Chapter 2

Tatiana had always loved the drizzling sound of a pouring rain. The splash of water from the skies to her bare skin would usually give her inner peace. She would certainly end up pulling her Papa Ramon to play with her under it. They would run after one another or dance and sing crazy songs. Her father told her before that her mother also loved the rain when she was still alive. And her father used to chase her mama and recurrently ended up catching her. They would laugh their heart out until they were both exhausted. And that made Tatiana's heart overjoyed. So everytime she played under the rainfall, she would feel that her mother was there, too, smiling at her, and watching her grow into a fine young lady. 

To other people, cloudburst was associated with the feeling, sadness. But for her, it was pure bliss.

But not for this night. The sky was terrifyingly black. A flash of forked lightning leaped from the heavens followed by a rolling thunder. The storm-like downpour was accompanied by a whooshing gale of wind. It was like the heavens were angry at her. 

She was shivering under the jacket that was given to her by the nurse. It was not enough to warm her vulnerable body. Serena's cry filled her ears. She could not also stop crying a river of tears. She was fearful for her baby's sake. 

Serena was just one-day-old for Christ's sake! 

They should have given them mercy!

The hospital heads had no hearts. Because they were really thrown out of it. Seeing her weak body and her baby was not enough to have pity on them. The heads of the facility were all avaricious. Poor hospital staff had nothing to do with it but to follow their orders. 

"I'm so sorry, baby," Tatiana whispered to Serena for the nth time. She was a useless mother. She could not protect her child. She could not even give her a shelter to stay in. 'What kind of mother am I?' she asked herself angrily. 

Serena was covered by the blanket that the nurse had given them. She was crying for her poor mother. As mother and daughter, a strong bond would always connect them. She felt that her mother was in great sorrow so she cried, too. 

They were currently outside the hospital. Luckily, there was a place where they could not be splashed with rain.

The city was so quiet. There were only a few people in the streets under their umbrellas. Some were sad. Some were happy. Some were in between. The beauty of the city was seen because of the vivid lightning. 

But Tatiana could not appreciate all of that. She looked up to the sky. She was silently asking the heavens. 'What have I done? Did I kill someone? Did I intentionally hurt someone? Why are You doing this to me? Why are You letting my child experience these terrible things? It is her first time to see the world! But why the cruel side of it? I thought You were merciful. Then, why are we here? Why is my child here? Why are we thrown out and abandoned like pieces of garbage?'

She was already exhausted. Her feet were trembling out of fatigue. She just breastfed Serena to sleep. It was already an hour after they were discharged. And her eyes were already swollen because of non-stop crying. She was waiting for the weather to calm down so she could find a place to sleep. 

"Ma'am." A voice of a man suddenly called her out. 

When she turned to him, she immediately recognized him. He was the nurse who was assigned to discharge them. She checked him out. 

He was holding a folded cardboard box in one of his hands and a paper bag on the other. There was also a blanket hanging on one of his shoulders.

"W-why?" she asked, shuddering. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him.

He gave her a faint smile. Then he handed the paper bag. "Here's some food, ma'am," he said. Then he lifted up the box he was holding to show to her, "And a cardboard box that you can sleep on. I think it is enough for you and your child to fit. I also brought an extra blanket for you," he continued then handed the blanket. Guilt and pity were still on his face. 

Tears started to form again in her eyes. For a moment, she felt that God heard her sorrows. 'Thank You,' she prayed. She remained silent because she could not find words to say. 

Her silence made the nurse become shy. "I apologize if these are all that I can give, ma'am. I have nothing left to offer." He looked at his shoes to hide his discomfort. He thought that it was really an embarrassing act to offer a little to someone you already abandoned. 

Tatiana giggled tenderly that made the nurse look up to her. "Thank you." Her tears fell down her cheeks. She could not help it. "Thank you," she repeated. "I don't know how to repay your kindness, sir."

The nurse shaked his head in disapproval. "No, ma'am. If only I could beg the heads of the hospital to let you stay just for the night, I would. But unfortunately, I don't have enough power to say that. So this is the best thing I can do," he assured. 

Tatiana wiped her tears and said, "Can you help me lay that down?" She used her lips to point at the box. 

He smiled and willingly laid down the box. 

She put Serena on a shoulder hold then kissed her forehead while she looked at the busy man. 'We can get past these, my angel. I promise,' she said in her mind. 

After the nurse laid the box down, he put the blanket on it. Then he stood up and looked at the lady. "There. You can let your baby sleep now. And you must eat so that you can regain your energy and for you to produce milk." There was now a glimpse of a smile on his lips. 

She slightly bowed her head. "Once again, I'm more than grateful for you. I will surely repay you someday, sir." She smiled. She stared at the nameplate of the nurse and marked it on her mind. 

He waved his hands in disapproval. "It's my responsibility to help you, ma'am," he responded.

"Then can you eat with me?" she asked. 

"No, ma'am," he said as he shook his head. "I must go. They must be looking for me right now."

Her mouth went 'O,' then she nodded. 

"I will return and check on you from time to time. I will also bring you food and water tomorrow morning if ever you will still be here," he said then he bid goodbye. 

Tatiana sat down and started to check what was in the paper bag. She got a paper bag of hot pandesal and bottled water in it. Her stomach growled immediately when she smelled the aroma of the bread. She certainly got a piece of it and ate it. She did not stop eating until she was satisfied. She opened the bottled water and drank it till the last drop. She expectedly burped. "Oops." She looked at the sleeping Serena. She smiled. 

Serena was now her new driving force to survive. As she said, she was her angel. She still did not know how to start all over again. But she would make sure that their lives would not end up here. She would rise again and find work so she could feed her lovely daughter. 

This was not the time for her to give up. Now that there was already someone who would be looking up on her.

After a few minutes of rest, they already laid down to sleep. She used the blanket to cover their body. Then she made her arm as her pillow. Serena did not seem to be bothered by the angry weather. Tatiana was relieved. It was like her daughter was helping her silently. So she just stared at the peaceful face of her little girl and admired it for how long. 

"I might not be the best mom. But I swear that I will raise you rightfully. I will guide you until you can finally stand on your own. I will be your hero forever, Serena," she whispered to the sleeping little beauty.

Because of exhaustion, she soon fell asleep. 

On the other side of the road, there was a black Bugatti La Voiture Noire that was parked. There were two men inside. The man in the passenger seat was secretly watching the mother and child outside the hospital from the start, like he always did. He extremely stopped himself from going and burning the hospital. 

How dare they throw out the lady of his life? 

He was so worried for the two because of the harsh weather. He saw how his Tatiana shivered and cried because of the freezing night. He gritted his teeth in restraint. 

Fortunately, a nurse from the hospital came out with something she could eat and they could use. 

If only he could wring the neck of the person who ordered to drive them out now, he would. But he had kept himself composed. He had waited for them to fall asleep and for the people to disappear at the sight. 

And finally, the heavy rainfall stopped. The dark skies had calmed down. 

"Drive now, Marcus," he commanded the man beside him. 

Marcus drove with no delay. He was the right hand of the man. He had served him for years until now. He owed him his life. 

He maneuvered the car to the other side where Tatiana and Serena were. They arrived there in no time. 

The man directly opened the car door and rushed towards his lady. 

Marcus followed. He pitied the lady and the baby for their situation. They were there when the nurse told them that they must be discharged for the night. It pained him hearing the lady beg for her newborn. Of course he knew her. He was always there whenever his boss followed her. He was also the one to research about the woman. He thought that his boss would barge into the room to pay for her bills. But he was surprised when he just ordered them to leave the hospital. 

They went back to their car and waited until the two were thrown out. They just watched them weep in despair. He wanted to help the mother and child, but he stopped himself. He needed to wait for his order. He did not know what was going on in his mind. But he was sure that the man had already calculated everything. He was just waiting for the right time to execute his plan. 

The boss could not help himself but to be amazed by Tatiana. Her pitch-black shoulder-length was concealing half of her face. She was sleeping soundly despite the hard surface they were laying down on. Her other arm was securing her child. 

"How beautiful," Marcus whispered out of amusement, but it was enough to reach the man's ear. 

"What did you just say?" his voice thundered. His ear tingled when he heard Marcus' words. "Are you attracted to my Tatiana?" There was fury in his voice. He was already thinking of how to dispose of Marcus right after he answered yes to his question. His blood was already boiling a while ago. And he would not doubt to bring all of his fury out on his right hand, Marcus, if he would make a mistake for tonight. 

Marcus hopped in surprise. 'How did he hear that?' he asked in his mind. He shook his head in response, afraid to be attacked by the man. It was scary to anger his boss. He would not have a doubt to break the neck of someone who infuriates him. He should not say something wrong to him. 

The man gave him a deadly look that made him tremble inside. 'What have you done, Marcus!' He scolded himself in his mind. But he was relieved when the man's gaze left him and went to the lying lady. "Phew.” He sighed in relief.

"Carry the baby," the man suddenly ordered him.

Marcus scratched his head and went to carry the baby. His boss really had a hobby of scaring and surprising people. He shifted his gaze from him to the baby he was holding. He was amused when he saw how beautiful the baby was. She looked like his boss. It was obviously a combination of Tatiana and his looks. 

And right now, a question was already forming in his head. However, he just shrugged it off before it would get him into trouble. He knew that if he got curious about something, especially about the personal life of his boss, before he could ask about it, he would already be dead. 

He walked away from the place and went inside the car. He turned on the heater to warm the baby. Then he sat on the back seat and watched his boss with the lady while Serena was in his arms. 

The man was left with Tatiana. He kneeled beside her and slowly tucked her hair behind her ear. He continued staring at the sleeping beauty. Her lashes and eyebrows were naturally thick and beautiful. He wanted to see her amber eyes but as of now, he could not. His gaze went down her lips. 

Oh, how eager he was to taste those luscious lips. He let his eyes devour her face until he was satisfied. Then he carried her. He stole a kiss from her forehead and whispered, "We're going home, mi amor." He stood up and headed towards the car. 

For now, he would save his beloved from this scary night. But he would make sure that all those who did this to them would definitely pay.

He carried her to the car. “Move,” he instructed Marcus. 

Marcus moved in an instant. 

The man entered the car and laid Tatiana on the back seat. Then he glared at Marcus, who was immediately scared by him. “Give me the baby. You drive the car.”

Marcus gulped hard. “Y-yes, boss.” Then he carefully passed Serena to his boss’ arms. He saw how he stared at the baby. He did not know if his eyes were just fooling him. But he saw a glint of happiness in his eyes as his lips also curved for a millisecond.

The man, who felt Marcus’ stare, sharply glanced at him and gave him a piercing gaze. “What?” he asked dangerously.

“N-none, boss. I-I’ll drive now,” Marcus nervously uttered then moved and started the car. He took a last glance at the back and saw his boss looking straight outside the window through the front mirror before driving the car away from the hospital. 

Little did Tatiana know that her life was going to change from then on.