With those threatening words echoing in the room, Preston straightened his back before striding out of the room with a casual bounce in his step.
His carefree attitude that left them speechless as he disappeared from their sight was as though he had not just misused his powers to teach someone a well-needed lesson.
Watching the door shut behind him, the other men had baffled expressions and Aaron sat in a daze as he stared in the direction of the man who had just left.
He massaged the throbbing shoulder which had been under Doctor Preston's vice grip until a moment ago as he tried to wrap his mind around the words that were still echoing in his ears.
It wasn't just the easygoing threat he had been given by the older man but also the reminder of the reason for his current state.
He had gone to a bar to wash away the memories of his past which kept haunting him.
However, now they had returned with a vengeance especially after Preston had casually tossed out the information about the woman he loved, marrying someone else entirely and living her best life without him.
These thoughts now plagued his mind, making him lower his head and ponder over every word he had heard from the doctor who had now disappeared from the room.
___
Preston Yao, the man who had caused chaos in a certain hospital room with his words, had walked away without batting an eye.
He had uttered those words with a purpose in mind and now hoped that the other person would grasp the good intentions behind his cruel actions.
Aaron might be in excruciating pain right now after having his old wounds reopened but that was needed for him to heal those wounds which he had allowed to fester and get deeper over the years.
The woman he was ruining his future for had already moved on from their failed relationship and had found someone else to spend the rest of her life with.
She was looking forward but Aaron was still stuck in the past, hoping against hope that she would return to his side someday.
However, that had been an impossible future that everyone else around him had realized but he had failed to see it.
It was already over five years since she had been gone but Aaron's adamant nature was the one to be blamed for his stagnant heart that refused to move forward.
Therefore, instead of watching him ruin his life any longer, Preston decided to make a move.
'His little friends are too scared.' The doctor harrumphed when he thought of the remaining four members of their group of childhood friends who were treating Aaron as a fragile vase that could break at any moment.
In the beginning, everyone around him did treat Aaron that way as he was indeed going through a difficult period.
However, there was a limit to how much they could watch and ignore his ridiculous actions.
Especially after Aaron's family had come pleading to Preston earlier this evening, asking him to ensure that nothing wrong happened to their child.
Therefore, as an elder, Preston decided to take matters into his own hands and deal with Aaron as he saw fit.
Eavesdropping on their conversation had given him a clue on which path he should choose and thus he had done whatever he thought was right after entering the room.
He needed to shake Aaron out of his delusions and knock some sense into his brain that was filled only with thoughts of the woman who had left him of her own accord.
Hoping that he had achieved his goal, Doctor Preston sighed as he walked away from that empty corridor where Aaron's room was located.
Moving to a different part of the building, the tall man in a doctor's coat stopped only when he reached a door with the title 'DIRECTOR' written on it.
His name was written below it, proving that this room was his so he pushed the door open before entering his office which had been dark all along.
The lights turned on with a flick of the switch and Preston took his seat behind the large mahogany table which was placed at the end of this office space.
Being the head of administration as well as the head of surgery, Preston had a huge number of files piled up on his desk.
Most of them were dark red colored belonging to the department of cardiology with a few different colors mixed in the stack as well.
Glancing at these colors, a certain memory of what had taken place only a while ago popped into his head.
"Looks like we should change our filing system." He grumbled under his breath when he thought of the conversation he had eavesdropped on earlier.
Hearing his brat of a younger brother Lance boasting about his knowledge of how the hospital differentiated its various departments' files using a color-code system made Preston's eyes widen back then.
After all, Lance was right as this hospital did use colors to make it easier for the hospital staff to know which file belonged to which department.
However, he did not expect his brother to have figured it out and was even helping others decipher their code.
'If a fool like him can crack the code then any pervert can do the same…' He rubbed the space between his brows, thinking of any unforeseen incidents that could take place if that happens.
This made the doctor/director of the hospital wish to make changes to their filing system at the earliest, to ensure anonymity which was what their hospital prided itself in.
With this thought in his mind, Preston pressed a button on the phone placed on the desk and soon heard the voice of a man coming from the other side.
"Come to my office." A few words were all that was needed before he gained a positive response, pleasing Preston who hung up next.
As he waited for his assistant who would be arriving here soon, the doctor reclined in his seat as various thoughts swirled in his mind.
Earlier when he was outside Aaron's room, he had heard their entire conversation.
However, he had stepped in only at a vital point of their conversation as he had an ulterior motive in mind.
He had barged in before the patient could have disclosed further information about the daughter of the Lin family, who had been their topic of conversation for a long time.
His younger brother had explained the hospital's filing system and Aaron had dropped a certain name, both in connection with this topic.
Nevertheless, Preston could not delay any longer because he could not risk the youngsters gathering more information about her at any costs.
His hospital was known for its anonymity so how could he let these fools discover something they should not?
Therefore, he had walked in at the perfect moment, distracting them from the conversation regarding the daughter of the Lin family as he had diverted their attention to Aaron and his health with his queries.
Unlike Lance and his friends who had been curious to know the identity of the woman with Christopher Lin, Preston was the least bit intrigued when he had heard their discussion earlier.
After all, how could he be interested to know more about something that he was already well aware of?
In fact, he knew more about her than all of them combined, and hence he could not let these youngsters figure out any more than they already had.
The reputation of his hospital which prided itself on its patient confidentiality was at stake so he had walked in at the precise moment to hinder them from prying any further.
This not only saved his hospital's reputation but also saved him from the wrath of a certain vindictive president who would target him endlessly if the news of a certain young lady's pregnancy began to spread from his hospital.
'Chris better be grateful!' He harrumphed when he thought of the favor he had done for his old deskmate from school.
Stopping the investigation that Lance and his group were taking part in to learn more about the Lin family's second child was something he had done instinctually.
It was both for the sake of their old friendship but also to ensure that Chris did not come after him if the news of his sister's pregnancy began to spread thanks to his foolish brother, Lance, and the friends he was always with.
Just as Preston was heaving a sigh of relief at the disaster he had averted with his quick thinking, there was a knock on the door which could only be his assistant who had appeared right after their phone call had ended.