"Mom, I need you to listen to me." Mia knelt to her mother level looking at the shaking scalpel in her hand, Jane was inconsolable. When Mia entered the room, she sobbed liked a baby, seeing her daughter looking so distressed.
"Could all staff move away from the door please." Mia said sternly, she didn't want her mother to feel trapped. When backed into a corner people would get desperate. Aiden still stood around the corner ensuring Jane couldn't see him listening to Mia's shaking voice. Since his return he had only focused on Mia, as for her family he had no idea what happened to them. Seeing Jane in a place like this sparked his interest as to what happened in those five years.
"Mia, you can't go near them you can't. They'll kill you." Jane shouted angrily. Mia sat down and put her hands up to signify she wasn't going to engage her.
"I'm not here to lie to you. I need you to listen very carefully. I already went to see them, and they conformed it, you were right mom." She said sadly. The scalpel dropped from Jane's hands and Mia could see that wild look in her eyes again.
"Y-you saw them…" she stuttered in complete shock. Staff members outside were confused as to what the Doctor was speaking about. Some thought this was just a diffusion method to get her to calm down but other noticed that Mia seemed awfully truthful.
"Yes, look at me I'm fine. You should have told me about it a long time ago and I would have handled it. If anything, I have them in the palm of my hand." Jane smiled for the first time in five years. Aiden slowly began to work it out, Mia was talking about his parents.
"They need to pay for what they did Mia." Jane said suddenly filled with energy. Mia frowned at her mother, seeing how determined she was for revenge.
"No mom. Weak people seek revenge, Strong people forgive, and intelligent people ignore. You can hate me all you want but I will never stoop to their level do you understand?" Jane's face slowly lost its light. Mia realized her mother wasn't mentally ill, she was heartbroken. That heartbreak had led to a corrupted mind.
"D-do you hate me?" Jane said sadly. Mia shook her head.
"You're my mother. You're still that beautiful woman who raised me with a whole heart and taught me even when we live at the bottom as long as we are kind, we are better than those at the top." All the staff members bowed their heads in sorrow, some nurses even wept hearing the beauty in her words. Aiden looked around seeing the admiration all these people had for Mia.
"I wouldn't be the woman I am today if it wasn't for you." Jane lowered her guards and shuffled along the floor in tears, Mia didn't flinch, and she wasn't afraid. Slowly, her mother embraced her, and it made Mia's heart throb. This was the first time she had done this since her father died.
"I need you to promise me that there is no more of this. Now I know why your struggling, I can help you mom. Please, just let me." Jane nodded crying into Mia's chest. All the staff members retreated and went back to their rounds, seeing Jane was no longer a danger. Mia put her mother too bed and exited the room, Aiden still hadn't moved from his spot. Hao and Kai both rushed to her side.
Kai, "What should we do Doctor James, does she need sedating?"
"That won't be necessary, as a new clause in her care plan I advise all staff members to cease treatment. I will be taking over primary care of her from now on."
Hao, "D-Doctor James are you sure? She's schizophrenic, it would be dangerous for you to treat her alone."
"My diagnosis was wrong she's not schizophrenic she has a bereavement disorder, untreated will lead to delusions and psychotic outburst. As well as that she shows symptoms of Post traumatic stress disorder which will need therapy to correct. That will be all gentlemen you can go now."
Hao and Kai looked at Mia in awe, she was wrong… Her diagnosis was incorrect which is why Mrs. James was unresponsive to medication and treatment. It was the first time in her career her treatment had been unsuccessful. Aiden watched her give the men orders and could tell by her face she was exhausted. Emotional stress was a physical murderer, he had noticed that her eyes looked tired but couldn't understand why. Now he realised she had been treating her mother all this time which was disheartening. Mia gestated he follow her to the office. Aiden walked in and looked at her doctrine degrees and certificate of the Chinese medical council on the walls, she was a very accomplished woman.
"Take a seat." She said professionally. Aiden took a seat still silent after what he'd witnessed. How she was so calm baffled him.
"I need you to sign a contract of compliance, what you witnessed was a clinical anomaly. I need to ensure you won't tell the public about what you saw." Aiden looked at her like a jigsaw puzzle.
"Mia, why didn't you tell me?" he said sadly. Mia looked up from her desk with a stone grin.
"You reappear after five years and the first thing you expect me to say is my mother is in a psychiatric ward? Thank-you for bringing me here I really appreciate it but don't pity me." Mia was like a completely different person when in work, she was used to being cold. If you were cold to the right people and kind to the rest, you sustained a balance between letting people walk all over you and people respecting you.
"I don't pity you. I'm just sorry I wasn't here to support you it must have been hard. I remember her like it was yesterday, she was so beautiful and kind. You're her spitting image." He said kindly, but Mia couldn't smile. The woman he remembered died a long time ago along with her father.
"Thanks, could you sign now." Aiden signed the paper and looked at her face, she was putting up a front, but he could tell she was upset. The prettiest smile hides the deepest secrets, the prettiest eyes have cried the most tears, and the kindest hearts have felt the most pain. The nurse Mia had covered for knocked at the door.
"Doctor James, the director is here to speak with you." Mia felt her heart almost stop, she knew what he was going to say. In her practice she had violated many hospital laws such as leaving shift and letting a bystander enter the facility.
"Aiden could you wait for me in the car please this won't take long." Mia smiled at him kindly, but he could see the fear in her eyes. Aiden turned around to leave and was met face to face with Director Wu.
"Master Li, it's good to see you again." Mia was surprised when the director face lit up seeing Aiden. How could he possibly know who he was?
"It's a pleasure Director Wu, did you need to speak with Doctor James?"
"Yes, we have business to discuss but I value your donation immensely. Do you know Doctor James?" he asked intrigued to see him here. Mia had no idea what was going on, Aiden was like a god in Director Wu's eyes.
"Yes, I've known her a long time. Best Doctor I've ever seen in practice, go easy on her." Director Wu smiled widely and nodded. Mia was dumfounded… Since when did he get all cosy with the director.? Aiden flashed her a cheeky smile before leaving the office.
"There's the Doctor I've been wanting to see." Mia was confused this man held a completely different presence to the on he had when discussing the allocation of funds. Now he sat brighter than the sun, beaming with positivity whereas Mia felt like a black cloud was dancing over her head.
"Director Wu, it's a pleasure to see you again." She said nervously.
"You can lower your guard Mia, I'm not here to scold you. I'm here to congratulate you." Mia furrowed her brows. Congratulate? Director Wu chuckled to see the turmoil on her face.
"Mia this is your third year as a mental health clinician, you have the highest credential I have ever employed. I made an excellent choice; do you know what the suicide rate was on this ward before I found you?" Mia remembered the stats and looked down sadly.
"It was 73% which is staggeringly high, this section of the hospital had the largest failure rate and I was beginning to lose hope. Then, I found you. Do you know what it is now?" Mia couldn't recall off the top of her head and tried to think.
"It's almost zero, 0.5%. I don't know how you do it, but you've saved so many lives I can barely count. Your diagnosis and evaluation are spot on, you have the highest IQ on my medical team. I'm very happy to call you my colleague. Therefore, I'm upgrading your position to director assistant, you will join me on a medical board. This elicits allocation of funds, assisting me on hospital management. Your pay will go up considerably and we will be training some new mental health clinician to take over while you assist me. Don't worry you will still work here majority of the time this clinic wouldn't survive without you after all." Mia couldn't even keep up with what he was saying, her mind was a mess, and this was a lot of information.
Mia, "Y-you're promoting me? I don't understand director I broke the rules.?"
Director Wu, "Mia, your far too honest. You took risks and you admitted your wrongs. I need someone like that, you did your job, a hell of a job at that. I can give you some time to consider my proposal. Mia when I watched you in that meeting, you weren't selfish. Your concern was for your patients and no-one else. I need people with that dedicate."
Mia face was white, she was overwhelmed. Here she expected to be on a disciplinary leave and instead she was being promoted.
"I read your file Mia. You were top of the class throughout high-school as well as university. You connect with people like second nature. Despite coming from very little you've accomplished your goal while also facing many troubles. For you to bounce back after losing your father and your mother being hospitalized is very admirable. You're strong Mia." Mia felt her eyes well up and she blinked them away, she didn't want to be blubbering in the presence of him.
Mia, "I'd like to accept your offer Director Wu. I'm very grateful to you and to hear people are training to be in my professional I feel honoured. I look forward to working with you." Mia shook the director's hand with a complicated smile.
"The best part of starting at the bottom is being rewarded when you fight to the top. Remember that." Mia nodded gratefully at him. Aiden suddenly sprang to her mind.
"Director Wu I don't mean to pry but how do you know Aiden?" Director Wu smiled brightly.
"Aiden is one of our investors, when he retuned from Japan almost immediately, he started granting funding for us. Which is why we were holding the meeting the other day. He's a very upstanding man Doctor James, I'm happy you and he got to meet." Mia was shocked, he'd only been back three weeks. Why would he invest here?
"Thank-you Director Wu."
"No need my dear, I'll send over my engagement in the post. You've had a very hard two days, I suggest you go and rest." It was a polite way of saying she looked like sh*t but was grateful she could finally sleep.
-------------------------------Parking lot-----------------------------
Aiden was tapping his steering wheel looking at the entrance, hoping to see Mia walk out with a smile on her face. Instead, her and Doctor Wu exited together shaking hands before she walked towards the car. Mia was practically dragging her feet and Aiden noticed she was barely keeping her eyes open. Mia sluggishly got into the passenger seat.
"Mia are you okay?" he said worriedly seeing her face was flushed. When she didn't respond Aiden instinctively put his hand on her forehead.
"Jesus, Mia your burning up." Mia took his hand off her forehead and held it tightly. Aiden wondered if she was hallucinating, she wasn't the type for doing such things.
"Aiden, I'm sorry." She said a tear streaming from her cheek. Aiden felt his heart begin to beat faster as she placed his hand on her face.
"Why are you apologizing?" he said softly.
"Because I let them win. I've spent this whole time hating you, countless hours asking myself why you went away. It was them the whole time, I've been fighting alone this whole time thinking I was okay with that but I'm not. The truth is I need you too Aiden." Aiden felt a tear escape his eye and she broke down in the car. Truthfully, it was her fever talking but everything she said came from her heart.
"Mia, they could send me to another world and I will always come back to you." He stroked her head and she nuzzled his hand.
"You're so cheesy." She giggled.
"You're totally out of it, come on let's get you home. You have a fever, looks like I'm the doctor for today." Mia looked at him sadly.
"Don't you have work? You a CEO I bet your busy you don't have to take a day off to look after me." Mia sounded like a child her fever clearly fogging her mind. Aiden laughed hopelessly at her.
"Don't worry about me, I'd give up my whole company to spend a day with you." He stroked her face and took out his cell phone.
"Yang, could you cancel my meeting for today I have an important matter to attend too."
Yang, "Of course Master Li I'll inform the chairman now. Is everything alright."
"Everything's perfect. You're dismissed." Aiden hung up and went to talk to Mia again, but she was fast asleep resting her head on the windshield. Holding her hand, he pulled away, this girl worked far too hard. Aiden had been waiting for his deposit to go through on his new house and received word while Mia was in her meeting with Director Wu. He was excited to show it to Mia, hoping she would take him up on his offer and move in. Little did he know she was too independent for that sort of thing, he would have to fight her on that.