With difficulty resisting, in the end, Veronica lost, and reluctantly followed her father to quickly enter the hospital. After briefly discussing with the attending doctor in the ER, Damian and Veronica were finally informed that Cristina had received treatment and had even been moved to a VIP nursing room ten minutes ago.
“What actually happened to my wife, doctor?” asked Damian with a serious expression. He was naturally shocked to suddenly receive news that his wife had become unconscious.
“From the examination results, it can be seen that the arteries supplying blood to the heart have become hardened and narrowed. This condition is usually triggered by the accumulation of cholesterol and blood clots in the arteries. That’s why it can be concluded that Mrs. Cristina is suffering from coronary heart disease,” the doctor explained.
Damian was once again taken aback. After he himself had been diagnosed with heart disease, now his wife was facing the same fate.
“So, what should I do, doctor? Does she need further treatment? Surgery, for example?”
The doctor nodded. This time, his face also turned serious before he provided further explanation.
“We will perform a diagnosis first. After that, we will consider methods like EKG (electrocardiography) or heart catheterization to determine the treatment steps to be taken afterward.”
“If we take a closer look, is my wife’s condition very serious, doctor? What’s the prognosis if she undergoes intensive treatment?” Damian asked, curious. Of course, he wanted to do the best for his wife.
“I can’t provide a more detailed prognosis at the moment, Sir. After conducting the examinations, I will explain the next steps. What’s certain is that the illness Mrs. Cristina is experiencing needs to be promptly addressed. As we know, coronary heart disease is a dangerous condition that should be watched out for. Besides being able to cause a heart attack, it can lead to serious complications such as chest pain or angina.”
After discussing his wife’s illness at length, Damian concluded the conversation and then invited Veronica to enter his wife’s care room.
Once inside, Damian could see his wife lying weakly with an intravenous drip and an oxygen tube attached to her body.
Feeling sad, Damian approached. Slowly, he lowered himself to be able to hug Cristina, who had her eyes closed.
“Darling…” Cristina whispered softly, opening her eyes and finding her husband holding her tightly.
“Shh…” Damian hushed her. “No need for a lot of talk. Just rest. Veronica and I rushed here when we heard that you suddenly lost consciousness and were taken to the hospital.”
“I’m okay,” Cristina replied with a smile.
Damian then reached for Cristina’s wrist and tenderly kissed the back of her hand with affection.
Honestly, he used to love Veronica’s mother deeply. He even spent three years mourning her fate and praying to God to let him die soon so he could reunite with his wife in heaven.
However, instead of granting his wish to join his late wife, God brought Cristina into his life-a widowed baker and cake shop owner.
Feeling that they were a perfect match and drawn to Cristina’s simplicity, he eventually decided to marry her.
Veronica, who was in college at the time, strongly opposed the relationship. She even despised Damian, believing he had forgotten her mother too easily for another woman.
Veronica chose to leave home and did not even show up at Damian’s wedding. They had a cold war for a year and a half before finally reconciling. But Veronica still couldn’t accept Cristina in her life. Somehow, she felt that Cristina had malicious intentions toward her father.
“Whatever happens, you will definitely recover, my love,” Damian said softly. “If the treatment and care here aren’t optimal, I’ll take you abroad. The important thing is for your condition to improve as it used to be,” he added, which irritated Veronica. She continued to grumble in her heart, wondering why her father was bothering to make her meet Cristina. She had no intention of accepting her stepmother’s presence anytime soon.
“Ve…” Damian suddenly called. “Come here, dear,” he instructed while waving his hand.
With a heavy sigh, Veronica reluctantly agreed and approached, standing next to her father.
“You keep Mama Cristina company for a while. I’m going to call Adrian to cancel all my appointments for today and tomorrow.”
Veronica shook her head. She had already voiced her desire to refuse.
“But, Dad-”
Damian paid no attention and raised one of his free hands to signal that Veronica didn’t need to argue with his request.
Once her father was gone, Veronica chose to stand and look out the window. Meanwhile, Cristina, lying on the bed, initiated a conversation.
“How are you, Veronica?” she asked softly, though it sounded like small talk. In truth, she didn’t know much about her stepdaughter’s condition because Veronica had built a high wall between them. “Is Andromeda not here? I was delighted when your dad brought him over the other day. Turns out he really likes the birthday cake I made.”
Veronica immediately turned to look at Cristina, her gaze intense and challenging.
“Aunt… you don’t have to make an effort to be nice in front of me. You don’t need to try so hard to win me over by doing useless things. However you look at it, I’ll never change my decision to never consider you a part of the Wijaya family.”
Hearing Veronica’s cutting words, Cristina simply smiled. She wasn’t offended in the least by her stepdaughter’s words.
“Mama never minded whether you accepted or not the kindness that Mama showed. What’s certain is that Mama has always loved you sincerely, Ve. All the negative thoughts you accuse me of are not true. But if you don’t want to believe it, Mama won’t force you. Mama only prays that before Mama leaves this world, we can have a better relationship.”
Veronica seemed angry. She wanted to respond, but her intention was interrupted when her father re-entered the room. Without much thought, Veronica left, abruptly exiting the room before she became more disgusted and emotional.
***
Darwin could sense that something was amiss with Veronica ever since he came home and was now lying on the bed. If he could guess, he was sure something had happened to his wife.
“What’s wrong, my love?” Darwin asked curiously as he hugged Veronica who was lying down.
“I’m just not in the mood.”
“Not in the mood for what? Is it because of work at the office? You’ve only been back for a day,” he teased.
“It’s not about work, Win.”
“Then what is it? Just tell me. There’s no need to keep it to yourself; it’ll only make you feel worse.”
Veronica raised her head and looked at Darwin intently. Believing her husband could respond to her problem wisely, she slowly began to tell him what had happened.
“Mama Cristina was admitted to the hospital this afternoon due to a heart attack,” Veronica’s story startled Darwin.
“What? Mama Cristina is in the hospital? Why didn’t you tell me? How is she? I haven’t visited her yet.”
“It’s not important. There’s no need to visit and all.”
“But she’s still your Mama-”
“My stepmother,” Veronica quickly corrected.
“She’s still considered your parent, Ve. Besides, why do you hate her so much? I honestly think Mama Cristina is fine and she seems very caring.”
Veronica smiled bitterly. She was really not interested in hearing her husband praise her stepmother.
“Fine? How can she be fine? If she’s fine, she wouldn’t be flirting with Papa.”
“Flirting with Papa?” Darwin furrowed his brow in confusion. “But your dad married Mama Cristina years after your mom passed away.”
“Yeah, I don’t like Papa doing that with Mama. Mama made Papa her last love. But what about Papa? He was tempted to marry another woman!”
Darwin smiled understandingly. He understood what Veronica was feeling right now.
“Who knows, maybe before she passed away, your mom already told Papa Damian to find a replacement for her. I mean, if I’m not here anymore, I’d be okay with you marrying someone else. The important thing is that he can make you happy.”
Veronica stared in disbelief. Her husband was speaking so casually without thinking it through.
“You’re outrageous! I love you, you know. Yet you’re suggesting I marry someone else.”
“Why not? Besides, we can’t generalize everyone’s personalities, dear. Some people are loyal until death, while others need a companion to take care of them in their old age. Some can’t live alone for long. Just look at which category Papa Damian falls into. As long as he’s not marrying someone else’s wife, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Darwin explained at length.
“But still, Win. I can’t accept it.”
“Come on, Veronica. Don’t be selfish. You’re already an adult. You even have a child now. Your focus can’t be 100% on Papa, especially now that Andromeda is here. So, let your dad find happiness with someone he loves. After all, you’re not losing anything in this.”
Veronica fell silent as she listened to Darwin’s lecture. She found herself contemplating whether she should forgive Cristina and accept her presence.