Chapter 571 - Preston In Despair (1/2)

Meanwhile, Preston's gaze was fixed on the girl, who right now was barking orders at the nurses to carry them out. Aria did not even see him, her focus completely directed at the patient, who she was trying to resuscitate. He had suffered a major cardiac arrest and had lost consciousness immediately. His face was utterly pale, resembling nothing less than a dead body. If not was the slow rise and fall of his chest, one would assume him to be dead.

Preston watched Aria performing CPR on the patient. But it did not work. The man was completely gone, and his heartbeat was now moving towards the midline. Aria tried again to revive him. Again in futile. His heart had stopped beating, and eventually, all that they could hear was the flat beep from the ECG.

Aria pulled back and wiped her forehead, staring at the now dead man for a few seconds before she turned towards the nurse behind her. ”Inform the patient's family. He is no more. Prepare for the next procedure.”

Aria walked out of the ward only to find Preston waiting outside, and she was pleasantly surprised to see him here. He just pursed his lips, not knowing what to say in this situation. Although it was just a patient, to any doctor, every life mattered, and it would be a lie to say that their death did not affect them.

Aria too let out a helpless smile before she walked towards the washroom. ”I will be right back.” She uttered before she vanished behind the doors while Preston just stared at the door. He took a deep breath, sympathizing and commending Aria and all honest doctors for their stressful job. It was not easy to be a doctor, and even more so if they were a surgeon.

Preston paced back and forth as he waited for Aria to come out. Although he did not know why, he wanted to be with her at this time and comfort her. Barely five to ten minutes had passed when Aria emerged from the bathroom, pushing a strand of wet hair behind her face. She looked better than how she had before she had entered the washroom, and Preston was glad that the patient's death had not affected her much mentally.

”Are you alright?” He handed her a bottle of water which Aria took gratefully.

”Yeah, I am fine. It's just that even though we are senior doctors who have seen and been accustomed to patient's death, we still feel the guilt of not being able to save them.” She let out a deep breath before she chugged down the water and wiped her lips.

”Woah, Woah, Woah, calm down, Doctor. That bottle is yours. I have no intentions of stealing it from you.” Preston tried to lighten the heavy mood, and it worked. Aria smiled at him and rolled her eyes.

”I didn't know it. You never mentioned that you did not want the bottle back. I assumed that you too wanted a sip from it.” Aria too teased back, and Preston could only chuckle at her words.

”You have a weird sense of humor,” Preston mumbled and although he had not intended to, Aria still heard it.

”Hey, Mister.” Aria stopped walking, forcing the man beside her too to stop walking. ”I have a good sense of humor. Alright? It's just that people don't appreciate it.”

Aria had no idea why but she was enjoying the conversation she was having with the man who had once shoved her aside. He was smart and charming and quite amicable too. He gave her a sense of security and a vibe she was all too familiar with. Even though she was not that experienced in romance, she could read people, and Preston's eyes alone conveyed his liking for her.

'But why does he like me? We did not even have any conversation until today? Was it love at first sight?' Aria mused and as soon as the thought occurred to her, she shook her head. 'It cannot be love at first sight. He was blatantly annoyed by my presence. In that case, what is it?' She wondered, taking a peek at the not so oblivious man.

Though Aria wanted to clear her stance and reveal about her having a boyfriend so as to stop Preston from having any lingering feelings for her, she did not know how to bring up the topic without him starting the conversation. Despite her speaking to him this much for the first time, she had long learned that Preston was a good man, and she did not intend to lead him on and give him false impressions.

An idea popped up in her, and she pulled out her phone immediately. ”Blimey, I forgot to call my boyfriend. He had asked me to call him after I finished dealing with the patient.”