Diary of Fragile Heart (Spin of Loving You Too Long)

Gladwin stood frozen. Suddenly, Phoebe and her mother were standing in front of his room with a little girl who looked to be around four or five years old, just as Gladwin had returned from the Emergency Room.From NôvelDrama.Org.

“Darling, this is Uncle Gladwin,” Gladwin heard the voice of Phoebe’s mother, Penelope Madsen. The pretty little girl with curly black hair standing beside her extended her hand, politely introducing herself to Gladwin.

“Sorry, Gladwin. My mom came here for Gisel’s immunization, and she kept asking about you. She said she wanted to greet you out of courtesy, even though I’ve forbidden her and told her I would ask the staff if I didn’t bring her here,” Phoebe said with a guilty expression that Gladwin knew was just an act.

“How are you, Mrs. Madsen?” Gladwin politely greeted the woman, who was of the same age as his own mother.

“Don’t be so formal, just call me Penny. Phoebe’s friends usually call me that,” the woman said with a coaxing tone.

Gladwin frowned inwardly. Back when he was still a student, before knowing who her mother was, let alone being called ‘Penny,’ even just addressing her as ‘Madam’ would make her face sour.

Gladwin didn’t pay attention to the woman’s charm. He just gave a thin smile in response. “Dr. Gladwin, do you have lunch plans? If not, how about having lunch together? Is it alright if I call you by your name directly? After all, you and Phoebe are friends,” Penelope suggested again.

Gladwin fell silent. He indeed had no lunch appointment, but he also didn’t want to have lunch with Phoebe and her mother. He was quickly thinking of an excuse before Jonas intervened.

“Doctor, Abigail contacted me. She asked if the Doctor has left yet,” Jonas suddenly emerged from the room, looking surprised when he saw Phoebe and her mother. “Oh, there’s Doctor Madsen.” He greeted politely. Phoebe just gave a thin smile.

Gladwin looked at his assistant. He didn’t actually have any plans with Abigail, especially since she was on a photo shoot out of town. But that was fine; it could be used as an excuse to avoid the lunch invitation.

“I apologize, Mrs. Madsen. I have an appointment with my niece. Please understand, she can be a bit spoiled,” Gladwin politely declined with a sweet smile.

Without waiting for Phoebe and her mother’s response, Gladwin returned to his room and looked at Jonas with a questioning gaze. However, his assistant just shrugged with a playful smile, deepening the furrow on Gladwin’s forehead.

“I’m just helping, Doctor. I saw you were uncomfortable with Doctor Madsen and her mother, so I tried to be a good mediator,” Jonas said without a hint of guilt. Besides, Gladwin was secretly grateful for his assistant’s actions, even though he couldn’t admit it yet. “Or am I wrong? If, in fact, the Doctor wants to have lunch with them?” Jonas asked back, afraid he might have misjudged the situation. But Jonas’ actions weren’t out of solidarity as fellow men, nor were they a form of loyalty from a subordinate to a superior. It was more about fulfilling a friend’s request, a request that had been directly aimed at him to look out for Gladwin. Jonas remembered that request from his friend some time ago.

Flashback:

“I really need your help.” Abigail stared at Jonas with her sharp gaze. They were in a cafe not far from Jonas’s place. Jonas looked back at his old friend with confusion. “It’s about Flavia,” Abigail continued.

Once again, Jonas furrowed his brow. “What’s wrong with her? Is she okay? Does it have anything to do with Dr. Dominic? But I don’t know Dr. Dominic.” That was all Jonas could think of at the moment. If he connected his relationship with Flavia to his status as a nurse working in the same hospital as the man he thought was her fiancé, it would surely be about that engagement itself.

“Do you want me to spy on Dr. Dominic, something like that?” he finally asked.

Abigail waved her hands in front of her face. “Not that. It’s about Flavia, but it has nothing to do with Eijaz. Besides, why are you even thinking in that direction?”

Jonas shrugged. “Well, what else can I think? I work in the same hospital, and you say this has something to do with Flavia. If I connect the dots, it means it’s my business, Flavia, and Dr. Dominic.”

“You said you want me to be your eyes and ears. So, you want me to spy on Dr. Dominic?” Jonas concluded with doubt in his voice when he saw Abigail’s sharp gaze.

“You’re right about connecting the dots. It’s just the wrong person. Besides, why would I ask you to keep an eye on Eijaz? Even without my supervision, Eijaz won’t cheat. He’s head over heels in love with Flavia. What I want you to watch is Phoebe,” Abigail said sharply.

“Dr. Madsen? What’s going on with her?” Once again, Jonas looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“I want you to keep an eye on her. Keep that flirtatious girl away from my uncle.”

“Dokter Gladwin?” Jonas asked. Abigail nodded. “But why?”

“What kind of story do you want, short story or novel?” Abigail asked Jonas, making him even more confused. “I mean, do you want the short version or the long version?”

“Come on, Abigail. Just ask straightforwardly, the language is too complicated.”

“You too, if asked like that, you act like you don’t understand. So, which version do you want?”

“Whatever. I have time to listen to you,” Jonas replied.

“I’ll give you the Korean drama version. So, the story is that my uncle and Flavia are in love with each other.” Abigail explained. Jonas, who was sipping his orange juice, almost choked when he heard Abigail’s words.

“But you’re cousins. Automatically…” Abigail raised her hand, interrupting Jonas before he could say more.

“Hold your questions. I haven’t finished storytelling,” she gently ordered. Jonas reluctantly closed his mouth. “So, Uncle and Flavia are in love. Flavia has been in love with my uncle since junior high school. As for Gladwin, I don’t know when he fell in love with Flavia. Because I didn’t pay much attention, but it seems like it’s been a long time too.” Abigail paused for a moment. “The problem here is the social norms. You know how judgmental the righteous netizens can be. Flavia feels she’s not worthy to fall in love with her stepbrother. Similarly, Uncle feels he’s not worthy to fall in love with Flavia, who is, by the way, his niece. And especially because there’s an age gap of almost thirteen years. So, you can say my uncle feels a bit too old for it.”

“How do you know that your uncle has such thoughts? It could be just your own conclusions,” Jonas interjected when he saw Abigail sipping her drink.

“It’s not me drawing conclusions. It’s my uncle who spoke plainly. According to him, having a relationship with a woman twelve years younger is like dating his own niece. That means me. And Flavia heard it directly. So, she automatically felt hopeless. Plus, one or two incidents made Flavia really give up on my uncle,” Abigail replied honestly.

“So, you want to switch your role from being a friend to being Cinderella’s fairy godmother, huh?” Jonas asked sharply.

“Well, you could say that. Or you can say I want to be a matchmaker. Call me a love broker if you want, up to you. The main thing is, I want Via and my uncle to stop acting masochistic and make them express their feelings to each other. ‘Happiness is pursued,’ bro,” Abigail said casually before taking a big spoonful of food. Abigail and her eating style were anything but graceful.

Jonas massaged his temples. He didn’t know Abigail that well. He also didn’t know Flavia personally. But Jonas knew that Flavia was a kind and sincere girl. She had also been the one who helped Jonas all this time.

Yes, Jonas was one of the orphans living in the foundation that Flavia’s family supported. Although initially afraid that Flavia would mock him at school after finding out about his background as an orphan, it turned out to be just Jonas’s fear. In reality, the girl did not look down on him. Even when they met some time ago, she introduced him as the ‘Red Cross Chairman,’ not as an ‘Orphan.’

And yes, through Flavia, Jonas could continue his high school education at the nursing school and also received a scholarship to study nursing. So now, when Abigail asked for his help for Flavia, as long as it was on the right path, Jonas would help her wholeheartedly.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Not much. Just keep an eye on Phoebe’s movements. If she tries to get close to my uncle at the hospital, handle it and keep them apart or not give them a chance to be close. I’ll be your shield. If she persists, contact me.” Abigail requested again. Jonas simply nodded.

“And Dr. Dominic?” Jonas asked again.

Ignore Eijaz. But if somehow Eijaz can be used as bait to make Uncle jealous, go ahead. Because actually, Eijaz also wants Flavia to fight for his love, even though he himself is in love with Flavia,” Abigail continued. And once again, Jonas nodded. “Thanks, Joe.” Abigail said it genuinely.

“I’m doing this for Via,” Jonas replied honestly. Abigail just nodded.

Flashback Off