TWELVE YEARS AGO

"Hey, Andrea. Leave that stupid matchbox and come play with us," Adrian called heartily.

School had dismissed for the day, and their parents were still in a meeting with the teachers.

Andrea happily dropped the matchbox and dashed over to Adrian and his playmates. "What are you guys doing in the sand? Come on, let's play hide and seek in the kindergarten classroom," she suggested, already bored with the tic-tac-toe they had been playing.

"Fine, let's do it then," Adrian agreed easily.

The moment one of the boys shut his eyes and began counting, Adrian took Andrea's hand and, together, they raced toward the abandoned supplies store tucked right behind the block of classrooms.

"Are you sure no one would see us here?" Andrea whispered, glancing around nervously.

Adrian drew her closer as they inched behind a dusty cupboard. "Of course no one would find us. As long as we keep quiet. I will play the big brother role for you and protect you."

Andrea flashed him a coy grin. "Big brother indeed. You're barely three years older than I am and..."

"Shhhh," Adrian suddenly hushed her. "I think someone's coming."

Andrea immediately fell silent and waited, her heart pounding. Seconds passed. Nothing happened.

"It's fine," Adrian whispered at last. "Here. I made something for you. But I wanted to give it to you in secret." He handed her a beaded bracelet with a small tag engraved with A 4 A.

"A for A. That's Adrian for Andrea, huh?" She beamed, staring at it in awe. "Wow. I love it!" she exclaimed.

"How about me?" Adrian asked softly. "Do you love me?"

Andrea was stunned. She had never thought he had a crush on her; she had always seen him as just a friend. While she was still trying to process his words, he leaned down and kissed her.

It felt strange, confusing. She had never done anything like that before. She tried to resist him, yet somehow didn't. It was as though an invisible force held her still.

Seconds passed, until a shadow suddenly loomed over them.

The school cleaner.

"Adrian!" the woman barked, fury blazing in her eyes. "Is this what you do now?"

Adrian rolled his eyes and Andrea stood up abruptly, her face crimson with fear and shame. She knew her parents would be deeply disappointed in her, but how could she have resisted Adrian? He was so charming and handsome.

"Come with me, Andrea," the woman snapped. "Your mother must know what you've been up to. I suppose it's high time she starts educating you on some things."

Andrea burst into tears as the woman grabbed her hand. "No, please don't. I'm sorry."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the woman dragged her forward. Panic flooded Andrea's chest, and suddenly, an idea struck her. She yanked her hand free, shoved the woman away, and bolted.

But the woman lost her balance and fell backward, hitting her head on a nail that jutted out from a broken wooden cupboard.

Andrea stopped short.

She watched in horror, as the woman bled, a hand clamped over her mouth as a gasp tore from her throat.

"Don't worry," Adrian said bravely, grabbing her hand. "Let's get out of here first."

They ran, returned to the playground and acted like nothing had happened.

Moments later, Andrea watched as teachers shrieked and screamed. She watched as the cleaner was rushed into an ambulance.

But the woman never made it.

Andrea was still in shock when she confessed everything to her mother, who had been present at the parents' meeting. "Don't worry, darling. It was a mistake. The police won't come after you, I promise," her mother had assured her.

And indeed, the police never did.

It was assumed the woman had tripped over the clutter and fallen. Andrea's mother made sure they relocated to a different state, and had their names changed.

April swallowed as the memory replayed vividly in her mind.

Adrian smirked at her. "You disappeared, but the incident didn't. Her son knew I was with you. He was aware I gave you that bracelet because he made it himself, and he knew we were hiding in that store. So he thinks he knows exactly what happened."

A deep frown creased her forehead. "What are you talking about?" There was no way she would let this jerk know, or even think, she remembered a thing. It had been a deadly mistake. It was in the past. Twelve years ago.

Moreover, it was Andrea Johnson who had committed the crime, not April Scott.

Adrian let out a bitter snort. "I guess you will find out when you meet her son. He works here."

Her heart jumped at the last bit of information. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when the door suddenly opened and a doctor walked in, stopping short in surprise.

The tension shattered instantly.

Adrian released her wrist at once. April stepped away as though his touch burned.

"Get out," Adrian muttered, visibly embarrassed.

April shot him one last daggered glare, hissed under her breath, and marched out, the other doctor's stunned gaze following her all the way.

On the elevator ride down, April felt her cheeks burn. Her mind reeled, momentarily forgetting the humiliating fact that he had seen her pants down. She covered her face for a second, mortified beyond words.

He's got to be kidding.

There was no way he remembered a thing. She had to make sure he stayed confused, had to make him believe he was mistaken.

As soon as she stepped outside the hospital premises to get some air, someone nudged her, and she nearly jerked out of her skin.

"April!"

"Jorge!" She fell straight into his arms. Her only safe space. Her tall, lanky childhood best friend with impossible blue eyes.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Jorge said, examining her closely.

"Where have you been?!" She pulled back with furrowed brows, deliberately switching the attention away from herself. "If we had come together like we planned, that idiot wouldn't have bullied me in the elevator."

Jorge let out a humorless laugh. "What idiot? Who?"

"I don't know. Some psycho who carries himself like his dad owns the entire place."

Jorge burst into laughter. "Maybe you've already caught his attention. He probably has a crush on you."

"Crush my foot."

"So where exactly are we heading?" he asked, watching her exhale like she had just run a marathon.

"Here."

"Here where?" He glanced around, confused.

"Just... here," she sighed. "I need real air, Jorge. You won't believe this. He barged into me in the bathroom and called me a maniac."

"No way!"

"Believe me! He walked in like he owned the place. The worst part?" She winced. "My pants were down when he came in."

Jorge gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth.

"Tell me you're kidding, April. What the hell was he doing in the ladies' bathroom?"

"Uhm..." April cringed. "It was actually the gents."

Jorge threw his head back, laughing even harder.

"Jorge, it's not funny!"

"Says who?" He wheezed dramatically. "Oh, and that reminds me. Let me tell you something else that isn't funny. We went to see our professor for the first day briefing... but since you weren't there, he was furious."

April slapped both hands over her mouth. "Oh my God. Really? What did he say?"

"He was pissed that we weren't complete, so there was no briefing. I heard he doesn't tolerate nonsense, and could even fire you on your first day if he thinks you're dumb. I hope he doesn't think you are."

"But he hasn't even met me yet!"

"Listen, April." Jorge lowered his voice. "We need to be careful. Our professor actually owns this hospital. Nobody messes with him."

April flipped her hair back with a scoff. "Fine. Let's go before we ruin our futures."

They turned around, only to nearly collide with a group of paramedics rushing critically injured patients inside on oxygen, each strapped to fast-moving gurneys. Alarms blared in sharp, frantic bursts.

Jorge, who had been slightly ahead, stopped abruptly. He grabbed April's wrist with sudden urgency.

"Wait. Look at that hand."

April followed his gaze, her heart instantly slamming against her ribs. The hand dangling weakly off the gurney wore a familiar bangle, one she had seen almost every day of her childhood.

Her lungs tightened.

"That's... Maya's bracelet," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Jorge... that's Maya's. That's definitely hers."

Maya was April's younger sister.

But deep down, April knew that the bracelet on Maya's hand was that same bracelet Adrian has given her twelve years back. For some dumb reasons, she had held tightly to it and now it was going to be her doom.

For a fleeting moment, they stood frozen. Then their voices broke out together.

"It's Maya!"

They bolted after the gurney as the paramedics rushed toward the emergency room.

"Please wait!" April cried, her breath hitching painfully. "That's my sister! Please, please, stop!"

She tried to reach for Maya, her fingers shaking, torn between taking the bracelet off her hand and worried about her severe condition, but a paramedic gently yet firmly blocked her.

April's voice cracked. "What happened? What, what happened to her?"

"There was an accident," the paramedic said quickly as they wheeled the gurney inside. "But she will be fine, ma'am. Please step back."

April and Jorge went in after them, refusing to lose sight of her. Machines beeped rapidly as doctors swarmed around Maya.

A nurse stepped forward, her expression tight with practiced urgency. "You both need to stand back. If she is your sister, call your parents immediately. She will need emergency surgery."

"S-surgery?" April's voice splintered as her stomach dropped. Her vision blurred. Money. Bills. Debt. "Is she going to be alright? Please, just tell me she will be okay."

"Yes," the nurse replied briskly, attempting reassurance. "But it's serious. There was a car accident. Her ribs broke and punctured her lungs. We will have to remove part of her lung and repair the ribs before they cause further damage."

April swallowed hard, forcing her voice steady. "Please. Let me in first. As you can see, I'm a staff member here and..."

"Are you sure?" a deep voice cut through the chaos.

April stiffened and turned sharply.

It was Adrian, already in scrubs, gloves halfway on, clearly preparing for surgery. Her gaze dropped to the name badge pinned to his uniform, and realization struck hard.

So he was the one in charge.

She cursed herself for not connecting the name sooner. Adrian Smith.

His expression was unreadable, but his eyes locked onto hers like he had been waiting for this moment.

"What?" she snapped, unrepentant, determined to keep him believing he had mistaken her for someone else. "Are you planning to fire me right now?"

"Are you really asking?" He arched an eyebrow, stepping closer. "Oh. So now you know me?"

"Listen," she said sharply, "that's my sister over there, and I don't have time for your..."

"She will be fine," he cut in coldly. "Why didn't you report with your colleagues when you were summoned?"

April rolled her eyes hard. "Look here, psycho. My sister's life is on the line, and you are blabbing about this?"

A low ripple of gasps and murmurs spread across the room.

Adrian's eyes widened slowly.

"Psycho?" He stared at her in disbelief. "Did you just call me that?"

"You are a doctor, for goodness' sake!" April flailed her hands in the air. "Why would you revere a meaningless summons over someone's life? How does that even make sense?" she flared.

"Are you nuts? Or is this your idea of blackmail?" Adrian snapped, then gestured sharply behind her. "Her treatment has already commenced while you're standing here yelling. You know you're in the wrong and are only trying to use her as a façade. Isn't that it?"

"Really?!" April shot back heatedly. "My sister is fighting for her life, and here you are whining about why I didn't show up?"

He pointed a finger at her. "I don't want to hear that line again if you don't want to lose your job."

"I bet you would be a real psycho if you fired me over personal issues that have nothing to do with work."

"Real what? Real psycho?" He scoffed, leaning forward slightly. "Did you say personal issues? Like not reporting when you're summoned? Or like right now, when I called for a meeting and you're here arguing your ass off?"

"Hey!" April raised a hand between them. "Don't use derogatory terms on me, bro. And you know exactly why I'm here. Or is my sister's life..."

"Bro?" Adrian snorted loudly, glancing around the room. "Who is your freaking bro, maniac?"

That was when April realized the entire ER had gone dead silent. Only the soft beeping of monitors filled the space. Every eye was on them, wide, stunned, whispering.

Her chest burned from the inside out, and her vision blurred. She spun around quickly before the tears could spill, stalking out of the ER with shaking hands. Jorge called after her and hurried behind.

"Hey!" Adrian barked at him. "Are you her bodyguard or something?"

Jorge paused, breathing hard. "No, uhm... I'm her twinie."

"What?" Adrian frowned. "You're twins?"

"Not literally."

Adrian's frown deepened. "What do you mean, not literally? Are you her brother or not?"

Jorge felt his pulse spike. He dragged in a breath. "She is my sister."

"What's your last name?"

"Schneider."

"And hers?"

"Scott."

"And you're siblings?"

"That's why I said not literally. We're just childhood friends."

Adrian rolled his eyes in irritation. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't need a checkup?" He scoffed. "Listen, man, if you two think you can waltz around here and ignore my orders, I will show you who's boss. Get back. I called for a meeting."

He tugged off his gloves aggressively and stormed out, clearly intent on tracking down April to unload even more fury.

But he barely stepped into the hallway before colliding with Lana Hayes, his girlfriend.

Her eyes flashed with accusation. "You care to tell me what the hell is going on, Adrian? What am I hearing? Who is your secret girlfriend?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Back off, Lana."

"I should back off?" she shrilled. "You won't talk to me? You won't explain anything?"

"We both know what our relationship is like." His tone dipped into mild annoyance. "And I don't understand why you love building skyscrapers over trivial issues."

"This is not trivial, Adrian. I'm talking about us!"

"Are you not on duty?" he asked flatly.

"I am," she snapped. "You are my duty. And I won't sit back and watch some slut do as she pleases around you."

He froze. "Slut? Who is the slut?"

"What? You want to defend her now?"

"Who or what do you think she is to me?"

"Exactly what I'm trying to find out!"

"Good," he said calmly. "Then try harder." He tapped her shoulder and walked away without looking back.

April couldn't stop crying. She wandered down the corridor aimlessly, vision blurred, breathing uneven. Her shoulders trembled as she tried and failed to wipe away her tears.

Lu, another doctor and Adrian's best friend, darted out from the next ER after her. He had kept his eyes on her ever since she stepped in.

"April! April, wait, are you okay?" He pulled her gently toward him, examining her face. "Come on. Come with me."

And not far behind them, Adrian's footsteps echoed down the hallway. He followed too.

"Let me take you to my office," Lu said softly, guiding April inside. She almost asked how he knew her name, but decided to brush it aside for later.

He was a cardiac surgeon, and the walls reflected it, charts of human hearts taped everywhere, diagrams layered over one another, and a life-sized anatomical heart model standing like a silent guard in the corner.

She followed him in and practically collapsed onto the sofa. The tears slipped out again, and she broke down completely.

Lu's face softened. If he hadn't witnessed the argument himself, he would have sworn Adrian had slapped her. He grabbed a box of tissues and handed it to her.

April snatched a few and wiped her face with trembling hands. When her sniffles eased just a little, he leaned forward.

"Why are you crying?"

"I dunno..." she sniffed, her voice small.

"Did he just break up with you?"

Her head snapped up. The glare she shot him could have bored holes into his skull.

After a moment, she hesitated and sighed.

"Yeah," she muttered flatly.

Lu blinked. "Wow. How long have you guys been together?"

April wiped her nose loudly. "You believe me? I'm kidding, okay? Would I be so nuts to cry over a dumb breakup when I don't even know if my sister will live or die?"

Lu's expression shifted instantly. "Oh... I'm really sorry about that." He paused, unsure what to say. "But you really know who he is, don't you?"

"Not at first. But now I do, and honestly, I don't think I want to care. He is not my God, or my parachute, or my life jacket or anything," she blurted.

Lu chuckled under his breath.

April sniffed. "If he kicks me out of here, there are a million and one other hospitals waiting for me, you know..."

"Mmh... you are right," Lu nodded, amused.

"And I wouldn't even mind telling him that to his face if he ever threatens to fire me," she added.

Lu raised an eyebrow. "You do realize you will need a recommendation. Something nice from your previous workplace."

April's face lit up with sarcastic excitement. "You are right. And imagine the new hospital finding out I was fired because he acts like a wild bear."

Lu laughed once. "Though the funny irony here is... everyone thinks you two are dating."

April jerked her head up. "That's the impression? This is actually my first day here. And I just met that psycho in the elevator this morning."

"Psycho?"

"Yep. Psycho. He glared at me and asked if I was stepping in or not. I almost rolled my eyes out of my head. Then he started calling me names, and when I asked if he was a doctor or not, he went, 'What do I look like?' and I said, 'Psycho!'"

Lu's mouth dropped open. "You actually said that to him?"

"Yep. And he accidentally met me at the gents, my bad, and called me a maniac. He was even going to harass me, but I shushed him," April said proudly.

"Wait, what? You did what?" Lu sounded both horrified and intrigued.

"I shut him up," she repeated. "He left like a wounded lion."

Lu burst into full laughter.

A voice sliced through the room.

"What's so funny?"

They both turned instinctively.

Adrian stood at the door, watching them. He stepped in and shut it behind him, his expression unreadable.

"You are an interesting being, aren't you?" Adrian said, pointing at April. "A maniac. A liar. A crybaby..." He let out a low chuckle.

"Come on, cool it, man," Lu said.

Adrian rounded on him. "What's wrong with you? Were you infected? Do you actually believe her nonsense and laugh at me?"

Lu lifted his hands. "Take a deep breath, dude. I'm just catching the fun of it."

"Fun of what? This dummy talking crap about me?" Adrian's voice sharpened.

Lu's smile faded. He stood. "Hey. Stop it. The only dummy in this hospital is Lana Hayes, and we both know it."

"Yeah, and she's just been added to the list," Adrian shot back, pointing at April.

"Her sister is in critical condition," Lu said sharply. "You don't have to be so hard on her. At least not right now."

Adrian's eyes widened a fraction. "Wait, are you defending her? This maniac from nowhere? Over your best friend?" He jabbed a finger toward April.

"She is not a maniac. And you deserved whatever she gave you if you were calling her names and treating her like an outcast."

Adrian scoffed. "Are you painting me black now? Have you heard my side of the story? Or is she your girlfriend? Did you two already make out? How does she taste?"

Lu's entire face changed.

"Shut the hell up, Adrian! And stop spitting trash!"

Adrian scoffed again. "Are you yelling at me now? Over this dumb issue?"

"Exactly," Lu snapped. "It's dumb. Too dumb for you to be standing here labeling her with mean names while her sister is over there fighting for her life."

Adrian stepped closer, his voice low. "There is something you're not saying, Lucas." He leaned in. "Do you like her?"

Lu stiffened. "Do you care? I'm just glad you hate her guts."

"Who said I do?" Adrian whispered.

Lu froze.

"What? You can't like her. You've never liked any nurse here, no matter how gorgeous they are, and she's just one of them."

Adrian smirked. "Who said she is?"

Lu stared at him. "Wait... what? You like her?"

"Shut up," Adrian snapped, stealing a glance at April.