Page 3 of My Heart's Doctor
“You’re going to explain to me immediately...”
I felt his presence, but I didn’t look up because I tried to distract Aurora so she wouldn’t notice her father’s bad mood, but I noticed that he not only stopped talking but remained still in place. I don’t know if his surprise was from seeing his daughter on my lap or because at that moment Aurora was laughing and giving me a kiss.
“Mr. Cavaller, I apologize for not notifying you personally, but your secretary told me you were in an important meeting and couldn’t be disturbed.”
“My daughter comes before everything else, and you should know that, Alba. It’s not what my secretary says, it’s what I say,” he stated in a dry tone, though I noticed he didn’t speak harshly to her.
“I apologize. Fortunately, Aurora is fine. The doctor examined her thoroughly and found absolutely nothing wrong.”
“Alba, wait for me outside,” he ordered, with that authoritative voice that didn’t intimidate me in the slightest.
Alba left the room without saying another word. At that moment, I decided to look up and... I was stunned by the man standing before me. He had an imposing, almost majestic bearing. He was probably over six feet tall. Beneath that elegant, expensive, and understated suit, one could discern a physique drawn with ruler and square. He wore his dark brown hair in a classic, fresh, and casual cut that highlighted his penetrating and enormous eyes of a dark blue color, a color I had never seen before, which at that moment shone like two gems. Yes, he was extremely attractive, perhaps the most attractive man I had ever seen in my life, but I wasn’t intimidated by such beauty. I tried to appear calm and continued looking at him, waiting for some reaction on his part, because he was also looking at me and seemed surprised, though I suspected his surprise was from seeing his daughter calm in the arms of a stranger.
“You’re the doctor?” he finally asked, but in a tone of voice that sounded somewhat contemptuous to me.
“That’s right. My name is Devon Dulcet. I assume you’re Aurora’s father,” I said, without extending my hand to greet him as would have been proper and without standing up because at that moment I had the little one on my lap.
“I’m William Cavaller; and yes, I’m Aurora’s father. Explain to me right now what happened with my daughter,” he said, so authoritatively that I couldn’t help myself and responded without thinking.
“There’s no need to raise your voice, I don’t have hearing problems, Mr. Cavaller. Your daughter is healthy, there’s absolutely nothing physically wrong with her. You can take a seat here while we finish watching Sleeping Beauty,” I said, pointing to an armchair next to the bed where I was sitting with Aurora, “or you can wait outside, whichever you prefer.”
“What?” he said, completely bewildered and with a furrowed brow.
At that moment Aurora looked at him.
“Daddy, Daddy,” she said, with a big smile and lifting my phone to show him.
Something happened in that room when that man smiled at his daughter. I had the feeling that the room had lit up. He approached the little one, leaned down, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Hello, my love. How are you?” he asked, with a sweet voice that didn’t match his appearance at all.
—“Daddy, look,” she said, trying again to get her father to look at the phone, while he gazed at her adoringly.
I would never have imagined that this man could be so loving with his daughter, but apparently he was, and that reassured me.
—“Do you want to come with me?” he asked, stretching out his arms.
Aurora looked at him, then looked at me, and with complete spontaneity replied:
—“No.”
Mr. Cavaller dropped his arms, perhaps a bit dejected, and raised his gaze to fix it on me. He looked at me with surprise, and I couldn’t help a smug smile.
—“Your daughter is fine, you can relax. The woman who brought her did so as a precaution because Aurora wouldn’t stop crying, but I examined her thoroughly and her crying isn’t due to anything physical.”
—“How old are you?” he asked, looking me up and down arrogantly.
—“Excuse me?”
—“I believe I was clear. I asked your age.”
—“And why do you need to know my age?”
—“How long have you been practicing medicine?”
—“Are you suggesting I’m not capable?” I asked, frowning because I was starting to lose my patience.
—“My daughter’s doctor is Miranda Nur, and I demand that she be the one to examine her.”
