After Stephen excused me, Ezra stopped me on the way to my room.

"Get ready. I'm taking you out." He informed.

"Where?" I inquired.

"I'm taking you to the hospital for a check-up."

"Oh."

Complying with his wish, I quickly got ready and went downstairs to find him in the living room.

He was playing a video game with Noah and Eveline. "You cheated, brat!"

Eveline came to Noah's rescue, "You just suck at it, Ezra."

"Whose side are you on?" Ezra asked, betrayed.

Eveline smirked raising her hand as if to take a pledge, "I'm on the side of truth."

I couldn't help but snicker hearing that, "That's rich coming from you."

The three of them turned their attention to me, seemingly shocked at my comment.

"What do you mean by that?" Eveline asked, angry I would accuse her of lying.

"Why are you getting so riled up? Could it be you have a guilty conscience?" I shot back spitefully.

"I don't know what you are talking about." The tears in her eyes said otherwise.

I felt almost guilty for making her cry in the first conversation we had in nine years.

Thankfully, Ezra decided to intervene, "Let's go, we are getting late."

I nodded and followed him outside. "Are you angry at me? For arguing with her."

Ezra looked at me for a moment, lost in thought, "No, I actually was glad."

I looked at him, confused. It's not my first fight with Eveline and in the past, it would always make them angry. It was one of the reasons I was sent away.

"I saw a glimpse of my sister, who I believed I had already lost." He explained.

What did he mean by that? Does he want to say I was being fake now?

Whatever, I no longer cared about their opinion of me. All I wanted was to survive living here till I become an adult.

Ezra soon parked the car in front of a hospital. "Is it owned by Stephen?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I was just guessing." It was a lie. Stephen was quite famous, and Wikipedia had loads of information on him. I didn't want to accept the fact that I had been secretly keeping tabs on him. Though I would hardly call some Google-acquired information keeping up with his life.

Before I could get out of the car, I saw Ezra already get down and rush to my side to open the door for me. Even though it was a small thing, I found the gesture extremely sweet.

"Do you work here?" I asked once I saw him take out an ID from his pocket and hang it around his neck.

"Yes. I'm a cardiologist." He smiled at my curiosity about his professional life.

"Cool. I always wanted to be a doctor, too." I reminisced.

Using his staff ID, he took the private elevator. "You don't want to be anymore?"

I shrugged in response. I wasn't sure what I wanted to be anymore.

Ezra seemed sad at my response. "You used to follow me around every time I brought my biology projects home."

"They were fun," I used to admire Ezra a lot. Even more than Stephen.

One time we went to the park together. Only the kids were playing in that area. A boy, a little older than me at that time, fell into the lake.

He didn't know how to swim. Ezra had dived in and brought him ashore. After that, he performed CPR and saved his life. I saw the gratitude in the little boy's eyes. It was enticing. I wanted someone to look at me like that.

"How did you save him?" I had asked.

Ezra crouched down to my level. "I'll tell you a secret, but you can't tell it to anyone."

I vigorously nodded and forwarded my hand. "I won't tell anyone. Pinky promise."

Joining his finger with me his voice went down by octaves as he whispered, "I'm a superhero."

I had believed him to be a superhero until that day.

"Do you remember that day when you saved a boy from drowning?" I couldn't help but ask.

He thought for a while and then smiled at me, "Mhm, I remember."

"You told me you were a superhero," I reminded him. "Then why didn't you come to save me?"

Ezra stayed quiet the whole elevator ride.

... ... ...

The elevator stopped on the thirteenth floor. I could see he was still thinking back to our elevator conversation. I didn't intend to make him feel bad by bringing that up. It was just a question I have been meaning to ask for years. When the situation arose I couldn't stop myself. I would have if I knew he would be this upset.

I genuinely liked Ezra. He has been kind to me ever since I arrived. Even back then, he never treated me bad. Maybe indifferent but he was a good person. It was my own fault to have so many expectations from him. I had no right to blame him for that.

Ezra led me to an examination room, "I will be here the whole time so don't be afraid."

I followed the nurse to a machine of some sort. They instructed me to lie down on it. I did as they said.

After one hour of doing several X-rays, MRIs and whatnot, they let me go.

"Drink this," Ezra passed me a bottle of mango juice. He was indeed waiting for me the whole time.

"Let's get some lunch." I looked at my watch to see it was already noon. Time sure passed by.

"Will you mind if someone tags along?" Ezra asked once we got in the elevator again.

"No, I won't mind." At my response, I saw him fishing out his phone and sending a text to someone. Maybe to confirm his lunch plans.

"What do you want to eat?" Ezra handed me the menu once we reached the cafeteria.

Going through it, I didn't recognize any of the dishes. "You can order for me."

"Mushroom stew sounds good?" He asked. I nodded and he left to place the order.

Just as he left, a girl came and sat where Ezra was previously sitting.

I looked around. The huge cafeteria was almost empty. Only a few tables were occupied so why was she sitting here?

"It's occupied already," I informed.

"You are Aylin?" The girl asked.

"How do you know my name?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Can I call you Lin-lin?"

"No." Why would you call me Lin-lin? That isn't even close to my name.

"Awww, you look so cute when you pout." The girl cooed, placing her cheek on one hand.

Maybe she was a mental patient here? What was taking Ezra so long?

"Excuse me, I don't know you. Can you please sit somewhere else?" I looked around to find Ezra standing before the counter, looking in our direction with a smile. What is wrong with him?

"Oh, that's so rude of me!" She slapped her head in realization. Good, now she will leave. But instead, she forwarded her hand for a handshake, "I'm Iris Ling."

Ezra joined us, now taking the empty seat beside me. Placing the food trays on the table he introduced, "She's my girlfriend."

I looked at him with wide eyes. I finally looked at the girl. Carefully. She was short. Her long black hair was tied in a tight ponytail. Her eyes were misty, and her pink lips looked natural.

She was beautiful.

I could imagine them together; they made a great couple. Minus her overly chirpy personality.

"Really?"

"Yep," She nodded, pushing one of the food trays over. I just noticed Ezra had brought three trays. Was this the person Ezra was talking about?

"Sorry, I didn't recognize you. Ezra didn't tell me he had a girlfriend." I felt bad for asking her to move earlier.

"No one knows. We are keeping it a secret. So don't tell anyone, Kay?" Ezra said carefully cutting the meat and then placing it in my bowl.

"Okay," I agreed.

"Don't just eat meat. You need Vegetables, too." Iris placed a piece of carrot in my bowl.

"She needs protein." Ezra placed another meat in my bowl.

"What are you talking about? She needs vitamins." Iris placed broccoli.

Were they competing on who could put more food in my bowl?

By the end of lunch, Iris had clearly won.

"Wait here, I'll go pay." Iris got up to pay the bill.

"Aha! Cafeteria food is free for staff." Ezra said brimming with pride.

"She doesn't work here, does she?" Iris retorted.

Out of argument, Iris yet again won another round.

"I'll drop you home," Iris took my hand in hers, dragging me to the exit.

"No, I'll drop her." Ezra protested.

"Aren't you busy with your work? I heard the director is looking for you."

"I'm never busy for my sister," Ezra said, brimming with happiness at finally beating her.

I didn't know Ezra could get so competitive with someone. How were they compatible if they fought all the time?

"I'll see you later, Lin-lin!" Iris waved her hand. I blushed at her nickname and quickly got in the car.

"So," Ezra drawled out, "Do you like her?"

I had come to know a lot about Iris during lunch. She was a doctor too, which I should have noticed by her obvious appearance.

They were dating for six months now. Iris was chirpy and friendly. Just by talking to her, your day would become brighter.

"Yeah, she's very sweet." Ezra let out a sigh of relief at my response. "Why are you keeping it a secret?"

Ezra shrugged, "Just because."

I shut my mouth after that, realizing asking too many questions might annoy him.

Well, they are a cute couple even if they bantered the whole time. "I think you two make a great pair."

"Really? You think so?" He perked up, excited.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Why did you tell me if no one else knows?"

"Because I trust you. With all my secrets."

******

Hey! It's my first time writing a book so please pardon my mistakes. I would really appreciate your feedback, even negative ones, to help me grow into a better author.

So do let me know if you are liking the story so far!

(Also, I randomly name the chapters. They hold no special meaning.)