"Doc, let's get married!"
Casual. Far too casual. Those sacred words flew out without a hint of weight behind them.
Davin's hands stopped washing his face. The doctor turned fully toward the girl beside him.
"Your sense of humor is excessive! But not every stranger is someone you can joke around with, miss."
"I'm Binar Anjani, and I'm serious about what I said, Dr. Davin."
Davin fell silent, though he wasn't completely speechless. He was simply assessing the attitude of the girl he'd met less than ten minutes ago.
Unfortunately, he found no trace of humor on the face of the girl who had just introduced herself as Binar Anjani.
Binar clearly wasn't joking about her invitation. But it wasn't an ordinary invitation. Even though she'd said it lightly, she meant the exact opposite.
It was heavy, carrying responsibility and more than a few consequences.
"Do you know where you are?" Davin asked.
"The hospital restroom."
"Exactly. So you know this is a place for sick people, not a matchmaking service."
Binar could no longer maintain her blank expression. She smiled meaningfully, making Davin return her look with obvious distaste.
But Binar wasn't lying when she thought Dr. Davin was incredibly handsome. Like a Greek god, as people liked to say. No ... more like an almost-perfect sculpture.
A strong jaw, a prominent nose, thick black eyebrows matching eyes like an eagle stalking its prey—fierce and savage. His skin wasn't as white as snow. Though golden-brown, it looked clean and well cared for. If anything, that made him look even more masculine.
His shoulders were broad, and his body was perfectly proportioned. He was every woman's ideal. But who knew whether poison lurked on his tongue, delivered through his words?
And yet, that was exactly what captivated Binar. Of course, his stunning looks helped too.
"Your soulmate doesn't have to come from a matchmaking service, Doc. They can come from school, work, college, or even a hospital, like us."
"Soulmate? You're awfully confident. Your invitation has absolutely no chance of me accepting it." Davin snorted sarcastically, though his head was pounding from everything that had happened today.
He hadn't even gotten away from that stubborn patient, and now this strange girl had shown up. What had she said? Get married? It was completely ridiculous.
"Stop saying such harsh things, Doctor, or I ..." "Or what? You want to call the police? File a human-rights complaint? Get lost ..."
"I'm even more interested in you now, Dr. Davin."
Binar's next words left them both frozen.
Davin loosened the tie that felt like it was choking him. The coolest place in the hospital suddenly felt like a scorching desert.
"What a strange woman." Without waiting for any response from Binar, Davin walked away after shooting her a scornful glance.
"See you again, Dr. Davin." "That will never happen." "We'll see. And it definitely will," Binar giggled with absolute confidence.
Davin clicked his tongue in annoyance. This time, he truly left the strange girl behind.
Binar smiled broadly as she watched Davin walk away. She didn't stop him or chase after him as she had earlier.
Binar let him go—not to give up, but to plan a much bigger move.
"Is he the person I've been praying for all this time? If he is, no one else is getting their hands on him! And if anyone tries to hurt him, they'll have to deal with me too!"
Binar went back to washing her hands, scrubbing them roughly until her palms turned red. But she didn't stop. The rubbing only grew harder, repeating again and again.
Once she had regained control of herself, Binar left the restroom and headed to the psychiatrist who had been responsible for her care over the past few months.
"How was your day, Binar? If I had to guess, much better than when you first came here." Dr. Reyhan SP. KJ greeted her first.
His calm manner and easy smile were the complete opposite of Dr. Davin's.
"I feel that way too, Rey. I barely lost my temper at all this past week."
The two of them were already quite close. As her psychiatrist, Reyhan always wanted to make his patient feel comfortable.
"Good! That means you've learned to control your emotions. But you still need to take your medication and do the mental exercises I taught you. And most importantly, you need to be happy. Avoid whatever triggers your anger."
Binar choked, almost gagging on her own laughter. Reyhan's words sounded impossible. "It seems like they'll chase me to the ends of the earth until they make me truly give up. Maybe even when all I have left is my final breath."
Reyhan smiled sincerely at his patient. He knew all too well how hard Binar had fought to recover from her illness.
GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder): excessive anxiety about many things. Anxiety over things that might never happen and that is difficult to control.
As if that weren't enough, Binar was struck by another bitter reality: she had also been diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Thoughts or urges that suddenly appear over and over again, compelling sufferers to do or touch something repeatedly to make their anxiety go away. If they don't, their hearts remain restless.
"You're amazing for making it this far, Binar. Don't give up. Not for me, and not for the people who hurt you, but for everything you've fought through until now."
Binar lowered her head, her eyes suddenly burning. Then her shoulders began to tremble softly as sobs she could no longer hold back overtook her.
To be continued.