His joy overflowed for one reason. At last, Diane opened her heart to him.

His mind drifted to the time after he pulled and kissed her. He felt she stiffened for a second, but the next thing he knew, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She let go of all that was suppressing her and allowed herself to be filled with his love. His arm tightened as he kissed her luscious lips deeply.

Though, he had kissed other women before, yet this kiss stirred him through a profound degree. The other girls' kisses were received by him but it did not mean anything but a game of kiss-me-and-I'll kiss-you-back. But with Diane, his heart swelled with her in his arms. There was so much electricity running through him. He did not want to let go.

At this moment, Diane laid on her bed recalling the same incident. When John pulled and kissed her, she was taken by surprise but as she felt his kisses, she realized she was blind for not acknowledging that she was desperate. Desperate to be kissed and loved by a man. She had been alone for quite some time, alone carrying her burdens and responsibilities. She needed someone to help carry her woes and enjoy life with her.

And here came John. She needed him badly and didn't want him to stop. So, she decided not to think more and surrendered and responded to his kisses. Most of all, his kisses were gentle and not forbearing, filling her with love.

For certain, after crying out all of her pain to him and saw that John cared for her, slowly she wanted to believe in love again. She seriously wished to fall in love and desperately wanted to be loved by John.

As she hugged her pillow, thinking of John, she chuckled when she remembered how entranced were they with their desires and had forgotten they were outside the house.

Without warning, the shop's backdoor opened, the bell hanging on it rang, alerting her and John. Lydia gasped as she saw them kissing. They froze and let go. Both of their heads turned to Lydia's direction, simultaneously.

"Sorry, I'm only on my way to check Ma'am Daisy," Lydia said in a very soft voice. She rapidly stepped back in the shop and closed the door.

After Lydia left, they laughed out loud. Diane was teary-eyed and her body convulsed in laughter. John sounded a soft chortle and looked up as he placed his hands on his hips. He shook his head

"Whew! This is great," John shouted and dissolved to more laughter.

"Go now," she said giggling as she opened the gate for him.

"Bye, I'll call you later," John said, but before John left, he kissed her once more, very quickly, very possessively on the mouth, and departed.

Back at the present, Diane covered her face with the pillow, feeling ashamed to face Lydia's teasing later.

Now, John's smiles reflected the excitement of that kiss as he strode to the doctor's quarters. As John changed clothes to make his rounds, a male nurse went in and notified him that an emergency needed his attention.

In the emergency room, someone brought in an unconscious girl and her body was filled with bruises. She had a 'rose with a dollar symbol' tattoo on her left shoulder. As an on-call surgeon, John was called to st.i.tch the girl's open wound.

As John stepped foot at the emergency room(ER), he saw a girl, probably eighteen or seventeen years old, lying with a swollen face and a two-inches lacerated wound at the back of her ear, which was still bleeding profusely. The nurse placed layers after layers of clean cloth to stop the bleeding. Her face was, probably, being punched or battered, he a.s.serted.

Then he saw the tattoo as he leaned down. "Miss, miss," he called. He touched her arms. No reaction.

He slightly opened her mud-covered s.h.i.+rt, still no response. Instead, multiple purple bruises reflected in his eyes, but no other open wound.

"This is a criminal case. We should hand this to the police," said John.

"But who will file the case? The companion is nowhere to be found," said the head nurse.

"He didn't leave any contact numbers or address? What's the patient's name and where did she come from?" asked John.

The nurses looked at each other.

"The man left right away after he laid her on the bed and gave me a bag full of money. There's a note inside, Doc. I didn't touch it," one of the young nurses said as she handed over a peach-colored shoulder bag.

John opened the bag and saw a piece of torn newspaper with words obviously written in a hurry using a crayon. The words were 'She is Lisa. Please save her.' Underneath were bundles of thousands of banknotes.

"You didn't inquire according to emergency protocol?" asked John to the nursing staff.