“You can’t get off the bed, Ma’am. You are not in good condition so please rest in the bed.”
“No, I’m fine. I want to check on my daughter, please, or I can’t stop worrying.”
That was what Clara saw when she walked into the ward where Helena was arguing with a nurse. She knew, though, the daughter that Helena was talking about must be Laura rather than her.
The nurse was relieved at the sight of Clara. “You must be her family. Please persuade her to stay in bed. The patient was still having a infusion.”
While Helena was still mad at Clara so she didn’t say anything to Clara and tilted her head away, which hurt Clara a bit, but she soon contained her emotions.
“Thank you, nurse. I’ll make sure she finishes the infusion.” Walking to the bed, Clara said apologetically.
“Sure. You can ring the bell when it’s over and I’ll come right back.” After saying this, the nurse left.
Sighing in her heart, Clara sat near the bed and said, “Don’t worry, Laura is fine and she is resting in her ward. You can visit her once you finish the infusion.”
“Oh, is she? Did she wake up? How bad is the wound on her head?” Helena forgot about her anger toward Clara once she heard about Laura but threw a bundle of questions at Clara instead; she was so afraid that something happened to Laura.
“I can assure you that she is fine. She has been awake, no after effects. Don’t worry.” Fighting against impatience, Clara answered as calmly as she could and meanwhile recalled how Laura had a fight with her. Laura didn’t seem to be ill by then.
Helena breathed a sigh of relief. Putting her palms together devoutly, she closed her eyes and mumbled, “Thank God, thank God…”
Opening her eyes, Helena felt regret for how she treated Clara. She knew it was Laura’s fault but she was out of her mind when Laura was hurt, so she said something terrible to Clara. Holding Clara’s hand and rubbing it gently, Helena started, “Clara, you know I don’t mean what I said, right? I was just too worried.”
Avoiding eye contact, Clara said with a low voice, “It’s fine.” Helena had raised her up so she didn’t think she hold the right to blame Helena.
“Clara, I believed Laura didn’t mean to hurt you, either. She is a good kid, and I’ll teach her to be, so can you forgive her?” Squeezing Clara’s hand, Helena asked earnestly.
However, what Helena said only hurt Clara. She took back her hand and refused, “This is not the first time. She will never learn. If I forgive her this time, I’m afraid it will be worse the next time.”
“No!” Helena exclaimed. “I’ll watch over her and I promise it won’t happen again. Please forgive her, Clara. I’m begging you.”
It was painful for Clara to look into Helena’s imploring eyes, but she simply couldn’t forgive Laura. So, she changed the topic, “You should have some rest. We can talk about this later. I’ll get some hot water so you can wash your face, okay?” Then, Clara stood up and was about to fetch some water but found she was pulled back by Helena. When she turned back, she was shocked to find Helena pulled out the needles, and knelt before her.
“Clara, forgive Laura, please. I’ll apologize to you for what she did.”
“What are you doing. You can’t pull out the needles just like this! Just get up!” Clara stooped down hastily to help Helena up, embarrassment written on her face. It was the second time that Helena, an elder, knelt down to beg her because of Laura. She could feel the rage deep in her heart.
But Helena refused to get up. “I won’t get up until you forgive Laura. I know you are a kind person, Clara. Just do me a favor, okay? Laura has suffered too much and you are still in one piece anyway, so can’t you just let it go?”
Clara thought unhappily, “So now she is saying that this is my fault?” She couldn’t help but retort, “Laura tried to set me up several times and I’ll never forgive her.”
Helena went frantic at Clara’s words. “Well, you are safe and sound and Horace has gone back to you. You have a merry life. But what about Laura? She has nothing and she is now lying on the bed. Why can’t you forgive her?”
“A merry life? You don’t even care if I’m happy or not all these years!” Helena’s tone sent Clara mad but hurt at the same time. If Helena really cared about her, Helena wouldn’t ignore the pain that she had been through.
Tears in her eyes, Clara couldn’t hold back the sorrow and anger anymore. “The only one you care about is Laura. What about me? Do you ever know about my pains?”
Helena lost her words for a while, but continued, “Laura lost everything, but you still have Horace and the Hutchinson family, who will take care of you. But Laura she is alone and she…”
Clara interrupted her fiercely, “Why don’t you mention Laura has grown up like a princess while I’m condemned as an illegitimate daughter.”
Clara totally broke down as she exclaimed. All the accumulated pains and sufferings erupted at this moment. “I save you and I take care of you only because you raised me up. But have you ever thought of me? No! You only love Laura because she is your daughter and I’m not since you never take me in!”
She hadn’t met her biological parents because of Helena. But she had never thought of blaming but took Helena as her real mother who deserved all her love and respect. But it turned out Helena only loved Laura and she was nothing to Helena.
“No, it’s nothing like that, Clara. I’m just worried about Laura but you are my daughter too, and I…” Helena tried to explain but didn’t feel justified.
“I think we should stop seeing each other again. I have taken care of you ever since you were sick, so I guess I don’t owe you anything.” Though Clara had said it to herself many times deep in her heart, this was the first time she said it out loud. Wiping off her tears, Clara left the ward.
Helena was driven into despair as she saw Clara walking away without hesitation. She cried, “Clara, don’t leave. You are also my daughter! I… It’s only because Laura broke her legs so I can’t help but worry her a bit more.”
Clara stopped at Helena’s words, a bitter smile on her face. Helena didn’t show partiality to her even when Laura was safe and sound. Their kinship between them had gone bad a long time ago and there was no way that they could be mother and daughter again.
“Tell Laura, don’t try to run, or she’ll know the consequences.” With these words left, Clara forced herself to ignore Helena’s crying and walked out of the ward.