Diary of Fragile Heart (Spin of Loving You Too Long)

“I will return to Kansas first. When Flavia is allowed to travel long distances, I will come back to pick her up,” Gladwin replied.

“What about that woman? What will you do about her?” Claire asked anxiously.

“I don’t have any plans yet. But one thing’s for sure, for the time being, Flavia cannot meet her. I’m afraid she might do something extreme to my wife and our unborn child without our knowledge,” Gladwin replied firmly. Claire nodded in agreement, as did the others.

“What about Mom? Are you going to tell her about Flavia’s pregnancy?” Gladwin shook his head, and Flavia tensed.

“Not yet. Until now, our mother still thinks Flavia is missing. I plan to resign from the hospital and choose to accompany Flavia until she gives birth,” Gladwin replied.

“But why resign?” Flavia looked up at her husband with concern.

“Let’s just say I need peace. I’m sick of constantly seeing that woman at the hospital,” Gladwin replied frustratedly.

“That woman has no shame indeed,” Abigail commented. “Maybe she’s already pawned off her dignity,” she added innocently.

“Abigail…” Claire interjected. Abigail looked at her aunt with an expression of faux regret that everyone knew was just a pretense.

“Sorry, that slipped out unintentionally,” she replied sheepishly. “Okay, correction. That woman has sold her shame,” she repeated more slowly, which Claire nodded in agreement to.

“Are you sure you can handle not working? Haven’t you been working like crazy all this time, like a debtor chased by loan sharks?” Claire continued, turning back to her twin brother.

“I did it because I needed to distract myself from Flavia,” Gladwin replied honestly, causing Flavia to blush with embarrassment. “But now, I have another obligation, which is to take care of my wife and our unborn child. I have to be an attentive husband who is always there when my wife needs me,” he said, casting a mischievous glance at his wife.

“I know you want to lock your wife in the room,” Gian chimed in casually.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“Thank goodness you understand,” Gladwin chuckled, eliciting laughter from the rest of the family.

“Of course, I understand. I knew firsthand how enjoyable the honeymoon phase is compared to you. That’s why I feel sorry for the only single person here,” Gian teased Abigail, causing her to snort while the others laughed at her.

The next day, the tents that were set up the night before were dismantled. The garden, which had served as impromptu camping grounds, was now transformed into a garden party. Since they were in Turkey, Arthur intentionally invited a chef specializing in Turkish cuisine to cater for them.

It turned out that Arthur also invited some relatives and business acquaintances to his residence. He did this deliberately to celebrate Gladwin and Flavia’s marriage and to introduce his son-in-law’s grandchildren, Rayyan and Meizar.

The festive party ended as night fell, leaving some people feeling tired.

“Tired?” Gladwin asked Flavia.

Flavia shook her head. They had set up the tent outside again. However, since Flavia couldn’t sleep comfortably in the tent last night, Gladwin finally asked Arthur if they could use his workspace as Flavia’s bedroom for the night.

Of course, Arthur didn’t mind. The old man even helped Gladwin move the chairs and table so they could bring in the sofa bed into the room.

Now, the couple lay comfortably and warmly on the sofa bed, their gaze directed towards the window, enjoying the beautiful backyard that provided a view of the climbing flowers adorning the high walls of the house.

“Honey?”

“Yes?”

“Are you really going to resign from the hospital?” She asked hesitantly. Gladwin rubbed his wife’s arm, giving her warmth.

“Why? Are you afraid I won’t be able to meet your needs and those of our child?” He teased, causing Flavia to pout.

“Sweetheart, I’m serious.”

“So am I,” Gladwin replied confidently. “Just think of it as me taking a break from the routine I’ve been following for thirteen years. But don’t worry, I still have other activities that generate income, so our finances will be fine. Besides, I’ve transferred all my assets to your name. The apartment, land, stocks, everything. That woman won’t get anything,” he continued seriously, eliciting another pout from Flavia.

“Do you think I’m a materialistic woman?” She asked annoyed.

Gladwin shook his head. “Not at all. I’m just protecting what rightfully belongs to you and our child before someone else claims what isn’t theirs. We both know why ‘that woman’ insisted on this marriage. If not for the wealth, then for what? Because it’s clear she doesn’t love me.

“And as for the job, like I said, I’m just taking a break because I don’t want to see her constantly at the hospital. You know, I feel like I’m being terrorized. She always shows up when I’m not ready. Her presence is more terrifying than ghosts, zombies, or aliens.” Gladwin’s reply made Flavia chuckle.

“Are you not going to get bored? What about your patients? You’ve always prioritized them,” Flavia questioned.

“I have a replacement, and I’m confident they’ll receive the same quality of care as when they were under my supervision,” Gladwin assured her.

“But still, I don’t accept it. You even left me for years to pursue your dream of becoming a doctor. How could you throw it all away because of her? I’m not okay with this,” Flavia whined playfully.

“Just temporarily, not forever. Besides, I can also spend my time working in the furniture workshop. And honestly, I already have plans to work with Freddie,” Gladwin said, slightly amused by his wife’s pouting. He even pinched her puffed-up cheek, which made Flavia irritated enough to hit her husband’s arm.

“Doctor Ludders?” Flavia asked uncertainly. Gladwin nodded.

“We had a discussion recently. We intend to open our own clinic. We plan to recruit several doctors and open vacancies for nurses. But we can’t realize that plan in the near future.”

“Why not?”

“Freddie has decided to continue his studies and specialize. But it’s still just a plan.”

“What do you mean?”

“Originally, if you still wanted to hide, I planned to move to another city.”

Flavia now sat down, looking at her husband who also rose and leaned against the back of the sofa. “Move where?” Flavia asked, scared.

“I don’t know. Maybe to a rural area or maybe become a volunteer. I’m still looking for a place where my medical skills are needed, and as a bonus, I can distance myself from my mother and that woman,” he replied casually. “But now that I know where you are, I’m rethinking offering myself as a volunteer. Maybe for the time being, I’ll just move to another city, to a location that’s still easily accessible.” Gladwin reached for his wife’s hand again, asking her to come closer and lean on his shoulder.

“To be honest, I feel tired. Both mentally and physically. I can’t make that woman go away because of Mom. I’ve been trying to make her step back on her own. But as Abigail said, it seems like that woman has already sold her dignity.” Flavia’s chuckle was met with a pinch.

“We can’t keep running forever. It’s not us who are wrong here, but that woman,” Flavia replied. Gladwin nodded. “Sweetheart?”

“Hmm…”

“Actually, there’s one way to get her out of our lives,” Flavia whispered. She looked up, her husband looked down at her with furrowed brows.

“What is it?”

“It’s cunning, indeed.” Flavia rubbed her belly and murmured so nothing bad would happen to her baby and prayed that her baby wouldn’t do what she was about to say. “Can we set a trap that will reveal her worst side? Something that will make Mom hate that woman and willingly drive her out of our lives?”

Gladwin smiled. His eyes sparkled. He quickly kissed his wife’s cheek. “You’re truly brilliant, Darling. Of course, we can do that. We don’t need to fabricate anything. We just need to find witnesses who will state the facts,” he replied again.

Suddenly, Gladwin remembered his conversation with Freddie some time ago.