Hush, My Sweet Darling

Chapter 21: Luxury Problem

Twenty minutes earlier...

Kiko rushed toward the hospital's exit as soon as she hung up the phone. On the way, she bumped into the emergency department's head nurse, who stopped her. "Student! Where are you going? Why are you in a rush? I wasn't informed of a new trauma call."

But her head was still digesting the news of Violet's condition, and it distracted her from giving the head nurse a proper explanation of the situation.

"I—My friend is... Yes! There is an emergency. I need to go! I'm sorry, Ms. Mok, I have to go check on my friend. I promise I will explain later." Then, without further ado, she dashed outside, leaving the head nurse dumbfounded.

She could still hear the head nurse shouting a warning. "Student! You're still on-call! You'll get in trouble if Dr. Gao finds out!" But she didn't care. All Kiko cared about at that very moment was reaching Violet.

Violet, the best friend who had been there for her after she lost her sister. It was when she had been in her most vulnerable state. Violet, who had stared into the beast within the dark void that sometimes her soul was. The beast had been in so much pain that it would lash out to anyone who'd gotten too close. But instead of running away or trying to cage the beast, Violet guided it into the light with her gentle soul and took its pain away.

Violet, who was the most important person in the world to her.

And the man on the phone had said she was drugged...

Kiko ran toward her car, but a realization dawned on her. Arai Oncology Center. The number one cancer hospital in the city. A prestigious private hospital that was ranked top ten in the whole Asia-Pacific region. It was also an affiliate hospital of the Queen Mary hospital, the hospital where she was at. Most importantly, it was just two blocks away in another direction.

She checked the traffic. The road looked a little congested. She figured it would be faster to go there by foot than by car. She turned around and sprinted toward it.

***

Kiko ran at full speed toward the private hospital and was out of breath when she arrived at its main entrance. A tall woman, who was even taller than her 1.70m self, greeted her. "Good evening, Miss Kano, I'm Lauren Ng,  Miss Violet's bodyguard. Follow me, please."

She wasn't Violet's old bodyguard; a herculean man whose look could probably intimidate even the toughest of villains. Kiko knew Violet's father had hired a new bodyguard to protect Violet, but she had never seen the person before. The woman in front of her had a robust but lean built, one that reminded her of a painting she had once seen of Joan of Arc. Despite this, her face was round and fresh, reminding her of a young child.

Such an odd combination, she mused. But it wasn't unsightly.

Lauren led her toward a quiet corridor where two men were standing.

"Over here, Miss Kano. There's the doctor."

She dashed toward the two men and demanded, "Where's my friend? Which one of you talked to me on the phone?"

Kai recognized her immediately. This was the friend who had barged into the restaurant yesterday to give Violet's cheating boyfriend an earful. Sweat beaded her forehead, her raven bob hair clung to her skin, and her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. It looked like she had run all the way here. She was evidently frantic with worry.

"It was me. I talked to you on the phone, Miss Kano."

Kiko turned her full attention to Kai. "So, what happened? Where's my friend? What did you mean by drugged? Is Violet okay? Please, I want to see her. Now! Wait, how did you know my name?" Again, just like on the phone, Kiko bombarded him with questions.