Chapter 12 12

Chapter 12 12
THIRD PERSON POV

Before Lily could ask them further questions, the call ended. This got her even more worried, and she immediately hailed a cab that drove her off to the hospital. 

Getting to the hospital, she hurried to her father’s ward, but she met a nurse who just walked out. Lily wanted to rush in, but the nurse stopped her.

“No, miss. You can’t go in now.” She said to her calmly.

“What do you mean by that? I got a call saying I need to come over.”

“Yes. Your father suddenly went in shock. It was quite unexpected, but he is being attended to right now. Once the situation has been taken care of, you’ll be called in.” She informed her.

Lily almost felt like her world was crumbling down.

“Is he okay? Please tell me he is okay.” Lily uttered, her lower trembling.

“Miss, you need to calm down. He is going to be okay.” She urged her.

Lily tried her best to stay calm, standing outside the ward, her hands shaking slightly as she waited. The nurse had already walked away, leaving her alone in the quiet hallway. The smell of medicine and antiseptic filled the air again, reminding her of the many times she had been here before.

Her heart was beating fast.

She kept pacing back and forth in front of the door, unable to stay still. Every few seconds, her eyes moved to the closed ward door as if expecting someone to walk out. 

“Please be okay, Dad,” she prayed silently.

Her father had been in a coma for months now. Even though the doctors had told her that his condition was stable, moments like this always terrified her.

“What if something worse had happened?  What if this time he didn’t make it?” Those were the thoughts in her head.

“No… no…” she whispered, shaking her head quickly as if trying to push the thought away.

A few minutes later, the door finally opened.

A doctor stepped out with another nurse beside him, and Lily immediately rushed towards them.

“Doctor!” she called anxiously. “How is my father? Is he okay?”

The doctor looked at her calmly.
“Yes, he is fine now,” he said. “Just like the nurse told you earlier. He suddenly went into shock, but we managed to stabilize him.”

Lily felt her knees weaken with relief.

“Thank God” she breathed.

“But,” the doctor continued gently, “you need to make sure some additional medical bills are covered.”

Lily blinked, her relief slowly fading.

“Bills?” she repeated.

“Yes,” he said. “Due to the emergency treatment and medications which he received today. Please go to the receptionist. They will give you the full details.”

Lily nodded slowly. “Okay… thank you, doctor.”

The doctor then gave her a small reassuring smile before walking away.

Lily stood there for a moment before forcing herself to move towards the reception desk. Getting there, the receptionist handed her a printed document after checking her father’s file.

“These are the updated bills,” the woman said.
Lily took the paper and looked down at it. Her eyes widened.

The numbers stared back at her like a cruel joke as she discovered that the amount was extremely high. It was higher than what she had expected.

Her chest tightened.

“How… how is it this much?” she asked softly.

“The emergency treatment required additional equipment and medication,” the receptionist explained calmly.

Lily nodded slowly, though her mind felt blank.

“I see.”

She folded the paper carefully and walked away from the desk. Her steps felt heavy as she returned to her father’s ward. When she entered the room, everything was quiet again. Her father laid on the hospital bed just like before, unmoving. The machines beside him beeped softly.

He looked so peaceful, yet so far away from her. Lily walked slowly to the side of the bed and sat down.

“Dad…” she whispered.

Her voice broke immediately, and tears filled her eyes as she looked at his pale face.
“I thought… I thought I was going to lose you today,” she said softly.

Her fingers gently held his hand.

“But you’re still here, so please don’t leave me, okay?” She said as her voice trembled.

The weight of everything happening to her, suddenly became too much for her. It all came crashing down at once. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she lowered her head beside the bed.

After crying for a few minutes, she grabbed her phone and dialed Claire’s number which she answered almost immediately.

“Hey, Lily! What’s up?”

But the moment Claire heard her crying, her tone changed.

“Lily? What happened?”

“My dad…” Lily sobbed. “Something happened earlier today at the hospital.”

“What? Is he okay?”

“Yes. He’s stable now,” Lily said, wiping her tears. “But the bills… Claire, the bills are so expensive.”

She explained everything between soft sobs, and Claire stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“Don’t cry, okay?” she said gently. “We’ll figure something out.”

Lily shook her head even though Claire couldn’t see her.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“I can help you with some money,” Claire said quickly. “I don’t have much, but I’ll send you what I can.”

Lily felt touched by the offer. She really wanted to decline it so bad, but she didn’t feel like she had a choice.

“Thank you, Claire.” She appreciated her.

“Don’t mention it. We’re friends.”

After a while, Lily checked the amount Claire could send. Even with Claire’s help, it was still far from enough.

Her heart sank again, then she leaned back in the chair, staring at the floor.

There was only one other place she could turn to, and that was Kyrian’s family, especially his aunt.
Whenever things got too difficult, she had helped Lily with some financial support, and other things since she was married to Kyrian. Lily didn’t like asking for help, but right now she didn’t have a choice.

She stood up slowly and looked at her father one more time.

“I’ll figure this out, Dad,” she whispered.

Then she grabbed her bag and walked out of the ward. As she walked through the hospital corridor, her mind kept racing with thoughts.

Kyrian must have informed the finance team to remove her father's hospital bills from their list of responsibilities the moment he decided to divorce her. 

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of a way out. Even though she had just gotten a new job, she would not raise that amount on the bills in two months of working her ass out. 

Grandmother Brandon was the only way out. But the old lady would wonder why the bills weren't added to the Brandon family bills as usual. 

How was she to ask grandmother for the money without informing her of their intended divorce?