ire made her way to the hospital. Her head was filled with thoughts- none of them good. She just couldn''t shake that feeling of foreboding that had fallen upon her since the time she heard about the ident. Something about it all didn''t feel right. By the time ire arrived at the hospital, she went directly to Abigail''s room with a sense of growing urgency. She opened the door, stepped inside, and was greeted by an unexpectedly empty room by her expectations of some nurse or doctor keeping an eye on things. ire furrowed her brow as she scanned the room; quickly, her eyes fell on something sitting on the side, a small zip-lock stic bag with a phone inside it. Intrigued, she took a step closer and picked it up, carefully examining it. It looked like Abigail''s phone. As she was about to slip the phone into her bag, a voice startled her from behind. "ire Peterson? Is that you?"


    ire froze, cursing under her breath. Of all the times to get caught, this definitely wasn''t the one.


    ire barely had the time to react. She turned around and hid it behind her back as Mary, Abigail''s mother, walked into the room. "Hi."


    Mary, bright and beaming, must have gotten the surprise of her life seeing ire again from the blood donation the day before. "ire! I wasn''t expecting to see you today. Thank you so much foring by earlier with the flowers and fruits for Abigail. Richard mentioned your visit." ire nodded, trying not to freak out. "My pleasure," she replied calmly, trying to sound smooth, as she felt the phone in her hand pressed against her back.


    Mary came further into the room and ire clutched the phone she was still holding a little tighter. She had absolutely no time to hide it in her bag. The next thing that happened, Mary leaned forward and gave her a quick, firm hug.


    ire stiffened in surprise. She was not really the hugging type, but sheposed herself quickly, keeping her face calm. When Mary let go, she smiled warmly, clearly touched by ire''s kindness. "Thank you for everything, ire. That''s really kind of you." For a moment, ire was caught off guard, and the sight of Mary automatically brought her mother to mind. At that very moment, an image of her mother standing outside the operating room, heartbroken, shed through her mind. It was painful; she pushed it away. Gentlyying her hand on Mary''s shoulder, ire reassured her softly, "Abigail''s going to be fine. She''ll get back to normal soon."


    Mary nodded, though her eyes had gone a little ssy with unshed tears. "I hope so."


    ire took a deep breath. "I should be going now. I just came to pick up something I left behind."


    Mary smiled again. "Of course. Thanks for everything. Please visit again soon."


    "I will," ire promised, her body now turned toward the door as her back was to Mary. She walked out and casually slipped the phone into her bag. As she stepped into the hallway, she almost collided with Alexander. He frowned in clear surprise to see her. "ire? What are you doing here?"


    ire''s expression did not change; it remained calm andposed. "I forgot something," she replied simply, already ready for further questions.


    Alexander couldn''t help it and had to know. "What did you forget?" His tone filled with curiosity.


    ire clicked her tongue in annoyance. "My purse."


    Abigail''s father, Richard, suddenly materialized beside Alexander and greeted ire warmly. "ire! I was not expecting to see you again today. You have already visited earlier today."


    ire nodded politely. "Yes, I have juste back because I forgot my purse."


    Richard nodded understandingly. "Ah, I see. We''ve juste from the police station. I had to talk to the officer in charge of the case, and Alexander was talking to the driver."


    ire raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing. She merely nodded, feigning interest. "Well, I have to get back to work now."


    Richard smiled warmly at her. "Of course, ire. Don''t work too hard, and please visit Abigail soon."


    ire nodded again, already taking a step toward the elevator. Alexander watched her leave for a moment, then abruptly decided that he needed to follow her. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "ire, wait," Alexander said, sounding slightly apologetic as he realized how abrupt his move was.


    ire nearly jumped out of her skin


    when she heard Alexander''s voice behind her. She had been so


    focused on her n that she hadn''t even noticed him walk in. Her immediate response was to re at him. "Do you always sneak up on people like that?" she snapped, crossing her arms as she turned to


    face him.


    Alexander released her immediately, hands rising into the air as if in surrender. "I didn''t mean to startle you. I''m sorry, I just-well, I never asked how you did after giving blood yesterday."


    ire blinked at him, her surprisenovelbin


    quickly turning into suspicion. She


    raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that question. "You''re asking about my well-being?" she asked, a touch of sarcasm inher voice. "That''s unexpected."


    "Well, yeah. I mean, it was a pretty big deal, you donating your blood like that. I figured I should check in."


    With difort, ire cleared her throat. This unexpected worry left her unsure of how to react. Her voice a little more rigid than usual, she responded simply, "I''m fine."


    Alexander nodded but apparently did not know how he could continue. "I only wanted to say... don''t overexert yourself. When you are tired, take a break. You needn''t run yourself down, even about the ''robot'' project." ire pursed her lips, not in the mood for arguments about her behavior at work.


    "I...ah, heard that you have low blood pressure. Is that true?"


    An eyebrow was raised by ire, and the tone turned sarcastic, her words dripping with dry humor. "Are you feeling guilty for making me donate my blood to your childhood friend?"


    Alexander''s scowl deepened, and he


    shook his head immediately. "No,


    that''s not it..I mean. I''m worried


    about you." Then his voice softened,


    and he really looked concerned. "I


    didn''t know you had low blood


    pressure. I wouldn''t have asked you if"


    ire scoffed, cutting him off. "Please, I don''t need you to worry about me, Alexander." She crossed her arms again, this time much more irritated. "I''m fine, and I have people who actually care about me." That part came out a little sharper than intended, and Alexander''s face twisted. He snapped back, frustration finally seeping into his voice. "Like Matthew, right?"


    ire blinked, taken aback by his sudden change in tone. "Exactly like Matthew," she said coldly. "And not like you."


    ire didn''t answer right away, but her expression said it all. She didn''t have time for this, not now. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked toward the lift, her footsteps echoing through the room.


    Alexander stood there, watching her leave, his frustration evident. "ire-" he started, but the lift doors closed before he could say anything more. He was left staring at the closed doors, feeling a mixture of anger and confusion.