Olivia couldn’t contain her excitement as she entered her father’s sitting area and immediately started showing off her dance moves. “I’m so happy!” she screamed, dancing non-stop.
Alverdo couldn’t help but smile widely as he witnessed his daughter’s genuine happiness for the first time. He was glad to be the source of her joy, knowing he had done what any father would do for their daughter. He felt proud to have fulfilled every promise he made to his late wife Riley on her deathbed.
Olivia ran to her father and hugged him tightly, crying on his shoulder. Alverdo quickly heard her sobs and pulled away from the hug to hold her face in his hands, looking into her tear-streaked face.
“Olivia, don’t cry, my dear. You should be happy that you’re marrying the man you’ve always wanted,” he said, comforting her and pulling her into another hug as she cried harder.
“Dad, I wish Mom could be here to share this happy moment with me, but I’m glad you’re fulfilling the promise you made to her. I’m happy, Dad!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
Jesley heard her sister’s scream and got up from her bed, still soaked with tears from her betrayal. She made her way down the stairs and saw her sister and dad clinking their glasses in celebration.
“What’s happening here?” she said, announcing her presence as they were caught up in the celebration. “Daddy?” she screamed, and that was when Alverdo and Olivia turned around, noticing her for the first time.
“Oh, Jesley. Your sister’s engagement is in two months. Come celebrate with us,” Alverdo urged her to join them.
Jesley remained rooted in place, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she shifted her gaze to Olivia, who was brimming with excitement. She let out a dry chuckle and clapped her hands together, leaving her father and sister bewildered.
Finally, she scoffed loudly. “You’re thrilled to be engaged to the man you’ve always wanted, yet you cruelly destroyed my relationship by sleeping with my boyfriend,” Jesley yelled out in rage.
Olivia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Jesley’s words. “You’re acting as if I forced him to be with me. Just so you know, we’ve been having a sexual relationship for years before you even met him. Stop acting like I stole something valuable from you because he has been my sexual partner and always will be,” she shamelessly fired back at her sister.
Jesley was in disbelief at her sister’s revelation, her jaw dropping in shock as tears continued to stream down her chin. She quickly looked away to see her father calmly sipping his glass of wine without saying a word, and Jesley once again felt disappointed by her father. She was hurt that his world revolved only around Olivia, causing him to blindly overlook all of her wrongdoings.
Jesley chuckled loudly and shook her head mockingly. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon your happiness will turn sour, and then I’ll be the one celebrating,” she said, glancing at her vibrating phone. “My Amor” was boldly displayed on the screen. She quickly hung up, annoyed at why he had been calling her non-stop, despite her clear disinterest. He kept insisting they should meet up, but she wasn’t interested in any excuses he might give. Giving Olivia one last glare, she headed upstairs to her room.
Olivia childishly turns to her father, “Daddy did you hear her? She wants to ruin my engagement party.” She whined.
Alverdo slowly shook her head, “Nothing of such will happen when I’m right behind you.”
Thanks, Daddy,” Olivia giggled. “I’m going to share my latest good news online. It’s going to make waves!” She gave her dad a quick kiss and ran upstairs to call her friends.
*******
Natalie hasn’t visited her mother in the hospital for two weeks. She hopes her mother understands that she’s been working to raise money for her surgery. She’s already paid part of the cost and promised the doctor she’ll complete the payment after the surgery. She’s grateful that he agreed to this arrangement. If not, she wouldn’t have known what to do.
“Let me ask Kate to accompany me to the hospital,” she thought. She grabbed her old cell phone from her bed, which belonged to her mother, but she was using it until she could afford a new one. It was doing the job of calling and texting, so she didn’t mind. She dialed Kate’s number and held the phone to her ear. After a few rings, Kate finally answered.
“Hey, Nat. What’s up?” She mumbled sleepily.
“Are you sleeping?” Natalia asked, pushing her hair away from her face.
“My Javier is getting married in two months!” She exclaimed sadly, and Natalia could almost hear her rolling her eyes.
Natalia chuckled softly. “Crazy girl. Who is his fiancée?” she asked.
“The city whore?”
Natalia didn’t need anyone to tell her that Kate was referring to Olivia as the city whore. “Good for them. I don’t care about them.”
“I feel like dying already. Olivia wants to marry my man,” Kate kept on screaming.
“Suit yourself then,” Natalia mumbled, rolling her eyes. “Kate?” she quickly called.
“Yes?”
Natalia asked softly, “I want to go visit my mom and ask the doctor how the preparation for her surgery is going. Would you mind coming with me?”
Kate suggested, “Oh babe, I’m sorry I can’t go with you. Why not go to the hospital alone, and later in the day, I’ll come see you so we can talk about it?”
“Okay,” Natalia muttered, ending the call as she took a deep breath. “First things first, I need to go shower.” She thought to herself, relieved that she was on leave today and could spend the whole day with her Mom. A wide smile spread across her lips.
She stood up and walked into their small bathroom, quickly taking a shower with the small amount of water left. When she walked back into her room, her extremely long black hair dripped water onto the floor, with her towel tied around her body.
Standing in front of the mirror, her reflection stared back at her. Releasing a soft smile, she reached for her hair comb, only to have it slip from her hand and fall to the ground. Surprised, she ran to the kitchen for a glass of water, but the same thing happened again. As she brought the cup to her mouth, it slipped and broke into pieces, the broken glass scattering on the floor.
That familiar feeling returned. It was the same feeling she had when her father died. Natalia looked at her trembling hands and felt her blood run cold. Why was she feeling this way again?
“Has anything happened to Kate?” It took a while for it to register in her mind. “My Mother!” Natalia screamed as another wave of fear washed over her. “I hope nothing bad has happened to her.” She muttered, pulling at her hair in frustration.
She hurriedly went to her small wardrobe and grabbed one of her favorite but worn-out jeans and her oversized t-shirt, quickly putting them on. She then grabbed her shoes from the rack without even glancing at them.
She quickly grabbed her only black handbag and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Already dressed, she hurried towards the door, but the pain in her leg stopped her in her tracks. Looking down, she was horrified to see that she was wearing two different shoes, facing in different directions.
“Damn it! Why today of all days?” she exclaimed as she ran back to switch out the shoes. With the correct shoes on, she rushed outside and hopped into a cab, which took her straight to the hospital.
After a two-hour drive, they finally arrived at the hospital. She stepped out of the car, and the cab driver followed to collect his payment. She nervously scratched her head as she realized she didn’t have any cash in her handbag. Glancing at the driver, she cleared her throat before speaking, “Um, the thing is that I’m not with any cash right now. Would you please come back to the exact spot you picked me up tomorrow to take your money?” She asked nervously.
He lustfully licked his lips, causing her to grimace and take a step back. “You know, I could just wait for you here. Once you’re finished, I’ll drive you to my place. That way, you can settle your fee in my bed,” he said foolishly, maintaining the smirk on his unattractive face, which revealed his stained brown teeth.
“W-what are you implying?” she stammered.
“Oh, come on. Don’t pretend you don’t understand. I desire you–”
She clenched her fist in anger and delivered a powerful blow to his mouth. “Urgh…” He let out a pained groan as blood poured from his split lips. “How dare you, bitch?” He shouted angrily, trying to move closer but her fierce glare stopped him in his tracks. “I will find you one day and you will regret it,” he threatened, spitting out blood. He gave her one final look before getting into his car and driving away.
Natalia watched until the car was out of sight, then breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn’t the first time she had experienced public harassment from men like this. She had lost count of the incidents, but she always made sure they didn’t get away without consequences. They either left with broken lips or her fingerprints on their face.
She took a deep breath to calm herself before turning to face the large black gate of the hospital. As she walked inside, she felt happy to see her mother and noticed many people waiting for the doctor or other reasons. With a smile on her face, she walked over to her nurse friend, waving at the others.
“Hey, Mira,” Natalia greeted as she approached her.
“What’s up, Nat? I haven’t seen you here in a while. I hope everything is okay,” Mira replied, continuing to write something down on the paper in front of her.
“I’m off today, so I decided to come see her,” Natalia said, chuckling.
“I tried calling you, but your phone wasn’t going through. Why?” She asked, whispering and glancing around. Natalia wondered why.
“Yeah, sorry about that. My phone had a flat battery for three days, so it wasn’t working,” Natalia explained.
She continued to glance around nervously, as if she didn’t want to be caught doing something wrong, before whispering, “I was actually calling to update you about your mother–”
“Mira! The doctor needs you in the office now,” a nurse yelled at her, glaring at Natalia and not caring about the people staring at them.
Sonia had never liked Natalia, ever since she brought her mom to the hospital. Natalia couldn’t blame her, Who wouldn’t? After receiving a beating from Kate for insulting Natalia.
Accusing her of having an affair with the doctor, Sonia was bitter that he agreed to start the surgery with only half of Natalia’s payment. This led her to spread rumors about Natalia around the hospital.
Kate didn’t tolerate this and ended up fighting Sonia, leaving her bruised and battered. The way Sonia always glared at Natalia made her question how she even became a nurse, as someone like her didn’t deserve to be in that profession.
Natalia doesn’t know what she did wrong, but she doesn’t care as long as she doesn’t cross her line again.
Natalia hurried past the nurse’s station, eager to see her mother in the hospital ward. However, when she entered the room, she was shocked to find her mother’s machines disconnected and her skin cold to the touch. Natalia was overcome with fear and confusion, unable to speak or even cry out. She held her mother’s cold hands, hoping that her worst fears were not coming true.