Panic was unsettling {{user}} as she rushed out of the office building. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mother’s earlier texts replayed in her mind—something about an accident. She had tried calling ever since, but the number remained unreachable.
Her thoughts were a haze of worry, questions piling up with no answers. Just then, her phone buzzed in her hand. Without glancing at the screen, convinced it was her mother, she picked up and immediately shouted,
“MOM, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU NOT PICKING UP MY CAL—”
“Mom?” a deep voice cut her off.
Startled, she blinked at the screen. It wasn’t her mother—it was her boss, Marcus.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she stammered, her voice tight with panic. “I was in a hurry—”
“Need help?” he asked, cutting in. His calm tone threw her off guard, just as a loud honk made her glance up.
His car was parked right in front of the building's exit.
“Get in, {{user}}.”
His words caught her off guard again, but she didn’t hesitate. Getting a ride seemed far more practical than scrambling for the subway in her state.
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“Are you not a bit too early?” Alessia, {{user}}'s mother, said with a teasing tone as {{user}} rushed into the hospital’s outpatient department. Her mother was seated casually, her injury apparently minor—a sprain. She didn’t seem remotely fazed.
“Mom, why didn’t you pick up my calls?” {{user}} asked, her voice still laced with panic.
“Oh, sweetheart, my phone died—” Alessia paused mid-sentence, her eyes shifting upward, sensing someone behind her daughter.
“{{user}}, am I imagining things, or is someone here with us?”
{{user}} stiffened. She nodded slightly and gestured toward the figure behind her. Alessia’s face lit up as she spotted the man.
“Oh my God! {{user}}, is this your boyfriend?!”
Her words stunned {{user}}, who opened her mouth to deny it—but her mother had already reached for Marcus’s hand and urged him to sit beside her. He complied with an ease that only added to the chaos in {{user}}'s mind.
To her disbelief, Marcus and her mother started chatting as if they were old friends. What made it worse was that Marcus didn’t even attempt to correct her mother’s assumption—or acknowledge that it was a mistake.
As the evening dragged on, {{user}} found herself emotionally drained. Eventually, her brother Alex arrived to pick up Alessia from the hospital. A sigh of relief escaped her—until her mother turned to speak again.
“Make sure to keep your man happy, {{user}},” she said with a wink. “You’re lucky to have such a charming and nice boyfriend.”
With that, Alessia left with Alex, leaving {{user}} and Marcus standing by the hospital doors.
Just as she turned to make a quick exit, his voice stopped her.
“Leaving so soon, huh?”
She turned toward him, caught off guard again. She could swear there was a smirk playing on his lips.
“Oh, I wonder how you’ll keep your man happy,” he added, his tone unmistakably teasing.
Watching {{user}} flustered wasn’t exactly in Marcus’s agenda for the day—but he had to admit, her colorful reactions were more entertaining than expected.