Not Your Doormat Anymore

"I did love you once, but whatever feelings I had were worn away by you. Don't you see that?"

I looked at her coldly as I continued, "If you're the one behind all this, then either make her come clean, apologize, and restore my reputation, or I'll handle it myself. I'll get to the bottom of this and won't let a single liar off the hook."

"If you're willing to forgive me, I'll make her stop right away. I'll even send you a banner in gratitude and make sure no one misunderstands you again!"

Casey was still trying to manipulate me, but I could see right through her.

I locked eyes with Casey and gave her my final warning. "You seem to forget your lies were riddles of holes. Every accusation was about something I never did.

"If I report this to the police, the patient's mother who spread the rumors, Samuel, and you are all going down. I'm not settling this quietly. So, when that happens, you can be with your knights in shining armor can enjoy each other's company behind bars."

Hearing that, Caset took a breath. "That's not what I meant. I just wanted you to look at me more. I'll tell them to stop. Jace, I know what I did was wrong. Hit me if it'll help you feel better. I'll do anything to make it right."

She reached for my hand with a hopeful expression and even tried to lean her face toward me.

I pulled my hand back and took a step away. "I'm afraid even cursing you would turn you on."

With that, I turned and walked away.

Just then, Casey lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist. "I'm sorry, Jace. I was wrong. Don't be like that, please. Don't leave me. I can't live without you. Please, let's get back together!"

She clung to my back, sobbing right into my ear. The sound was grating and irritating.

I pressed my lips into a firm line. "Casey, don't make me despise you."

She froze for a moment, and her grip loosened.

I walked away without looking back.

Maybe what I said that day had worked.

The next day, the patient's mother came to the hospital. Not only did she apologize in front of my patients, saying she had misunderstood me, but she even brought a banner as a gesture of gratitude.

"Didn't you say your daughter was assaulted by him and developed depression?" The other patients were stunned by how fast she changed her tune and looked at her in disbelief.

The mother nodded. "I found out today that she already had depression before being admitted. It had nothing to do with Dr. Ranford. I'm really sorry, Dr. Ranford. I caused a lot of trouble."

Facing her fake smile, I simply nodded. "The banner's not necessary. As long as the misunderstanding is cleared, that's enough."

She still tried to hand it to me, but I had already turned and walked away, leaving the patients exchanging puzzled looks.

After a while, someone finally spoke up.

"So, she misunderstood Dr. Ranford... What about our request?"noveldrama

"I told you from the start that Dr. Ranford is a good doctor. There's no way he'd do something like that!"

"No, I'm still submitting my request. I want Dr. Ranford to do my surgery!"

...

By the time I got back to my office, Nora was trailing behind me, smiling as she explained how everyone was now scrambling to have me as their surgeon again.

"Dr. Ranford, you should've seen it-Dr. Huxley's expression was absolutely priceless. He looked like he'd swallowed a gallon of sour milk."

I looked up at her, and seeing how cheerful she was, I gave a slight smile. "I'm not going to let them blame me for something I didn't do."

"Exactly! You're amazing, Dr. Ranford!" Nora beamed and nodded, then hesitated

a little. "But lately, there's another rumor going around the hospital."

"What is it?"

Was it Casey again?

Nora shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "They say your family owns a company and you're super rich. Is it true?"