CHAPTER 93

I thought before I went back to the hospital, I would pass by Lucile's funeral first. I can't just not show myself there and exhibit my greatest sympathy because of her family's loss. Even though she committed many sins in Kris and I's life, I still have at least a percent of gratitude for her for offering a friendship to Kris... even if it's not true.

"My condolences."

I don't know the old lady I met, but I guess she's one of the family members of the Soriano's.

So, I proceeded to the long coffin and placed the flower I bought on top of it. Now... as I was able to see the dead body of Lucile, confirming she was really dead, I feel a mixture of sadness and joy. Maybe she has run out of time to change, but then... she deserves it.

To me that she is in arrears, it's really funny that the demon's minion has picked her up. However, I was also sad because she will not be able to continue the only right thing she has done in her entire life--to save the lives of the stray dogs and cats.

"Speaking of your pets, I have already contacted my friend to take care of the one you left behind. Don't worry... he'll take care of them."

"Well... he really should... because he's a veterinarian, and absolutely he knows he should value pets' lives." I was talking to Lucile in a low voice. "It's just... you don't miss out on giving us disappointment, right? You really did."

Upon remembering the last time we've talked... on the bar...

"It's not that I'm threatening, Henrix... but... I always mark my words. I assure you that once someone messes up my plan, you know the consequences," Lucile is talking like she's really threatening me. "There's a car ready at the place where I'm hiding. If you even plan to destroy my plan, Kris will pay the price since the car I'm going to show her doesn't have brakes."

At that time, Lucile knew that Zia would dump her. She has nowhere to go, so she's expecting Kris' arrival at her place. She didn't make a mistake. Kris arrives at the scene with Liam. But maybe when Lucile found out that I was being followed and that the police were with me, she actually did what she told me before.

And I'm the reason why Kris has been suffering from a severe condition right now. I thought... if I hadn't made the decision on my own, maybe none of this would have happened.

"Until the last stage of your life, you still chose to be a bad person."

I was stopping myself very hard to open the coffin, so that even though Lucile is dead, I still want to strangle her.

"Didn't you even look at it from another angle other than the reasons why you are jealous of Kris? She has been a very kind and honest friend to you. Those things, at least... made your mind changed."

"Of course not. You continued anyway, so now... she's in the hospital... I don't know how long we'll have to wait before she wakes up." I used the back of my hand to dry my cheeks. "Even if you didn't pay for your sins here on earth... even if you broke the law of living people... that's the afterlife, I really hope that by this time... the soul is burning you to hell."

"Rest in pain... Lucile."

I was leaving the funeral  just then Mrs. Soriano while being led by two policemen. She met me with raised eyebrows and looked like she wanted to kick me.

"What are you doing here? Are you pretending to sympathize with us?! Plastic!”

I stepped until I was close to her, enough distance, so that only the two of us could hear what I had to say.

And I say, "I know it's hard for you to lose a child. Most especially she’s the one you expect to get you out of jail, with the devil." I moved away from her and pretended to be frowning and sad. "I sympathize. Too much."

*****

"Daddy!" Audrey responded hurriedly.

I was busy making rounds when she ran to me, panting.

"I told you not to run, right? You might get another asthma attack-"

"Mama is awake!"

Because of the news I received, my fellow nurse was the first one to take care of my current duty of checking on the patients in the children's ward. Kris's room is not that far from here, so the way we ran was short. I found her in the room where the doctor was checking her.

"How is she, Doc Oliver?"

"She's doing good," he answered me, nodding.

"Mom! It's good you're awake-"

"Stay away from me. Who are you?" Kris laughed and her innocent face drew me and Audrey into shock.

"Ma..."

I scolded Aud not to talk to her mom, and Doc Oliver and I talked at the door. "Is this what you're saying could be a complication for Kris?"

"Yes. Because of the minor internal bleeding on her brain, it would cause her to lose her memory."

"How long?"

"Short-term memory loss is what usually happens in patients with brain injuries that aren't too severe."

"But then again, I can't tell you how long to wait before her memory returns. So... uhh... one thing that I can assure you, you won't wait too long."

"Oh... okay. Thank you, Doc Oliver."

When my co-doctor leaves the room, I was just sighing the whole time when I saw Audrey just standing on the side of her mom's bed, and she couldn't do anything. Kris does not remember any of us, and as far as I know about short-term memory loss, it is a condition in which the patient forgets the things that happened to them recently.

In the case of Kris, because there is an underlying condition she has, which is her brain got injured because of the accident, a memory loss may have happened to her. The one thing that I fear will happen to her is that... she's possibly having a traumatic brain injury. According to studies, on the other hand, one symptom of TBI is that the person has suffered memory loss and comes back to the memory in a few days.

"Daddy, what are we going to do? She doesn't recognize us." Audrey approached me worriedly. "Will she not remember us, daddy?"

"Of course not!" I put my hands on both of her shoulders. "That's not going to happen. Your mom's memory loss is only temporary, okay? Sooner or later, everything will come back. She will recognize us again."

"The best thing we can do is to do our duty." I pointed to her the soup we had prepared earlier. "Take care of your mom while I'm checking my patients in the other room, okay? You can do it?"

"I'm a grown woman, dad! Of course, I can!"

She was very cheerful when she left me and came to her mom. She started feeding her patient, and it's a good thing that despite Kris' condition, she's not being rude to Audrey.

I really wonder what Aud introduced herself to her mom.