“Not her, Man. She’s off limits.” Tony warned, throwing a harsh glare at his friend.
“Look, I understand that you said no sneaky activities at work so, I’ll get to know her outside the hospital. That will be okay, right?” Raphael said with a grin and Tony rolled his eyes.
“No! Do that with someone else. Not Lily. She’s off limits to you and every other person in this hospital.” Tony replied and Raphael squinted his eyes at him. Then, it finally clicked in his head.
“Wait! Are you and Lily a thing? Is that why you are being like this?” Raphael asked, trying his best to not laugh.
Tony was tongue-tied. He couldn’t say they were a thing because they weren’t but he wanted them to be a thing deep down. He knew he had no right to push other men away from her but he was still going to do it. Lily was his as far as he was concerned.
“Not yet.” He came up with the most suitable reply he could find. Immediately he said it, Raphael’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the ground.
“You like her!” He almost screamed but he managed to keep his voice soft. Tony ruffled his hair as a sigh left his lips.
“I’m only telling you this because you are my friend and I want you to stay the fuck away from her. You’d also find out sooner or later.” Tony scoffed and closed their gap so he could whisper to him.
“She lives with me.” He revealed. This time around, Raphael couldn’t control himself.
“Putain!” He cursed in French and Tony shushed him immediately.
“Quiet down, man!”
“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down, man. You are living with Lily! I had no idea! You guys act like fucking strangers! How the fuck did that happen?” Raphael exclaimed.
“Well, it has only been two days. Make sure no one finds out. She wouldn’t want that.” He warned and Raphael nodded.
“Sure man but, damn! I really can’t believe it. So what? Are you guys fucking or?”
“What the fuck man?! No!” Tony replied immediately with a sour expression. “She’s not that type of girl. Besides, it’s way too early.” He said and Nathan nodded in agreement.
“She looks like an angel, man. I’m not even surprised.” Nathan added.
“Well, focus on someone else. That’s what I wanted to tell you.” Tony said and tapped his friend on the shoulder before walking away.
Lily kept herself busy for the rest of the day, avoiding sitting at her desk as much as possible. With the nurses lurking around and waiting for her so they could attack, Lily preferred moving around aimlessly.
An hour before her closing time, she got a call from one of the nurses, informing her that she had a visitor. Her heart skipped immediately as she was sure it was her ex-boyfriend, Louis.
‘It’s Louis.’ She whispered as she paced around the hallway, biting her lips nervously. She didn’t want to see him but, she knew that he would cause a scene if she didn’t so, she decided to go. She was going to meet up with him in the cafeteria where it was crowded so that he would be unable to harm her.
Lily took a deep breath and walked to the reception area and went to the nurse who had come to fetch her.
“Where is he?” She asked, preparing herself to meet Louis and the nurse pointed to the end of the hall. He was sitting with his head down so, Lily couldn’t see his face.
She thanked the nurse and went to him, her heart racing with every step she took. As she got closer, she realized that the person on the chair didn’t look like Louis. Her doubts were confirmed when he lifted his head.
“Manuel?” She was shocked to see Manuel as she wasn’t expecting him. “What are you doing here? Did Louis send you?” She asked and he scoffed before standing.
“We need to speak. Come!” He said and attempted to grab her hand but Lily moved away and shook her head.
“Do not touch me. If we are to speak, it will be in a place of my choosing.” Lily said with a stern look. Manuel was taken aback by her guts. This wasn’t the Lily he knew. She would normally shake in fear whenever he was around her.
“Fine.” He gave in.
Lily led him to the cafeteria, thanking God it was still full. She made them sit in the middle where they could be seen by everyone.
“Alright, Manuel. What is it?” Lily had a stern look on her face as she spoke. She wanted him to see that she wasn’t scared of him even though her heart was racing and she was panicking.
“What are you doing, Lily? I don’t know what is going through that head of yours but, I will advise you to rethink and come back to Louis while he is still thinking rationally. We both know how he is.” Manuel warned.
“I can’t.” Lily shook her head and looked away. “I can’t continue living with someone who treats me like a property. I was more than lucky not to have died at his hands. I can’t go back to that!” She said.
“Aren’t you a fucking ungrateful bitch?! After everything Louis did for you, you are going to leave him just because you have found someone richer?!” Manuel kept his voice low but his eyes were shooting daggers at Lily.
“He fed you for years, you whore! He took care of all your bills for years and what? Do you want to leave now that you have found someone who can do better?! You are a fucking gold digger, Lily.” He finished and slammed his hands on the table.
As he spoke, Lily could feel her blood boil and as much as she wanted to remain calm, she couldn’t. Completely forgetting that she was in her place of work, Lily slammed her hand on the table loud enough to get the attention of everyone and stood to her feet.
“Don’t you dare say that! I lived with that bastard for three years and have spent every fucking minute praying I get to see the next day! You say he has been paying all my bills but guess what? I have been paying by letting him use my body like a fucking toy and a punching bag! So tell me, haven’t I done enough?! Huh!” Lily’s body was shaking as she spoke and her eyes were red with anger.
One of the nurses who knew her was also in the cafeteria so she immediately ran to her to pull her away so that things don’t get out of hand.
Lily knew that she would probably get punished for causing a scene at the hospital but she didn’t care anymore. She was tired of the whole situation.
“Lily, please. Come with me.” The nurse tried to pull her away but Lily was too furious with Manuel who was standing and smirking at her.
“Tell your friend that I said he can fuck off! I am done with him and if he tries to come near me, I will call the police and let his secret out!” She yelled.
Hearing the last part of her statement, Manuel clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Louis is going to get you, Lily, and this time around, you’ll wish you listened from the start.