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Chapter 330 Resignation

　　Lucas sat on the edge of the bed he had spent most of his childhood with his face buried in his hands as he thought about his life.

　　"I understand how you feel, Dr. Drew, but I'm sorry, my mind is made up," Lucas said apologetically.

　　"No, you don't understand! I'm retiring by the end of the year, and I was going to hand over to you. How can you just quit? How can your mind be made up? You asked for some time off, and I gave it to you. If you need some more time off, then you can have it, but I'm not letting you go, Lucas. You are not just a doctor here; you are also my friend," Dr. Drew insisted even though he was old enough to be Lucas' father. 

　　Lucas was almost tempted to tell him that playing tennis with him in his spare time hardly made them friends. But that would be too rude considering that it seemed like the man actually considered him a friend. He had always thought the man invited him to play tennis with him because he was bored.

　　"I can't continue to work here," Lucas insisted. 

　　"Why? What is wrong? Did you get a better offer? Is there something I can do?" Dr. Drew asked, looking at him with such concern in his eyes that Lucas started to feel guilty.

　　"It is not you. And this has nothing to do with getting a better offer either. I'm just done here. I'm done with this phase of my life, don't you get it?" Lucas asked in a half yell, and Dr. Drew took a closer look at him when he heard the frustration in his voice.

　　"Are you okay? Are the wedding plans stressing you out?" He asked when he noticed Lucas' bloodshot eyes.

　　"No. It's not the wedding. The wedding is off. We are not getting married anymore," Lucas said, making Dr. Drew move away from his desk.

　　"You are not getting married anymore? Did Rachel break up with you?" He asked in surprise since he knew that they had been dating since their high school days. 

　　"Are you okay?" He asked as an afterthought thinking that Lucas was heartbroken because Rachel dumped him.

　　Lucas took in a deep breath, "I ended things with Rachel. Her father got me this job and..."

　　"Is that it? So you are quitting because you broke up with her? Did you think I'm going to fire a young doctor of your caliber because you had a fallout with your fiance, and my friend wants me to fire you? You think I gave you this job just because of your relationship with my friend's daughter?" Dr. Drew asked incredulously.

　　"It doesn't matter. None of that matters. I don't want any ties with her or her family. I don't want them to think they made me who I am. I don't want to ever have to feel like I owe them. I'm deeply sorry," Lucas said with a shake of his head. 

　　"Even if you've made up your mind, you will have to give at least four weeks' notice as stated in our agreement. Not that I can ever replace a doctor of your worth, but I will need time to get someone to take over from you. What about your patients?" Dr. Drew asked, and Lucas shook his head once again.

　　"Take a good look at me, Dr. Drew. Do you honestly think that I'm in the state of mind to handle any case at the moment?" Lucas asked, and without waiting for Dr. Drew to say anything else, he gave him a polite bow and walked out of the office. 

　　Somehow, before he got to his office, news had spread all over the clinic, and two female nurses and a male nurse were waiting for him outside his office.

　　"Dr. Perry, is it true? Are you really leaving us?" One of the ladies asked as he approached.

　　"It's true. I know it is sudden, and I'm sorry. But I have to go," Lucas said as he walked past them into his office, not willing to be drawn into another emotional confrontation since he could already see the tears gathered in the eyes of one of the nurses who he knew had a crush on him. 

　　As he packed his belongings into a box, there was a knock on his office door, and he took a deep breath, "Come in."

　　The door opened, and his heart broke when a lady wheeled her twelve-year-old son, who was his patient, into his office, "Dr. Perry..." The child's voice broke when his eyes fell on the box which was partially filled with Lucas' personal effects, and tears gathered in his eyes. 

　　In his misery, he had forgotten about most of his patients, "Denv," Lucas called softly as he went around his desk to meet the child who had been his patient for the past two years.

　　"Please don't leave," the young boy begged as tears flowed down his cheeks.

　　"Please don't do that," Lucas pleaded as he crunched down in front of the kid and brushed away the kid's tears with his thumb.

　　"Why are you leaving, Dr. Perry?" The kid's mother asked, sounding equally emotional.

　　"I need a break. I need a change of environment. I'm sorry," Lucas apologized. 

　　"What is going to happen to me?"

　　"Dr. Drew is going to take care of you, and then you will be all better and go back to doing what kids your age do," Lucas said, trying to sound cheerful.

　　"But I don't want Dr. Drew. I don't want any other doctor. It's you I want. Where are you going to? Maybe mom can bring me there so that you can continue to treat me and make me feel better," the little boy cried, and Lucas knew that he needed to leave before other patients got hold of the news. 

　　"I'm just going to travel for the time being. I'm taking a break from work. You know what you can do?" Lucas asked as he straightened up, and the kid shook his head. 

　　"You can always call me whenever nurse Abigail comes with the big needle you fear so much, and even though I won't be there to hold your hands physically, you will hear my voice and know that I'm with you," Lucas promised. 

　　"Always?" The kid asked, and Lucas nodded. 

　　"Always," Lucas promised, and then he leaned forward to embrace the child before stepping back, "I have to leave now before the other patients start trooping in. If I have to give every one of them my contact line to reach me, then I might not be able to receive the call of my favorite patient when Nurse Abigail comes with the big needle," Lucas said as he ruffled the kid's hair playfully, and the kid gave him a wobbly smile.

　　"I'm going to see you again, right?" The kid asked hopefully.

　　"Sure. As long as you receive your treatment and don't give the next doctor a hard time, we will definitely see. Now return to your ward," Lucas said before glancing at the kid's mother.

　　"Take care of him. And don't worry, he is in safe hands here," Lucas assured her, and she wiped her tears as she embraced him before wheeling her son out of his office.

　　Now seated on his bed, Lucas felt a shudder run through his body as he thought about his job, his colleagues, his patients, and the life he loved but had to give up so that he could cut ties with Rachel and her family. For the first time since he broke up with her, he had a deep feeling of sadness, and before he knew it, he began to sob uncontrollably.

　　He slid off the edge of the bed and sat on the floor as he wept. He didn't know how long he sat there crying until he heard the sound of his phone ringing.

　　He ignored it at first and just went to the bathroom to run some water over his face. He looked back at his reflection in the mirror and sighed when he noticed the five o'clock shadow on his face. 

　　He felt exhausted. He was emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained. He wanted nothing more than to just be left on his own. He wanted to sleep. He was going to head over to the apartment he shared with Rachel the next day to pack up his personal stuff. She could have the furniture and whatever else. All he wanted was his clothes and his peace. He craved peace the most at the moment.

　　As he returned to the bed, he picked up his phone, which had started ringing again for the third time, and he cleared his throat when he realized that it was Lucy before receiving the call, "Sup?" He asked, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt. If at all there was anything in his life to be joyful about at the moment.

　　"How are you feeling now, Luc?" Lucy asked in concern, after making up her mind that she would keep the information away from him if he sounded the least bit weird.

　　"Exhausted. I finally cried. Rachel came over to the house earlier, and I handed in my resignation letter today. It was pretty tough," Lucas confessed.

　　"Rachel was there? What did she want?" Lucy asked, torn between her anger at Rachel and her sadness for Lucas.

　　Lucas decided not to tell her that Rachel had broken in through the kitchen window, "To make up. But I made it clear that I was done," Lucas assured her.

　　"Alright. Your boss, what did he say about your resignation?" Lucy asked curiously.

　　"He tried to convince me not to resign, but I didn't give in. Anyway, I'm done with that. It's all behind me now," Lucas said, trying to make light of it so that Lucy wouldn't know just how affected he was by it all.

　　"I'm so sorry, Luc," Lucy said; her heart felt very heavy as she listened to him. More than anything, she wished she didn't have to break this news to him and add to all that was happening in his life at the moment. Just how much could a man take at once? How much could Lucas take?

　　"You don't have to be sorry. I'm fine, I assure you. I just need to take some time off to myself, and I can assure you that I will be fine," Lucas said confidently. Not only to convince Lucy but also to convince himself that the ache in his heart would stop and he would feel better sometime soon. 

　　"I hope so. I really hope so," Lucy said with a sigh. 

　　"How are mom and dad? I'm going to move my stuff from the apartment I shared with Rachel tomorrow. I will leave them here before traveling."

　　"Have you made up your mind on a place you're traveling to?" 

　　"Not yet. When it's time, I will know," Lucas said.

　　"Alright," Lucy said as the little coward in her head suggested that she accept what he was saying and hang up the call. But she couldn't. Her heart was beating really fast as she tried to organize the words in her head. 

　　"Did you just call to check on me?" Lucas asked, suspecting that Lucy wanted to say something.

　　"Uhm, no," Lucy said and shut her eyes tightly as she tried to summon all the courage she could to say what needed to be said.

　　"What is it?" Lucas asked, his guards up when he heard the weariness in her voice. He didn't know how but could tell that whatever she wanted to say wasn't going to be good.

　　"We found out the person behind me and Sonia's scandal. Her name is Anita Miller. She is Rachel's cousin," Lucy rushed to say.