Chapter 7

Pinakabagong kabanata

• Expired Expectation   Chapter 28

  Three days later, Coco finally woke up.Astrid, who had been standing guard over her by the bed, cried tears of delight. She embraced Coco tightly and was afraid to let go even for a second.“Coco, this is wonderful, you finally woke up! “ Jerome went up to her and handed her a large bouquet of gardenias. He had been crying too.Coco gladly took the flowers and sniffed them. Then, she suddenly frowned and asked hesitantly, “Mom, did Uncle Isaiah not come to visit?“He always comes and disturbs me without warning. It’s a little hard to get used to him not showing up.”"I'm here,” Isaiah greeted her from the other side of the window and held up a music box while motioning at her. “I was worried you would be upset seeing me, so I didn’t dare to come inside.“How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?”“It doesn’t hurt at first, but it’s starting to sting now that I see you." Coco turned away and dismissed him icily, “Please go away, don’t come around here again.”Isaiah set

• Expired Expectation   Chapter 27

  Coco was rushed to the emergency room, and Astrid waited anxiously outside.Jerome arrived and quickly went to her. “What's going on? How did you two bump into Juno at the supermarket? Weren’t Isaiah’s men supposed to be watching over her?”“I don't know how she suddenly showed up.” Astrid clenched her fists and continued gravely, “They had a decoy set up to lure me away from Coco. I was only gone for ten minutes, and that was when Juno…”Suddenly, Isaiah stormed in with sweat pouring down his forehead. He grabbed Astrid's shoulders and asked frantically, “What did Juno do to my daughter? Please, you have to tell me! What happened to my daughter?”“Juno stabbed her in her heart!” Astrid hissed sharply. “Isaiah, do you know what this means?“I raised my daughter for eight years with blood, sweat, and tears! All of it is going to… It’s all your fault!“Weren’t you supposed to have your men keeping an eye on her? How did she slip away from them and hurt my Coco?”“Astrid, don't

• Expired Expectation   Chapter 26

  After the event had concluded successfully, Astrid left the venue with Coco and realized Isaiah was nowhere to be seen.She did not think much of it and proceeded to get into the car to head home.When they were halfway home, a dark figure charged into the middle of the road to stop the car.The sudden jerk of the car coming to a stop threw Astrid, who was seated in the back seat, forward. Jerome held her steady just in time and observed, “I think that’s Juno in the middle of the road. Let me go down and talk to her.”“Mommy, when we were leaving just now, I heard someone mention Emmie had a hard fall and broke her spine. They say her lower body is paralyzed. Is it possible to recover from that?”“It's hard to say,” Astrid said as she tried to comfort her. “Coco, just know that you have nothing to do with what happened. This is all on Isaiah. Don’t stress yourself thinking about it.”“But Emmie's mother was glaring at you, she looked so scary.” Coco seemed very distressed.

• Expired Expectation   Chapter 25

  Astrid ran over to the direction of the commotion and spotted Emmie resting limply in Juno's arms. Her white dress was stained red with blood.Juno glared murderously at her, “Astrid, if anything happens to my daughter, I won’t forgive you!”She carried Emmie out of the venue to bring her to the ambulance parked outside.“Astrid, don't worry, she won't do anything to you,” Isaiah said as he approached her. “I will make sure the doctors do everything they can to help Emmie. She’ll make a full recovery.”“Juno pinned the blame on me!” Astrid was very upset. “Why did you show up today? None of this would have happened had you not come. Why wouldn’t you mind your own business and stay in Engerland?”She recoiled from his touch and took a few steps back. “I don’t ever want to hear your voice or see you again!”“Doctor Lear, what is it going to take for you to get it through your thick head? Quit bothering them!” Jerome approached and was equally upset. “This is a very importan

• Expired Expectation   Chapter 24

  Isaiah’s reckless actions gave Coco quite a fright, which caused her to develop a fever that same night. Astrid spent a frightful night by her bedside attending to her and barely caught a wink of sleep.Fortunately, her fever subsided by the next day and did not turn into anything serious.Astrid called Freida again to emphasize that Isaiah was not to appear around them again.Freida assured her sternly, “Don't worry, I’ll make sure he reins it in from now on. Please make sure Coco recovers swiftly.”The next day, Astrid was on her phone when she saw an announcement from Lear Corporation.Isaiah had been dispatched to Saints’ Hospital in Engerland for a doctor’s exchange program and would be there for three years.Astrid enthusiastically showed Coco the wonderful news. Coco seemed delighted as well. “Mommy, can I go to the amusement park after my dance lesson today?”“Of course, I’d take you anywhere you want!” Astrid said.Without Isaiah disturbing them, her days with Co

• Expired Expectation   Chapter 23

  Astrid watched as Isaiah was dragged beneath the wheel and ran towards him, crying out in horror, “Isaiah, can you talk? Answer me!”“Uncle Isaiah, are you okay?”Coco also ran to him and inspected the bottom of the truck.“Give me your hand!”“Don't worry, I'm fine.” Isaiah stuck an arm out from under the wheel and tried to crawl out. Astrid grabbed him and helped pull him out from under the truck.His white shirt was completely muddied, and his face was bruised. It was a shocking sight!That was when he presented the amulet in his hand to them and announced in a shaky voice as if he was a general emerging victoriously from a battle, “Coco, look, Daddy recovered the amulet for you. It will protect you, will you take it?”Coco frowned disapprovingly. “You shouldn’t run into the middle of a road just to pick up an amulet. It's so dangerous!”"Isaiah, you have completely lost it!” Astrid was still in shock. She wiped sweat off her forehead.“Your head was only a centimet