preempted her. With an energetic tone, he spoke while taking a crisp step toward the door:
"Alright, I'm off, beautiful doctor Robin. I will come see you again some other time with a gift you won't be able to refuse. Guarantee you will like it."
Flashing a bright smile at the stern woman, Alex winked at her, then closed the door.
After a while, Miranda shook her head, the smile she allowed on her lips obvious and longer lasting this time.
_ _ _
_ _ _
"Sis, what are you doing outside?"
Leyna shook her head, then looked at Alex's hand:
"I am the one who should be asking where you have been for so long, but I guess I already have my answer."
Alex looked down at the bag he was holding, then laughed:
"So you were waiting for me. I just went to get you and mom something to eat. You are not exactly having a healthy lunch break."
Leyna blinked in realization, then smiled:
"Then, thank you. I stepped out to let the chairwoman rest for a bit. She will be able to eat after the IV drip is over."
She had only been worried about the chairwoman's health until now. She had forgotten the reason why they had been about to leave the office in the first place.
Shaking her head slightly, Leyna held out a hand toward Alex:
"Give it to me. I will put it away and keep it warm in the meanwhile. Did you get the answer you went looking for?"
"Hm, I got it. Since you are here with mom, I'm off to get busy. Remember to eat too, and call me if anything comes up. See ya~"
"Where are you going?"
"To see your future husband."
"Huh?!"
Leaving the stunned Leyna behind, Alex turned around and walked away with a laugh.
This time, he didn't take the stairs. He walked to the elevator and took the lift downward. Walking into another department of the hospital, hunched and holding his side seemingly in pain, he let out a cry as soon as he spotted his target's sunny blond hair in a large ward with brightly decorated walls sporting different childish drawings:
"Dr Cullman, you have a patient!"