Doctor Dragon And Her Mate

Forgive?

Nina’s pov

“Doctor Nina. Your patient is asking for you.”

The nurse’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I forced a smile and nodded my head.

“Yeah, I will be right there,” I said.

I bet the hospital staff must have noticed that I wasn’t the regular person I used to be. Ever since I found that note, it was the only thing I could think of. I wasn’t able to get any sleep. The only reason I came to work was to avoid my father. He would notice that something was wrong within seconds.

After taking a deep breath, I walked into the emergency room, where Samantha awaited my arrival. She was an old dragon. After suffering from a flying accident, she and her dragon had had health issues and had become one of my regular patients. I smiled the best I could as I approached her.

“Hello, Samantha. How are you today?” I asked her.

“Well, my left ribs hurt more than usual,” she said. I glanced at her son, who had his lips pursed.

“Mom fell while trying to pick apples from a tree,” he said. “We told her not to climb the tree, but she did while I was at work. My wife was attending the baby.”

Samantha rolled her eyes. “That was just a little fall! Besides, you and Kayla already have so much to do.”

I chuckled. Treating patients surely took things off of my mind.

“You know your body is weak now. A thousand years is a long time, even for a dragon. You have to be careful. Your dragon isn’t getting any younger.” I scribbled on the prescription and handed it to her son. “Can you get this from the pharmacy?”

“I knew you would say that,” she said as soon as he left. What’s the use of a long life if I can’t do simple tasks?”

I chuckled. “I am sure your family loves having you around, ma’am.” I looked at her, only to find her studying my face.

“Honey, you don’t look too fresh today,” she suddenly said.

“I don’t?”

“Yes. I see you smiling, but today your smile isn’t reaching your eyes. Is something wrong?”

My lips parted. I wasn’t expecting that.

“Family issues, I think? You see, sweety, after all my years on this horrible earth, I can tell you one thing. If you are going through a rough patch, work through it. Forgive and cherish them. One day, you will be glad that you forgave them.”

My tensed muscles softened. She had no idea what was going through my head, but I truly appreciated her advice.

“Forgive?” I asked.

She nodded her head. “Yes. People change, honey. You will always come across problems in life, and there is only one way out of it. And that is by going through them. You can’t dodge it, go under it, or jump over it. For how long would you keep ignoring the troubles? Address it, and go through it. It will hurt, and it definitely will change you. Just make sure that you change for the better.”

Her son returned with the medicines I prescribed. Although I maintained a neutral demeanour throughout the rest of the consultation, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had just heard. Even after they left, I was disturbed.

Was that my sign to forgive and take him back? That note looked like Drake had written it, but I had a lot of questions.

Didn’t he die? If he didn’t, where was he all these years? Why didn’t he try to contact me before? And if he truly was back, where was he? Was he hiding? Drake surely had the worst timing. And should I really forgive my abuser? Was that really worth it?

Wild thoughts raced through my mind as I marched towards my private chamber. Being the head doctor in the hospital had its perks. My heart thumped in my chest as I closed the door behind me. After covering my face, I sunk to my chair. I really didn’t want to believe that he could return. That would be my ultimate nightmare.

But Samantha could be right. People change.

I took my purse and picked out the folded note to inspect it. I dared not leave it in the house, lest my dad or the girls find it. It was undoubtedly his handwriting. Memories of how I swooned over his handwritten notes flooded my memories. He used to send me sweet love letters before our marriage. It was those little things that made me believe he was the perfect one for me. It wasn’t until the birth of our first child that he changed.

My lips pursed together. Could he really have become the sweet guy I used to know?

He was, after all, the father of my girls. I would allow him to see the girls if he wasn’t a threat to them. But after what he did, I couldn’t be too sure. For quite some time, I sat on my chair, twirling the paper weight in between my fingers, wondering about my next move. Perhaps I could forgive him for hurting me, but I would never forget what he did to Bree.

My lips quivered, and a frown creased my brow. The way my smart little girl cowered in front of her father will forever be engraved in my memories. I glanced at the note, exhaling a breath.

No. He didn’t deserve to be in their lives.

I crumpled up the paper and threw it into the bin. Samantha may be right, but Drake had a lot to prove before he had the privilege of seeing the girls.

***

I returned home from work. Unlike most days, I was feeling strange, perhaps because I spent a lot of time thinking about Drake. I hated myself for that. Even after years of not seeing each other, all he had to do was send a crappy little note to ruin my entire day. Nonetheless, I tried my best to keep my emotions under control, as I didn’t want to project my frustrations at my co-workers and my family members.

I opened the door, and as soon as I did, I froze on the doorstep. It wasn’t the first time I had seen Blake playing with the girls. It had become a daily routine for them to spend the evenings together, but it was the first time I compared Blake and Drake.

Blake and Drake... I held back a chuckle. I didn’t like that their names rhymed. I didn’t want them to have anything in common. Not even a similarity in the way their names were pronounced.

Zoe glanced at me, a broad smile spreading across her face. They were moulding something with playdoh, and apparently the girls were having a blast.

“Mommy, wook! Snake!” Zoe squealed, picking up the snake she had made using the playdoh.

"Mommy, come and play with us,” Bree said, patting the empty space between her and Zoe.

“Sure. Let me wash and change my clothes, okay?” I said. Blake glanced my way, his eyes lighting up when I said that I was joining them. My lips curled into a smile. He genuinely seemed happy. That was something I never saw on Drake’s face.

I ran upstairs, took a quick shower, and changed into a sweatshirt. I pulled my hair into a messy bun and was about to leave, but I ended up checking myself out in the mirror. I never cared about how I dressed at home. I didn’t care about what Blake thought about me until today.

Perhaps the sweat pants need to be replaced with a pair of comfy leggings.

I quickly changed and checked my reflection. Would it be too much if I changed into a cute top?

“Nina? Are you home?”

My eyes widened when I heard my father’s voice. I checked the time and realised that I had taken too much time in the room.

“Yeah, getting dressed,” I shouted.

“Oh, okay. Come downstairs.”

I got to play with them for a while before dinner. I couldn’t help but compare what it was like when I lived with Drake. I couldn’t think of a single moment he spent with the girls. How could he? He thought they were a burden.

I went to put them to bed. Zoe was exhausted and was soon in deep sleep. However, Bree had a few questions she wanted answers to.

“Mommy, did you have fun last night?” she asked.

A smile curled on my lips. “Yes. Going out was nice.”

She pursed her lips as though she was hesitant to say what was on her mind.

“What is it? Do you want to say something?”

Her cheeks flushed. “Mommy.”

“Yes?”

“I saw you last night.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I was watching out the window. And I saw you coming home with him. And uh… I saw you.”

My eyebrows creased. “Saw me?”

A bashful smile spread across her face as she covered it with her pillow. “Yes. He kissed you, mommy.”

My lips parted. “Oh.” I snickered. “Yeah. He did.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

My eyes widened. “Boyfriend? Who told you about that?”

“Mary said that her elder sister has a boyfriend. And they kiss because they are going to get married.”

Mary was a classmate, and apparently they exchanged a lot of information about their families in class.

“Are you going to marry him, mommy?”

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. That wasn’t expected. “Uh, I don’t know yet, honey. Maybe, if this works, we will, eventually.”

Her gaze darted towards the crook of my neck. Although the mark was covered with the collar of my shirt, I knew she was looking at it. My lips pursed.

“Little girls shouldn’t worry too much about things like that. Those are grown-up stuff,” I told her as I tucked a hair strand behind her ear.

She smiled and nodded her head before closing her eyes. I watched her for a while, partly because I was a little anxious about meeting Blake again. I hadn’t forgotten about my promise to spend some time with him tonight. On the first date, I had no intention of making an impression on him. However, for a reason I wasn’t quite ready to grasp, there was a teeny tiny flicker of desire in my heart to impress him. Surely, the girls loved him and wouldn’t have any trouble accepting him in their lives. Bree had even stayed awake and watched me return home with him. I chuckled to myself. She must have spent hours in anticipation, waiting to catch a glimpse of us.

“Sneaky girl, you stayed up way past your bedtime last night,” I teased her. “You must have waited an awful long time.”

She peeked at me through her eyelashes, a bashful smile curling on her lips. But then her eyebrows furrowed. “Mommy. There was a man in front of our house last night.”

My smile faded away.

“A man?”

“Yes. I didn’t see his face, but I knew it was a man. He came near the front door. I was about to call Grandpa, but the man left.”

My heart sank. Did she see Drake?

“Good night, mommy,” she said, unaware of the mental turmoil she had caused.

“Good night, my love,” I whispered, with my heart racing in my chest.