5

Maeve

“Mom,”

My voice broke as I listened to my mom sob.

“Melody has been moved to the hospice. The doctor said if she doesn’t get the surgery, she won’t make it past this week.”

My heart broke even more and tears welled up in my eyes.

Melody, my baby sister. She has been sick for a while now and I have done everything to help but each time we think she is out of the woods, she relapses.

So far, she has had five surgeries and was scheduled to get another but finding a donor has been harder than before.

Every penny I have made aside from what I used for my wedding preparation has gone into making sure my baby sister stayed alive.

Her insurance couldn’t cover half of what she needed so I had to pay for a lot of things upfront.

My other siblings did the best they could too.

“Mom, calm down. Are Harmony and Tones there?”

I asked for my other siblings.

“Tones has gone to speak with the doctor about our options and Mony is at college.”

She sobbed. I got out of bed, suddenly feeling guilty for forgetting what I left at home.

I swallowed the guilt as I hurriedly put on my dress and tried to calm my sobbing mom down.

“Mom, I will be there soon.”

I told her.

“How? You are all the way in Italy.”

Yeah, now I regret leaving. I should have just gone home instead of traveling out of the country.

“Don’t sweat it, mom. I will be there soon.”

I told her.

I managed to calm her down before I ended the call.

I called my brother immediately and his voice broke my heart even more.

“It’s not looking good for her, sis.”

My ever-so-strong younger brother sounded close to tears.

“I am coming home. She will get the surgery she needs. She is strong. This isn’t her first rodeo.”

I didn’t even know if I was trying to console my brother or myself.

“Where are we going to get the money from? That’s the problem.”

I dragged my fingers through my hair in frustration.

In truth, I had no idea where I would get the money from. What I have with me won’t be nearly enough.

“I will find a way. I always find a way.”

I assured my brother who sighed in sadness.

“I have to pack. I will call you before I board.”

I told Tones and ended the call. I quickly booked a return flight and started to leave the room but paused and looked around.

Last night with Andro had been amazing. I wish I could see him before I leave but I have no time.

On impulse, I picked up the note he had left for me and looked around for the pen he used to write the note.

I hurriedly wrote down my phone number and rushed out of the room.

I found a cab which took me back to the resort.

I packed as fast as I could and soon I was back in the cab and on the way to the airport.

Thankfully, I arrived in time to board my flight.

I continuously checked my phone for a call from Andro after I called my brother.

No call came before I boarded and I could only hope that once I arrived back, I would find his missed call.

My plane landed about ten agonizing hours later and the first thing I did as soon as I landed was call my brother for an update about my sister.

“We are still in the red. It has been a rough eleven hours for us.”

I swallowed the sob that threatened to escape from my throat.

“I just arrived. I will meet you at the hospital.”

I told him and hung up.

I checked my text and calls and sure enough, I had missed calls but not from a number I expected.

The missed calls were from a number I forgot to block.

Evans.

I didn’t have time to dwell on why that bastard was calling me.

I could only hope that my mom didn’t try to reach him. I took a cab straight from the airport to the hospital.

“Mom, she is going to be fine.”

I assured my mom who sobbed into my arms as soon as she saw me.

“They are not letting us see her.”

She cried. I looked at my brother.

“The doctor said it’s best to keep her away in preparation for the surgery but we need money.”

I sighed deeply and rubbed my tired eyes.

I spent the whole flight trying to come up with ways to get the money for her surgery but even after rounding up everything I could sell to find money it was still not nearly enough.

The only other thing I could think of that was sellable was the house which both Evans and I agreed to put up for sale but so far, we haven’t gotten a buyer.

I met with the doctor and he pretty much repeated what he had told my family.

There was no other way out. She needed surgery and we had to find the money.

I deposited everything I had with me and left the hospital with a promise to return with the remaining money even though I didn’t know where I would get it from.

Just as I arrived back at my small rented apartment, my phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out hoping it was from the one person I had been hoping would call me.

I sighed in disappointment when I saw Evans’ name flash on my screen. I meant to end the call but accidentally took it.

I grudgingly placed the phone to my ear. I already took the call so I may as well hear what he has to say.

If I am lucky then he might be calling me because he finally found a buyer for the house.

“Why haven’t you been taking your calls, Maeve?”

I closed my eyes and willed myself not to scream at him.

“What do you want, Evans?”

I asked him instead of cursing at him.

“Jesus Christ, woman! Don’t be so hostile towards me when I bring business that is guaranteed to help your poor business.”

I let the insult slide because he said he has a business for me.

In the past when I started my interior design company, Evans helped me secure a lot of deals.

I didn’t expect him to still do that now that we are no longer together.

I would have turned him down if I weren’t so desperate for money.

Right now, I have no choice.

“What business? Why didn’t you give the client my contact?”

I asked him.

“That’s because this business requires us to work together. It’s huge! Can we meet? I feel we have to talk about this in person.”

Even though I wanted to curse at him and tell him to go to hell with his business, I couldn’t.

I needed the money so I agreed to meet with him to discuss the business that he had for me.

I met him at the small café not far from my house.

I hated how okay he looked while I obviously looked a mess due to jetlag, fatigue, and lack of sleep.

Any other day, I would have been curious about how I looked around him but not today.

“Tell me about this business.”

I told him as soon as he sat down.

“What’s the rush? We haven’t seen each other in over a month and you can’t even say hi?”

I swallowed the curse that threatened to spill out of my mouth.

“I don’t have time for all of these right now, Evans.”

I warned him and to his credit, he noticed I wasn’t in the mood and nodded.

“Did something happen?”

I sniff in an effort to hold back tears.

“Melody needs surgery and I need to find the money for her to have it.”

I told him. He looked sympathetic but I didn’t want his sympathy.

“I am sorry about your sister. I guess this business came at the right time.”

He said as he pushed a file in front of me.

I reached for it and pulled out the content. I gasped in shock when I realized what it was.

“Why do you still have this and what does it have to do with the business you have for me?”

I fired at him.

I couldn’t believe he still had our divorce paper which should have been submitted to the courthouse already.

If this isn’t at the courthouse yet, it means our marriage is still valid even though I already signed.

I stared at the papers and realized something was missing.

His signature.