The phone got through. Nelissa wrestled down the shame and guilt she felt as she slowed down her breathing.
"Zayden, I want to see my mother."
Zayden was expecting to talk to her about this. After seeing Nelissa with Edward the night before, he had a lot of things to say to Nelissa.
"Alright, go to the hospital now. I'll be waiting for you."
One hour later at St. Richard Health Center, Nelissa stood in the elevator patiently. Edward's grandfather was also admitted in this hospital and on the same floor too.
It wasn't intentional; St. Richard was publicly known as the best medical center in Haleston City. It was the first choice for most wealthy people in the city.
Ding. The elevator stopped.
The doors opened as Nelissa took a step out. She glanced at Mikaelson's room and there were bodyguards outside the room. He was obviously of a different league from everyone else here.
She didn't linger on any further. She went further down the corridor until she reached the last room.
It had been so long since she last met her mother, Mary. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
It was locked.
That was odd. Nelissa twisted the door knob harder and pushed against the door.
Click! The door suddenly flung open.
Nelissa wasn't braced for it. She almost fell forward and she sprained her wrist.
"Here you are."
It was Susan. She seemed indifferent yet still elegant. There was something menacing hidden deep beneath that fair exterior.
Nelissa wasn't surprised at the least. She knew that Susan was blocking the door earlier.
"Where's Zayden?" asked Nelissa as she strolled into the room and placed her handbag on the couch.
"He's not here," Susan said as she closed the door.
It had been five years. Mary had been in a coma for five years.
When Nelissa saw her in bed, she teared up. Mary lost a lot of weight but she seemed well. Her hair had been dyed white with age and wrinkles formed all over her skin.
Mary had aged so much over the last five years. Nelissa was overridden with guilt.
Back then, the doctor told Nelissa that she would need to be ready for the fact that Mary might never wake up. After that, she plunged deep into depression. To add salt into her wounds, Zayden's betrayal caused her to spiral more into despair.
At one point, she even wanted to commit suicide.
Susan approached her and whispered, "What are you trying to do? Can't you just stay away? You have nothing to do with Zayden and the Quest family anymore."
Nelissa didn't respond. She only wanted to see Mary.
Susan shrugged at Nelissa's silence. She went to the other side on the bed and sat down.
"I heard that you had two kids, right? You don't even know who the father is. Life must be tough, right?"
Susan ambled towards her and said in a seemingly genuine tone. But Nelissa knew that she was just being cynical.
"I assume your reason for coming back this time is to steal away everything I have and marry Zayden, right?"
Nelissa glared at Susan. She hated Susan and she wasn't afraid to show it.
"Everything you have right now belongs to me. You're just my doppelganger. Stop being so full of yourself." Nelissa scorned.
And that was the truth. Susan was Nelissa's godsister at best.
When Nelissa was fifteen, she was "kidnapped" by Sean for three days. Since then, she was traumatized and fearful of men.
Mary wanted to protect her and hence adopted Susan to be Nelissa's doppelganger. Susan's task was to attend public events in Nelissa's place.
Because of that, people slowly began to forget the true heiress to the Quest group over time.
Susan smiled; it was as fake as it could be. She suddenly grabbed Mary's arms.
Mary's arms began to bleed but there was no response from the unconscious patient.
"What are you doing?!" Nelissa dashed forward to grab Susan's hand.
Susan didn't let go. "She doesn't feel anything anyway. It doesn't hurt her. Besides, she might even wake up sooner."
"Get away from her!" Nelissa pushed Susan away. She hated people like Susan; the face of an angel but the heart of the devil.
Susan fell towards the chair and hit her cheek on the arm rest. Even so, she managed to stumble down gracefully like the gentle sway of a single feather.
The door suddenly opened. Zayden had just come back. He was holding the receipt for the medical bill when he saw Susan on the floor.
"Zayden, it hurts…" Susan whimpered softly.
She gently rubbed the trace of blood of her lips. She tried to brush the dirt off her dress but pretended to be in pain.
Zayden immediately helped up Susan and looked at Nelissa with disgust. "Nelissa, you've changed."
His voice was tinged with disappointment.
Nelissa was at a loss for words. She tried to defend herself, "She was hurting my mum, I was just trying to…"
"Do you know who took care of your mother when you weren't here?" Zayden interrupted.
Nelissa didn't say anything more. She knew that Zayden had moved on and anything she said at that point could never redeem her in his eyes.
Nelissa's heart ached. She felt like her heart was stabbed repeatedly by countless knives all at the same time. However, she didn't cry. She had grown and matured enough to control her emotions.
If it was Nelissa from five years ago, the tears would have come gushing down like a waterfall.
"Susan, go out for a while," Zayden pondered for a while and said.
"I don't want to!" Susan refused. Her eyes were still teary from before.
"Out, now!" Zayden was in no mood to negotiate with her.
Nelissa felt appalled at the sight of them and sought refuge in the bathroom. When she came out, Susan was nowhere to be seen.
Zayden sauntered towards her and grabbed her wrist firmly.
Nelissa inhaled sharply. It was the wrist that was injured from before when she tried to force the door open. She bit her lips slightly and muscled through the pain.
She wanted to scream out in pain but when she peered at Zayden, her gaze was met with cold negligence. The gentle care that Zayden once had for her was replaced with a cruel and indifferent attitude.
"Why did you get yourself entangled with Edward? Do I need to remind you that you have signed a contract and you belong to me now?" Zayden began to reprimand Nelissa.
"I would bear all of the expenses of your mother's medical bill but you are my property. I was lenient towards you back then but you had the audacity to fool around with other men under my nose? Do you really think I can turn a blind eye to that?"
Zayden wasn't merciful with his words. He also regretted not taking Nelissa's body as his own!
Back then, Nelissa was eighteen and not of legal age but she was now!
He then said, "Nelly, let's get married. I can ignore everything you have done for the past five years. But, you have to submit to me from now on!"
Nelissa sneered coldly. That couldn't happen.
She had once thought that she would submit to the authority of men but time and time again, her heart was trampled by Zayden. She felt like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
"Zayden, take a good look at me. I have become the woman that you despise the most. I am now a materialistic woman with two kids which I don't even know who the father is."
Nelissa's blood at this moment was boiling with fury. "I'm not who I used to be. Why would you ever degrade yourself and marry me?"
"I'll change you back to the Nelly I know." Zayden was confident. He could provide for Nelissa and he knew it.
"The thing is, I rather be a materialistic woman than marry you." Nelissa raised her chin and stared right at Zayden.
She was right. If she married him, she would only be signing up for a lifetime of unloyalty and emotional destitute. There were too many unresolved feelings between them and she couldn't possibly ignore them.
Nelissa's heart and affection was completely soiled ever since his betrayal. She could never look at Zayden the same way again.
"You better rethink your decisions! I'm trying to help you here!" Zayden flung away Nelissa's wrist and threw the stack of bills at her face. He had the money and power now, why not rub it into Nelissa's face?
"This is your mother's medical bill for the month. I'll give you three days to think about it!"
Zayden placed his hands on his hips and pointed at Nelissa's face. "You better make the right decision or I will stop paying for your mother!"
Nelissa stood there as the papers flew in her face and all over the room.
Zayden grabbed Nelissa's chin and pulled her close. She stood on her toes but she was struggling not to fall. Zayden obviously didn't care.
"Nelly, don't be so stubborn. You are weak and you need me. I cared for you before and if you obediently come back to me, I will do the same too. I advise you to cling unto whatever remnants of feelings I have for you before it's too late."
Zayden buttoned up his suit, regained his composure and left the room.
Nelissa sat down exhausted. Her eyes were dry as she took a deep breath.
She dug her face into the bed and held Mary's hand. Tears began to flow as she started to breathe heavily. Her eyes began to cloud and she seemed to lose consciousness from the overwhelming pressure.
She was at the mercy of money. She was just like many other 23-year-old women, she didn't have millions of dollars lying around in the bank somewhere.
Her lips started to bleed and she came to her senses. She went to the bathroom to clean herself up.
She looked at the bills and went through the numbers with the calculator on her phone.
Fifty-five thousand dollars… where would she find fifty-five thousand dollars in three days?
She wasn't close with her cousins and relatives. They probably wouldn't lend her a single penny even if she begged them on her knees. Jolene wasn't rich too and she couldn't help much.
Nelissa sighed. She stood by her mother's side until night fell and left.
She was like the walking dead. She wandered aimlessly while her entire mind was revolving around money. She knew that once Zayden stopped paying the bills, this hospital would immediately cut off the life support for Mary.
There was only one person who could come up with that money in such a short time…
Edward was making his way into the hospital to visit Mikaelson when he suddenly froze. He caught a glimpse of a very familiar figure sitting under the streetlight on a bench nearby.
"Go up first," Edward said to Andrew and strode towards Nelissa.
"Are you waiting for me or Zayden?"
Nelissa was taken by surprise. That voice was so deep and magnetic.
She looked up and there he was. Edward stood there with his hands tucked into his pockets with a slight smile on his face.
For a brief moment, Nelissa seemed to see hope in the form of a knight clad in shining armor coming towards her.
He was here for her rescue, wasn't he?