The Substitute Bride

'The way Nick stared at Sheryl…it was as if he was in love with her. Has he ever looked at me that way?

No…no, he hasn't, ' Cassie mulled over the thought with bitterness.

Moments passed but Cassie stood still, staring at Nick in silence. She was so immersed in her own thoughts that no one could break her out of the trance.

Although Nick had no idea what was on the nurse's mind, her stare made him feel uneasy. As her staring passed the point of his embarrassment, he broke the silence. "Well…I should return to my ward," he said.

"I'll walk you there." Cassie blurted the offer without a second thought, finally snapping out of her trance.

When she realized what she just said, she got rather flustered. Regaining her composure, she explained with a slight smile, "It's time for me to make my rounds, so we can walk to your ward together."

Wordlessly, Nick nodded in agreement.

The walk to the ward was a quiet one. Not knowing how to approach a girl who might have had a thing for him, Nick remained silent—clearly, he had no dating experience.

Perhaps, just as Isla and Sheryl said, he was pretending to be distant and indifferent as a way to protect himself. When it came to such matters, the two girls saw him more clearly than he himself did—he was a simple man when it came to romantic relationships.

Since being with Nick made her nervous, Cassie also remained silent—she had no idea how to start a conversation. At that moment, her feelings were all jumbled.

As the two reached the ward, Nick gave Cassie a nod goodbye before stepping inside.

Cassie was about to take a step inside the ward herself when something made her stop; her eyes fell on Nick's straight back and a wry smile flickered across her lips.

'It's clear that he isn't interested in me. What's worse, he probably finds me annoying because I keep trying to get close to him. I don't think it's a good idea for me to enter the room…' she told herself, trying to settle her heart.

In spite of that, she was glued to her spot, feeling reluctant to leave. After a moment, she finally turned around and walked away.

Instead of heading back to her office, she went straight to Nick's attending physician.

Standing in front of Ricky Wang's office door, she knocked thrice.

"Come in, please," a voice resounded from inside the office.

Hearing this, she pushed the door open and gri

iority," the old doctor sighed.

"Yes, you're right. I'll talk to him about that." Flashing a bright smile, she said in a sincere yet impish tone, "Thank you for telling me this. And for the delicious cookies, of course. I've got to go. I'll see you around." Of course, Cassie left the office only after sticking her tongue out at the doctor mischievously.

Watching her retreating figure, Ricky Wang shook his head with a resigned smile.

'With all these frisky young nurses, there hasn't been a dull day working here, ' he thought in amusement.

As Cassie left the office, an idea came to her.

Immediately after seeing Ricky Wang, she went off to find the head nurse and requested to take an advanced annual leave. Since the young nurse was friends with her, the head nurse didn't consider the request rude and gave her consent instantly.

Cheerfully, Cassie ran to the breakroom and changed into her own clothes. After she grabbed her handbag, she headed straight for the exit, ready to go home.

In her haste to leave, she bumped into a colleague. Apologizing quickly, she intended to continue heading for the exit when the nurse held her arm and asked with an expression of concern, "Did you know that Nick Ge is in the hospital now, Cassie?"

Impatient to get home, she curtly replied, "Yes, I did."

"Is that so?" the other nurse muttered, staring at Cassie with curious eyes. 'What's wrong with her? She's been absentminded these days…often mentioning Nick's name. Now that he's here, why is she acting so composed?

Something must be going on, I guess, ' she thought.