Fati struggled to breathe beneath his fingers, which were pressed firmly against her mouth. She closed her eyes at first, but as the hallway lights went out, she opened them and stared at him in shock. She knew this meeting was coming sooner or later, but not like this. Why didn't he wait for her to show herself first?
It was pitch black. In this area, the lights needed movement to turn back on, but Jaguar preferred the darkness; he didn't want to see her eyes. Suddenly, Fati moved sharply to escape his grip, causing the lights to flash on. She wanted the light so he could see her angry eyes. Since she couldn't speak, she needed to show him her rejection through her gaze.
Jaguar froze when he saw her eyes. Their green spark was completely gone; they had turned a dull brown, like petrified wood. He said,
- I will lower my hand, but I don't want you to make a sound.
As soon as he let go, she spoke in a loud, firm voice:
- Have you lost your mind?
Jaguar was shocked by her sudden reaction; he was not used to this firm and confident style. He realized that the Fati who used to let him frighten her or even love her harshly was gone forever. She pushed him away coldly and wiped her face where his fingers had touched her, as if cleaning her skin. She said firmly,
- If you had stood in the hallway and asked to talk to me respectfully, I would have listened. You don't need these childish moves with me anymore.
He wanted to scream at her, "I only act this way with you!" but he didn't. Instead, he said with hesitation,
- Can we talk?
- Yes, let's talk,
She replied coldly.
- I also have something to tell you.
They went to her office. Jaguar looked around at the empty room; it had nothing except for a single photo of her grandfather. Noticing his look, she said,
- Today is my first day of work.
Jaguar remained silent, so she started first:
- First, I want a divorce. The three years we agreed on have passed, and there is nothing left between us.
Her phone rang sharply, signaling an emergency for the patient she had just operated on. Fati stood up quickly and headed for the door, telling Jaguar without looking back,
- I have an emergency... don't wait for me.
She didn't give him any sign that she wanted to finish their conversation today; she didn't know how long it would take to save a life in the recovery room.
She rushed down to find the patient suffering from strange tremors. Looking at the file, she realized the patient had Parkinson's disease, so she ordered immediate IV injections and took her back to surgery. Two hours later, she was watching her in the ICU, connected to machines. She told the nurse,
- She is stable now. Give her the injection written in the file in six hours
As soon as she walked away, she felt so weak that she thought she might faint. She leaned against the handrail in the hallway to support herself. She struggled back to her office, knowing she needed deep sleep, or her body would simply collapse.
She entered her office with a trembling hand, looking for a place to hide from everyone in this state of physical collapse. As soon as she opened the door, her eyes landed on him; he was sitting in the chair waiting for her, having loosened his tie again and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt, looking exhausted and expectant. She wanted to scold him,
"Why did you wait for me?"
But the words died before they were born. She couldn't say a single thing; a sharp whistling sound filled her head, signaling the end of her energy at any moment. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it with all her weight, unable to stand on her feet for another second. Jaguar stood up and moved toward her, speaking, but she couldn't hear his voice; she could only see the rapid movements of his mouth, and suddenly, her body collapsed, falling into his fast hands that caught her before she hit the ground.
When she regained consciousness and opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a bed in a strange room. She looked around in amazement; the furniture and details suggested she was in a stranger's apartment. She pushed the covers off her, shocked to find she was wearing nothing but a large, male pajama shirt. She tried hard to remember the last person she had met, and the image of Jaguar tore through her mind like a storm of confusing memories.
She felt a movement beside her. She lifted the cover cautiously and was shocked to see Jaguar sleeping next to her, shirtless. She couldn't stop looking at his muscles, which still looked strong despite his weight loss, but she quickly covered him again.
"What are you thinking, Fati?"
She scolded herself. She checked her phone on the side table; it was 7:00 AM. She decided she had to leave immediately to go back to Mary's house before heading to the hospital. But as she looked around, she couldn't find her clothes anywhere.
As she wondered if she should wake him up, she heard him groan under the covers. She quickly lay back down, pretending to be fast asleep. Jaguar woke up and started moving; she peeked with half-open eyes and saw him wearing pajama pants. She felt relieved that he wasn't completely naked. He sat on the edge of the bed and said softly,
- Fati... wake up, you'll be late for work.
She didn't move. He added,
- I'll go take a shower first, then you can go in.
He left the room, leaving her stuck in bed, wondering: How could she escape from here without her clothes?
After about ten minutes, Jaguar came out of the bathroom to find her still in the same spot, curled up under the covers as if trying to hide. He placed a bathrobe beside her on the bed and said in a calm, deep voice,
- I know you are awake... come on, get ready or you will be late for work.
He checked his watch and added,
- I'm leaving for work now; I have an important meeting. Do you need anything before I go? I will visit my grandfather as soon as I finish.
Fati didn't move or answer, so he reached out and suddenly pulled the covers away. Her bare legs were exposed beneath his oversized shirt. Fati jumped up and shouted at him with a voice full of irony and pain:
- What are you doing? Are you suddenly trying to play the role of the loving husband?!