Two days later
Sitting on the edge of her bed and lost in thoughts, Ariel stares into space as tears stream down the corner of her cheek. She just got discharged from the hospital a couple of hours ago, and she needs to rest as per the doctor’s order. The doctor said that she needs to rest more and stress less since she’s pregnant. Max and Alicia went to work earlier today, and she’s the only one at home with the maid.
The sound of the knock on her door pulls her attention, and she glances at the door, wondering who could be there. The last time she remember, she wasn’t expecting anybody. The only person that’ll knock on her door is Max, and since he’s not around, she can’t help but wonder who that would be.
“Who’s that?” Nervous, she springs up to her feet and asks.
“It’s me, Leila,” The maid’s voice sounds from outside, and she sighs briefly before she drags her feet to the door and pulls it open, revealing their maid.
“Hi, Leila. Do you need anything?” She asks as soon as she opens the door.
“No. Someone is here to see you,” Hearing this from Leila, she can’t help but squints her eyes in confusion as she tries to understand her. The last time she checks, no one has ever come to find her here, and she didn’t remember giving the house description to anyone, so who could that be?
“Who is it?” She finally asks after a few seconds of silence, and Leila just shrugs.
“I have no idea,” And with that, she turns and walks away.
Ariel stares at her until she’s out of sight, while still trying to recall if she was expecting someone. Suddenly, the thought of Alex flashes through her mind, but she quickly dismisses it. Although she hasn’t called him to thank him for taking her to the hospital earlier, but he wouldn’t be so petty to the point of stalking her, right? And besides, not that he knows that she’s living with his brother.
Pushing all the thoughts and questions to the back of her mind, she finally steps out of her room and strides down the hallway with many questions running through her mind. Descending the staircase a few minutes later, she ambles to the door and takes a deep breath before she finally pulls it open, and behold, it’s her worst nightmare. Standing in front of her is the woman that had done nothing but hated her so much. Her mom.
Her mouth drops open as she stares at her, tears well up in her eyes as she slowly clenches her fists. Her heart wrenches in pain.
“What are you doing here?” With anger resounding in her voice, she questions the woman who doesn’t even look like she gives a damn about the look on her daughter’s face. She’s here for something else, and not to watch her pathetic cries and sadness.
“That’s not the best way to greet your mom, is it? Where are your manners?” She squints her eyes, hearing this from her. How could she still have the guts to show her face to her? How come she doesn’t feel guilty for what she did?
“I ask again, why are you here?” Ignoring her scolding, she asks her instead as her tears finally drop down the corner of her cheek. She wanted to fight it back, she didn’t want to let her see her sad, she didn’t want this woman to see how sad she is, and how much she has missed her, but she can’t help it. Seeing her standing in front of her, she so much want to hug her and tell her how much she has missed her, but will she not get disappointed by her action later?
“I heard you’re pregnant…” The woman rolls her eyes after she stares at her stomach for a few seconds, raising her gaze to look at her afterward.
“Why, mom? What happened to you? You used to love me, what changed?” She finally asks the question she has been dying to ask all this while but seeing the expression on her face, more tears stream down her cheeks. What hurts is not the fact that this same woman and her husband sold her for money, but the fact that she doesn’t even care. The fact that she doesn’t feel remorseful for her actions hurts like hell.
“Why did you sell me?” She further asks.
“I’m not here to watch you cry, Ariel. Do you know how many months you have been away and you didn’t even bother to know how I and my husband have been feeding since then?” She watches as the woman she calls her mom, snaps at her as if they’re not even related by blood. For some seconds, she can’t help but give it a second thought if she’s really her mom. Because why would she treat her this badly if she’s her biological mom? But traveling down memory lane and recalling how this woman used to love her and sacrifice so much for her, she can’t help but ask herself what went wrong. Why the sudden change?
“Why should I care? Why should I give a damn about how you and your husband are faring? How about the money you were paid? The money that was given to your husband in exchange for me, have you two finished it already? Wait! Don’t tell me your husband lavished the money on other women and finished it,” The corner of her lips slowly twitches into a smirk as she emphasizes her last word. Her heart hurts deeply.
“Enough!” Her mom sneers at her, and she only scoffs as she wipes off the tears from her eyes.
“Am I saying the truth? Is this how much you hate me? Selling off your daughter because of money, and you still dare to show your face to me, aren’t you a shameless pathetic loser?” A hot slap follows her last statement, and she staggers back as she holds her cheek. This woman just snatched away the last drop of respect that she has for her, and now she has completely lost it. She’s not going to hold back again, never!
“Is that enough? Go ahead and slap me again. Beat me all you want. Just go ahead and do it already. It’s money you want, right? I’ll bring you money. Plenty of it, but don’t you dare show your face to me again, because you disgust me!” She yells at the top of her voice as she removes money from her purse and flings it on her face. The woman stares at her with a shocked expression on her face.
“That’s the money you want. That was the reason you sold me, isn’t it? Here’s my card… Even if you no longer love me now, there was a time you used to care so much about me, at least that was before you got married to that monster. And for the sake of that, I’ll take responsibility for your feeding. Don’t ever show your face to me again. If you need anything, you can send me a message, and I’ll try to respond,” Glaring at her one last time, she finally turns around and walks back into the house, slamming the door hard behind her. She crashes against the door and burst into tears as soon as she steps into the living room…