Chapter 49 Between Life and Death
“My name is Joan,” I replied.
“Oh, nice name,” she muttered and smiled.
“I see you are an acquaintance of Alex, right?” she asked.
What does she mean by that? Did Alex tell her we are acquaintances?
But before I could reply, my phone beeped. I checked my phone and it was a message from Lena.
“We are at Houston Methodist Hospital. Theo has a stomachache.”
“What! Geez!” I whispered under my breath.
I didn’t even remember I was talking to someone at that moment. In a panic, I dashed to my car and zoomed off.
CASSANDRA'S POV
“How disrespectful!” I muttered to myself and hissed as I walked into the pastry shop.
When I saw that woman yesterday, I knew she was the ex-girlfriend who refused to move on Mrs. Hart talked about.
For a moment, I stood there and watched as she forced herself into her outdated car.
She looked simple.
She was pretty. That was undeniable, but she wasn’t extraordinary.
She didn’t even look like someone who would be a threat to me.
I remembered Mrs. Hart’s words.
“She’s stubborn. But don’t worry, I have put her in her place. Alex has no choice but to marry you.”
My lips curled slowly into a smirk and I walked into the pastry shop, my heels clicking against the floor.
“When I’m ready to start with Alex, he wouldn't even remember he knew someone like her,” I scoffed.
JOAN COLE’S POV
When I arrived at the hospital, I saw Lena sitting in the corridor with her head buried in her palms.
I hurried towards her and slid down beside her.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You are here,” she said, her face expressionless and her voice already tired.
“Joan… It’s serious. I just didn’t want to scare you over the phone,” she said, her voice breaking slightly.
“What happened?” I asked again, my heart already beating fast.
“He was fine this morning… he was completely fine,” she burst into tears.
“Talk to me, Lena. What’s happening? Where is he now?” I asked, my palms already getting sweaty.
“Suddenly… he started whimpering and holding his stomach,” she continued.
“I’ve… I've never seen Theo like that, Joan.”
I didn’t say anything, I just listened attentively, tapping my feet slowly on the ground.
“He said it was burning… that it was hurting him badly. But before I could understand what he was saying…” she paused, her lips trembling.
“Lena, talk! What happened after? Where is my brother?” I raised my voice, already losing my patience.
“… he started coughing blood.”
“Blood?” I screamed unknowingly and covered my mouth almost immediately.
My head started spinning and the ticking of the wall clock started getting too loud for me.
“I called a cab immediately and rushed him here. They took him straight into the ICU when we arrived,” she added.
“God, please, even if this is the last thing you will do for me, don’t let anything happen to my brother,” I muttered under my breath.
A few minutes later, the ICU door opened and a doctor walked out, looking around the corridor.
“Family of Theo Cole?” he asked, facing us.
“That’s us,” we both said in unison and stood up immediately.
“Please come to my office,” he said.
As we followed him, my heart was pounding as I prayed to God for mercy.
When we arrived at his office, he sat down and gestured for us to sit opposite him.
Then he flipped through Theo’s file.
That was the moment of truth.
My heart pounded again and the sweat in my palm increased.
Lena, on the other hand, was pushing her hands under the desk to hide the fact that they were shaking.
“I will go straight to the point,” the doctor started.
“Theo has a perforated stomach ulcer.”
Lena and I glanced at each other. Then I looked at the doctor.
“What… what does that mean?” I stuttered.
“It means the ulcer in his stomach has created a hole. Internal bleeding has already started, that was why he coughed blood,” he explained.
“What?” Lena gasped beside me.
I felt cold instantly.
“He needs immediate surgery,” the doctor continued.
“How immediate?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“He needs it as soon as possible. He could be in danger if it’s delayed,” he replied.
“God, I begged you,” I muttered under my breath as I gripped the arm of my chair tightly.
“Okay… okay,” I said, catching my breath.
"You can start with the surgery. What do I need to sign, please?” I said quickly.
The doctor smirked.
“You have to make a deposit before we can commence with the surgery.”
“How much?” Lena asked.
“One fifty thousand dollars,” he said.
“What!” I blinked rapidly, fighting back my tears and my throat suddenly went dry.
My ears rang, the doctor’s voice fading.
Even if I sold everything I owned, the money wouldn’t come close.
“Doctor… is there any other option?” I asked weakly.
“There is no other option,” he replied.
Lena began crying beside me again.
I sat there, my head blank and my heart racing through every possible solution, my fingers trembling on my lap.
“You have to be fast about it,” the doctor said.
“Okay,” I replied in a hushed tone.
I didn’t even remember how we got back to the corridor.
We sat on the cold metal chair, my heart thumping against my chest.
“That’s a whole lot,” Lena’s voice trembled beside me.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I uttered softly, tears suddenly streaming down my face.
My brother was lying helplessly in the hospital ward and I didn’t know what to do to save him.
“I have a savings of eight thousand dollars,” Lena turned to me, her eyes already swollen.
I had savings from my business too, but it wouldn’t suffice even if we sell my car and other valuables with our savings.
I thought about taking loans, but it would not be that fast.
I felt suffocated and my head was already spinning.
“Do you think Alex can help?” Lena turned to me again.
I didn’t even think to that extent. I stood up immediately and picked up my bag.
“I should go and see him,” I said, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.
“Okay, I will wait here,” she replied.
With that, I stormed out of the hospital and hopped into my car.
As I was about to turn on the ignition, I remembered his mother had warned me against being a burden to him.
“I don’t have a choice now,” I muttered to myself and started the car anyway.
I needed all the help I could get.
The drive to his place felt longer than usual. My eyes blurred, but I tried so hard to focus on the road in front of me.
“What if he doesn’t have that kind of money too?” I asked myself.
“No… Let’s be positive,” I added.
Soon, I got there. I had seen him with Cassandra from afar, but I didn’t have the luxury to think about what they were doing together.
I parked my car a few miles away, thinking if I could say something like that to Alex in Cassandra’s presence.
I stared at them for a while and I noticed that the air between them seemed tense.
“Joan, pull yourself together,” I said to myself.
Then I got out of my car anyway and walked towards them.
As I approached them, I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Suddenly, Cassandra blurted.
“The freaking pregnancy is for you!”
“What!” I gasped, my bag dropping from my hand with a thud.
They both look towards me.
“Joan!” Alex muttered, his eyes widening.