Chioma's POV.

Walking into the huge off-white colored building, my heart thumped within my chest at an unusual pace. Why I was nervous? Well, I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's cause I know I'm not exactly recognized as THE Chioma Aniobi as I was before, and my father technically denied me all access to former privileges - thereby making it seem like I'm poor or something. Which only means I can't show attitude.

I need this job. It's my ticket to showing my father just how responsible I can be...that, and the fact that I need this job to not die of hunger at the moment.

Work...

The one thing I'd thought I wouldn't have to do for as long as I live, oh how I was deeply wrong. Cause now, work is my ticket to survival. Well, at least till I finally return home...that's if they let me come home again.

"Good morning" I smiled at the receptionist at the reception hall, Femi's words rang in my ears once again:

Do be nice to your co-workers, you'll live longer if you do.

I silently chuckled as I remembered the look on his face when he did say it.

"Good morning, how may I be of help to you?" She smiled, one that actually seemed genuine.

"I'm new here. I'm the new dentist that's meant to start work today. Doctor Ephraim interviewed me sometime last week, he must've mentioned a thing or two about it to you. Correct?" I said and she immediately nodded her head affirmatively, her smile still glued to her face, as she jotted down a few things into a slightly old hardcover notebook.

"Please write your name in full; here and sign; here" she said, handing me the hardcover book from earlier - which happened to be filled with various names and signatures. I figured that's the attendance book for the employees...or something of the sort.

I did as told, writing my name in full - Chioma Christine Aniobi - and signing at the end.

"Thank you. Doctor Ephraim will be with you shortly, he'll explain a few things to you" she said and I nodded thankfully at her.

It didn't take long before doctor Ephraim finally arrived. I immediately felt ashamed of myself the minute he arrived, cause the last time we met; I called him a flabbergasted moron.

Ah jeez!

Exactly how was I supposed to face him after such a terrible statement I made against him?

Dear God,
Please help me. I know I don't deserve it, but please help me get out of this mess.

"Miss. Aniobi, so nice to see you again" he beamed, a vibrant smile on his face.

So nice to see me again? Is this guy clueless?!
Did he hit his head or something? I was rude to this douche!

"So nice to see you, um, too" I stuttered, nervously offering him a half smile. Maybe this was God's way of actually helping me!
I smiled at that.

"Come with me, I'll show you around and explain a few things to you" he said, already turning his back to leave to God-knows-where. I followed behind him, trying so hard to appear confident, fierce and intimidating; I really hoped it was working cause I didn't want to bring down my self-esteem for any reason. And I definitely didn't want anyone making stupid comments about me and on my first day, as it were, my father was kind enough to make the whole kicking-me-out-of-the-house thing really private, so no one really knows about it.

Letting out a sigh, I followed the doctor into the ultramarine colored office, my hands clasped around my purse as I made careful strides behind him, my stilettos announcing my presence as they clicked with floor each time they came in contact.

I heard murmurings as I went by, people were already making comments and a lot were staring; like they haven't seen a human being before. I'm know I'm drop-dead gorgeous, but openly gawking at me is just weird and creepy.

Do it in secret, would ya?!
Jeez! No sense of respect.

* * *
Femi's POV.

"How on Earth did that happen?!" I yelled, my eyes bulging out of their sockets as I immediately felt my heart sink. It felt like the walls were closing in on me, and it felt like the air around me was stabbing my throat, leaving me gasping for air as my head spun with worry. I slowly reached for my swivel chair, holding onto it for support as my legs suddenly felt weak.

"Mom, please calm down and tell me what hospital you guys are at. I'll be there in a few minutes" I said, panic making my words come out rushed. Another round of wails followed from my mom as she sniffled on the phone.

"Lagoon hospital" she managed to say.

"I'll be there in a few minutes" and with that, I immediately hung up as I grabbed my car keys off my office desk and hurriedly left my office; racing towards the elevator like a madman. My dad fell off the stairs and immediately fell unconscious, the scariest part of the entire news; was that he fell on his back! On the stairs!

Not bothering to reply any of the questions asked by a few concerned employees, I pushed my way past them; running off to my car with so much speed. I don't think I've ever ran that fast in my entire life. My dad had such an accident and all my brain can process right now - is his health, all my mind is screaming at me right now - is how he's currently doing.

My dad's my gee, my best friend in the entire universe, he's the closest person I have in my life. I'm not even as close to my mom as I am with my dad. Losing him will shatter me. I don't think I'll be able to take it, and I really hope he's okay.

Happy thoughts.

Be positive.

He'll be fine.

A mantra only I could hear, played in my head as I felt the blood rush through my veins, the blood pumping into my head as I ran to my car. I felt the sensation of a lone tear roll down my cheek, I didn't bother wiping it off as I immediately got into my car and hurriedly rode out of the parking lot and finally, out of the company's premises. Some say men don't cry, well, not when they're about to lose someone so dear to them. I lost my sister, who was so close to me - so close to me that when she died; I became the typical definition of a brokenhearted man - and now? I just can't lose anyone else, especially not my dad. Not now, I need him the most in my life, if anything happens to him, I won't be able to live. I wouldn't be able to bear the grief. I'd run mad.

I was moving at a really high speed, the speedometer showed that I was moving way more than the accepted speed limit, it was far from being my concern at the moment...I couldn't care less. All I wanted was to get to that hospital, quickly, and see for myself what's truly going on, and until I've gotten the assurance that my dad's finally out of danger; I'll never be at peace.

Taking a right, my car made a loud screeching sound cause of the amount of speed I'd turned with, still couldn't care less, it's the least of my problems right now. I drove with the only thing on my mind being my father.

Still riding at a tremendous speed, an officer tried stopping me by put his hand in front of my approaching car - a sign that I had to stop. To hell with him! I couldn't stop now, not when my father's life is in danger. Increasing my speed, I drove past him with urgency.

My phone rang next to the passenger seat and I caught a glimpse of the caller's ID. It was my mom calling and I let out a frustrated grunt as I tried reaching for my phone, tearing my eyes off the road for a moment and gradually reaching for my phone.

A loud honk was blared at my car at that one moment, and I immediately reunited my eyes with the road as the phone finally stopped ringing. I quickly swerved my car to the right; on attempt to avoid a collision that would've occured between my car and a black SUV. The driver of the vehicle must've been sent from the village, he recklessly cornered to the right, driving into a nearby gutter.

Psychopath!

I tried maneuvering my way to a safe stop, but unfortunately, I lost total control. The car wouldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried to make it come to a halt. Panic gripped me like a cold claw as my heart began to drum erratically within my chest as I immediately gripped the stirring wheel so tight, my knuckles whitened, trying my best to stop the car by continuously stepping on the brakes; yet the car wouldn't come to a stop. The brakes had failed and the realisation of the incessant soon before me, clawed at my senses; fear slid into my heart and pounding ferociously within my chest, my head drumming with the fear of the unknown.

The phone rang once more, but I ignored the call - despite the fact that it was my mother calling yet again - at the moment, my life was way more important than that call. Finally, the phone stopped ringing, and I concentrated fully on saving myself from the claws of death.

The car was still going at an incredibly frightening speed and I ransacked my brain for ways to bring the vehicle to a safe halt.

Crashing into a nearby bush, the car continued to move at a heart-crushing speed. I muttered so many cusses under my breath, in fright, as I tired my best - once again - to stop the speeding car. The brakes still weren't of any help and my eyes were already brimming with another round of tears, all hope eluding me completely.

Eventually, the car came crashing into a huge tree, so hard that the tree came crashing down on my car, causing shards of glass to be filled everywhere as I immediately used my hands to protect my face as my head made impact with the stirring wheel and bounced back on the headrest with such great force. The impact of the tree also making contact with the top of my head, causing my head to spin so fast, everything seeming so blurry and the pain I felt from my head to my chest area; excruciating.

The ear-splitting uproar coming from outside my car, made me realize the presence of the numerous passersby that'd witnessed my accident. Slowly, my eyes began to feel too heavy for me to keep them open, the trickling of my own sticky blood - coming from my forehead, lips and nose - made me let out a loud grunt in pain. The blood getting into my eyes as it rolled down from the large open wound on my forehead, and finally rolling down to my shirt. My head felt like a thousand helicopters just made a crash-land on it, and my eyes slowly began to flutter close; until I finally succumbed to the total darkness of my unconsciousness, with the various screams coming from the onlookers outside, reaching a maximum pitch.

* * *
Chioma's POV.

My office was indeed beautiful. It wasn't big, but it was definitely stylish - at least, to an extent. The entire office walls were covered in ultramarine paint. The office had a coffee-brown mahogany desk and a black swivel chair which and two visitor's seats, all at the centre of the room. The coffee-brown bookshelves, which housed over a hundred - or close to a hundred - books, stood at the corner of the office and the walls were filled with various charts of the human teeth structure and other health related tips involving dental hygiene, and a calendar - all hung on the wall neatly.

A name pallet with the words 'Chioma Aniobi - Dentist' engraved on it, was placed on the mahogany desk and a coat hanger stood at one end of the room, which had a pure white lab coat, with my name already sewn on it, hung on the coat hanger.

A medium-sized air conditioner hung on the wall and a display of a plastic replica of the human teeth, sat on one of the top shelves in the office. A few health-care magazines and dental pamphlets, leaflets and newsprints on orthodontics and dental hygiene, were all stacked on the top shelves, alongside few images of the teeth.

The black tiles on the floor, complimented the entire office designs and a diamond-shaped bulb holder hung above the desk area, on the ceiling, emitting a tender white glow.

A photo of the president and the governor of Lagos, hung at the adjacent end of the office, a few inches away from the dental charts. The office was indeed pretty.

I finally sat on my swivel chair, swivelling around with a smile on my face, legs crossed, and a giggle escaping my lips. On recalling the fact that I was at my place of work and had to be professional, my childish giggle immediately died down and my face immediately morphed into a serious one.

After a minute or two, I heard a knock on my door and I immediately cleared my throat, sat up straight and arranged my hair before ushering - whomever it was, probably my first patient - in.

"Good morning" the slightly high-pitched voice of a nurse, a petite nurse with blonde hair extensions, was heard as she offered me a big smile. A sickly sweet smile, just looking at it gives me a toothache.

"Morning" I smiled back, forcing a slightly genuine smile out of me.

"I came to welcome you. My name is nurse Bisola" she said and I grinned, nodding my head in understanding.

"How thoughtful of you. I'm Chioma, nice to meet you" I said, my smile still glued to my face although, I wasn't exactly happy that she came to say "Hi" to me. Deep down, I felt she was only a busy-body who came to show herself. Probably wants to be the first to befriend the rich and all popular Obiora Aniobi's daughter. Typical!

"If you need any help, just let me know. I'll be happy to help" She said and I nodded my head once again.

"Bye" she smiled at me once more.

"Bye" I replied, offering one of my many believable fake smiles.

With her gone, I let out a sigh, leaning back on my chair.

The sound of my ringtone made me groan as I wondered who the person calling would be and what the person wants. The name 'Amanda' shone on my screen as I excitedly reached for my phone and answered the call, ready to inform her of all that'd happened so far.

"Hel__"

"Chioma, Femi had a terrible accident!" She yelled, cutting me off sharply in the process, her voice sounding strained and holding so much panic.

I blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Before the information finally registered into my brain and sank like an anchor being thrown into the depths of the sea. My heart skipped a few beats as I hoped I hadn't heard her correctly, gripping my desk with shaky hands and a shaky breath escaping my lips.

"What?" It came out as a thin whisper, I couldn't believe my ears and it felt like the words were stuck in my throat. "That can't be possible, he was perfectly fine when I last saw him. Full of energy and...and smiling. How...how did__?"

"Not time to explain. Lagoon hospital, I'm coming to get you" and then she hung up abruptly.

This CANNOT be true. He was...he was perfectly fine just a while ago. This can't be true!

Panic gripped me, I froze in my chair; trying so hard to accept that what Amanda had said was true. I wanted to disagree, to convince myself that she was only playing an expensive prank on me; but I knew better. Amanda would never joke over something so serious, although right now, I really hoped she was. I silently prayed she'd call and do that laugh she'd do when she's lying to me, and just tell me this whole information was one big fat lie.

What if he dies?

That random thought made me gasp in utter fear. The question repeatedly echoing in my head. In fright, I mentally slapped, kicked, punched, elbowed and stabbed myself for thinking so negatively. Negativity is the last thing I should be showing off right now. I lifted my right hand to my left cheek and gave myself a tight slap, one that stung badly. He won't die, he can't die! He needs to live so I can annoy him, make him frustrated, anything! But he cannot die. Who'll do what he does if he's gone? I've grown so fond of him during these last few days, the thought of it scares me to death. He has helped me so much. Too much.

Think positive thoughts!

He'll be fine.

It's Femi, he's always fine.

Please God, please let him be alright.

I might not be his best of friends but still, he can't die. Please God...I'm begging you!

I hadn't noticed I was crying, not until I felt a tear roll down my cheek, down to my palms. I couldn't even wipe off my tears cause I was so frozen with shock, that I could even move. Couldn't even breathe properly, the possibility of something really bad happening to him, choking me. My palms began to feel all sweaty and I suddenly began to take deep breaths to calm myself down. My mind couldn't process anything at the moment, I couldn't even think straight.

What am I still doing here?
My friend just got into an accident, and I'm sitting here crying?!

I immediately got up from my seat, grabbed my purse and practically ran - as fast my stilettos would let me - to the parking lot, ignoring the receptionist's questions on where I was running off to, ignoring all the stares and side comments and hurriedly exiting the hospital. I couldn't wait for Amanda any longer. I was too worried to wait for her arrival, I needed to get to that hospital, ASAP!

"Lagoon hospital, Victoria Island. Please drive fast" I said to the first taxi driver I stopped.

For the first time in my life, I had to take public transport and it's all because of Femi. So he better not die! Please, God...

_______________________________

Most intense chapter so far, if you ask me😭

Abeg, how many people want to strangle me?😂 Lemme know how I'm hiding myself.

Please share your thoughts in the comment section, I may not be able to reply all comments but I'll definitely reply the ones I can. I love reading your comments, some of y'all are so funny 😂

Shout-out to Aleropeace, do check out her book. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did, it's hilarious and entertaining. Trust me, laughter is guaranteed.

Anyway, please vote if you liked the chapter and always remember to stay safe❤️
Love you guys❤️❤️❤️❤️

Till my next update,
Bye...