I woke up in an unfamiliar room. It took me a while before I could finally open my eyes and adjust to the blinding lights.
"Bianca, you're awake."
I stopped when I heard a familiar voice beside me. I turned to my side and saw... Charlie. He was sitting on the couch near me. He looked like he just woke up with his slightly disheveled hair and creased long-sleeve shirt.
What was he doing here? My lips parted when he stood up and went to me.
I looked around the room. Everything was white. My heart started pounding.
"W-where am I?" I asked, my lips trembling when I saw the IV tube on my arm.
"You're in the hospital, Bianca."
Just like that, everything came back to me. I was finally escaping from Gideon. I was driving on the road when I received a call from Amelia... saying that Gideon had been in an accident.
The news shocked me that I momentarily forgot I was in the middle of the road. Then... a truck. It was coming my way. The last thing u saw before I lost my consciousness... was my own blood.
My hand automatically dropped to my belly. Tears formed in my eyes when I couldn't feel anything there. It felt empty.
"M-my baby?" I looked at Charlie, who was now standing in front of me. "What happened to my baby?"
"Bianca..." His voice was low. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "The baby... you lost him in the accident."
Charlie tried to touch my arm, but I swatted it away.
"No!" I shut my eyes as tears escaped them. "Tell me my baby's fine. Tell me it's here." I clutched my empty belly. "No. I didn't lose my baby. It's still here!"
"Mrs. Henry, please calm down."
I didn't realize there was already a nurse inside my room. She touched my arm, but just like Charlie, I pushed her away.
"No." I angrily shook my head as I rejected the truth. Tears continuously swelled in my eyes. "This isn't true. The doctor said my baby's strong. I didn't lose my baby! You're all lying!"
"Bianca… please. You're still recovering."
"No! No! Please tell me I didn't lose my baby!" I turned to Charlie but I failed to see his reaction. My eyes were too blurry with tears.
"Bianca… I'm sorry."
I shut my eyes, but tears continuously fell from them. "I don't need your sorry. I want my baby! My baby..." I sobbed as reality slowly sank into me. My baby's now gone. I promised I'd protect my baby... but I failed to do it.
"Bianca… please." I felt his arms on my shoulders.
I shook my head. "Just… leave me alone, Charlie. I needed to be alone. Please…" My voice broke as I pleaded the last word. I shut my eyes and balled my hands into a fist.
I heard a sigh. "Alright. We'll leave the room, Bianca. But please... press on the intercom if you need anything."
I didn't know how long I was crying until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was welcomed again by Charlie. I noticed that his clothes were different now.
He cleared his throat. "You need to eat, Bianca."
I had no idea how many hours had passed. I had only stopped crying when I felt like I couldn't cry anymore.
I only glanced at the tray of food on the table. I didn't want to eat. I didn't even feel hungry. "I'm not hungry."
Empty. That's what I've been feeling right now. There's a huge void inside me that couldn't be filled.
He sighed. "You need to eat if you want to recover fast, Bianca."
I looked at him with dead eyes. "What if I don't want to recover?"
I saw how his lips parted. "Don't say that, Bianca," he said in a gentle voice. "You already lost your baby. You can't lose yourself... You have to be strong."
"You don't know anything, Charlie," I cut him off.
I didn't just lose my baby. I also had lost my will to live. Tears started to form in the corners of my eyes. I had already lost my father four months ago. And this time... it was my baby who was taken away from me.
Why did I even survive this accident if the only thing that was keeping me alive was now taken away from me?
"Bianca..."
I turned to him. His eyes... they were looking at me with concern.
"Why are you here, Charlie?"
The last time I saw him... he was acting cold to me—No… despite the cold treatment, I still knew that he still cared. That night, when he saw my bruise, he showed his concern.
Charlie cleared his throat. "Mom and Dad… they're in Atlanta right now. My mother asked me to take care of you."
I looked away. "I need you to get out, Charlie."
Charlie being here was only making the pain worse. He's the living reminder of everything that I had lost.
Every time I looked at him, I felt like my heart was breaking all over again. He was triggering different emotions in me. Pain. Longing. Guilt. Too much guilt.
I couldn't… I couldn't even tell him the truth. That the baby I lost was also his.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't need you here, Charlie."
He clenched his jaw. "I know you don't want my presence, Bianca. But I'll stay here… until Gideon gets transferred here. You need someone to look after you."
"I don't need someone to look after me. I can handle myself."
I heard him sigh. "Don't be stubborn, Bianca. I'll stay here whether you like it or not. If you're not comfortable with my presence, I'm sorry. But you can't do anything about it. You married Gideon. My brother. That makes us... family."
I stilled. Gideon. He was in an accident and in critical condition.
My head turned to Charlie. "H-how's Gideon?"
"Gideon… fell into coma, Bianca."
"OH. I'm so sorry, Bianca." Amelia cried as she pulled me into a tight embrace. It was my third day in the hospital when Amelia and Darwin came. I thought I had already become numb from the past three days. But the moment I heard Amelia sobbed, hot liquid pooled in my eyes. "My poor grandchild." I didn't know how long we stayed in each other's arms until we both calmed down. "I'm sorry it took us days before we visited you," Amelia apologized while holding my arms. I stared at her. She seemed five years older than the last time I saw her—at her own party a week ago. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her porcelain skin was now dry and saggy. "How are you, Bianca?" she asked in a gentle voice. "Charlie told me you're not properly eating your meals." "I don't have the appetite," I said in a weak voice. She grabbed my hand and gently pressed it. "The baby... Charlie said he looked just like you." "C-Charlie?" "Yes… Bianca." Amelia gave a gentle smile. "Charlie buried
Five months ago… "Will you miss me?" Charlie asked as he rested both of his hands on my shoulders. I tilted my chin to meet his eyes. "Of course," I said, pouting my lips. "My fiance will be away for three months. I'm sure as hell going to miss him badly." Charlie was my boyfriend, who became my fiancé a week ago. We met each other three months ago in the New York public library. I couldn't forget the first time we met. I was in the adult section of the library when he approached me and asked for directions. And because I got mesmerized by his face, I accidentally gave him the wrong direction. A playful smile appeared on his lips. "Would you come with me, then?" I pouted as I played with his hair. "You know I have work, right?" I was working as a children's librarian at the New York Public Library, where we met. "Yeah." He chuckled, making his eyes turn into slits. "I'm just trying my luck." Charlie was half-American, half-Korean. He was so good looking with his mixed Asia
"LAST month, I lost a lot of money at the casino. There, I met Mr. Gideon Henry. He lent me a huge amount of money without asking for collateral… He said he's confident that I could win back all the money I lost…" I was pacing back and forth in front of Dad as I listened to his explanation. "But that didn't happen… I didn't win. I lost every penny I borrowed from him. Gideon Henry… gave me one month to pay off my debt. He said that if I didn't pay him on time, he would send me to jail." "Dad…" I stopped in front of him. I shut my eyes as my hand went to my forehead. "Why did you only tell me about this now?" We just talked on the phone last week, and he didn't mention anything to me. "Why did you keep me in the dark, Dad?" "I didn't want to give you problems, Bianca." I wanted to get mad at him. For hiding things from me. But somehow, I wanted to blame myself for not being perceptive enough. I thought he was doing fine here. I had no idea he was already dealing with something.
"DAMN." I muttered as I glanced at my bankbook on the center table. In a week, I was only able to collect five hundred thousand dollars from the loan I took out from the bank. Dad emerged from the kitchen with a cup of coffee. He placed it in front of me. "You still haven't eaten lunch." I've been staying here with my father for a week now. After filing a leave of absence from my work, I went back here to Portland. "It's okay, Dad." I gave him a small smile. "I'm still full from the pancake you made for breakfast earlier." Dad sighed as he sat beside me. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I'm sorry for giving you problems." "Dad..." I looked at him. "I'm sorry that I had to resort to gambling every time I missed your mother." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I have never been truly okay since your mother left me." Dad placed his hand to cover his face. My heart wretched when I realized he was crying. The last time I saw him like this was when my mother died. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I failed y
I WAS back in the present when I heard the door open behind me. I turned my head only to be paralyzed when I saw who entered the room. "What are you doing here?" I asked Charlie, looking away and bringing back my eyes to the unconscious man lying on the hospital bed. After Gideon got transferred here, I haven't seen Charlie again. Until now. "I'm here to visit my brother." He said. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him standing a few feet beside me. "You should have waited for your turn, Charlie. This is my private time with my… husband." I almost whispered my last word. "I wanted to talk to you," he said in a gentle voice. The corner of my eyes heated up. "We have nothing to talk about, Charlie." "I heard about what happened to your father from Mom," he said instead. "I'm sorry, Bianca." I bit my lower lip. I only managed to nod at him without looking his way. I was afraid my own emotions would betray me. "I'll leave you here…" I said, almost in a whisper. I couldn't s
"WHAT are you doing here?" I almost jumped on my feet when I saw Charlie outside of my hospital room. Today is my last day here in the hospital. The doctor already gave me a green light to go home. All my injuries were already healed. I only had a few scars and bruises left on me. He cleared his throat. "I'll take you home, Bianca." I tried to hide my surprise. I looked away. "There's no need, Charlie." I didn't want to talk to him. The last time we saw each other, he wanted to get the truth out of me. Charlie… he's a trigger to my emotions. "Mom asked me to take you home, Bianca." Amelia… Of course, she was clueless about everything. She didn't know… I was Charlie's ex-fiancée. "Tell Amelia I can do it alone." "You're avoiding me," he declared. I faced him. "Well, yes. I am. Because we had a past, Charlie. And I've hurt you! Wouldn't that be enough reason to avoid you?" I bit my lower lip. I needed to stop here. I was afraid that my emotions would betray me. "But we
I hastily wiped the tears on my face and stood up. "H-how long have you been here?" Did Charlie hear anything? "Didn't I say I wanted to be alone?" My voice rose a bit. No. He didn't hear it. He could not know. "I know you wanted me to wait there but it's been an hour, Bianca. I thought you got lost or something…" He took a deep breath and took something from his pocket. A handkerchief. He handed it to me. "Here. Wipe your tears." His voice was gentle. His eyes sad. I suddenly felt sorry for snapping at him. "I'm sorry… I forgot about the time." I said as I took his handkerchief. This time, I properly dried my face. "You have nothing to be sorry about." His hands were in his pocket as he glanced at the tomb in front of us. No. I have many things to apologize for, Charlie. "I'm sorry for disturbing you." His eyes went back to me. "I'll go back to the car. I'll wait for you there." "No. I'm done here. Let's go." "Are you sure? I don't mind waiting." I gave him a sma
"WHAT happened, Bianca?" Charlie probed. His eyes were bloodshot. This was the first time I saw him like this. "How did you end up with him? You said you met him in a bar. And s-something happened between you two." His fist clenched in anger. His chinky eyes got sharper like a knife. "Did Gideon seduce you? Did he put something on your drink? Did he force himself on you? Tell me what he did!" I almost jumped on my seat with the anger I heard in his voice. I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat. "N-no. We didn't meet in a bar. That part was a lie." I shut my eyes for a second. "I met Gideon because of Dad. He used my father to get through to me." "What did he do?" "I didn't know that Dad's gambling addiction resurfaced, Charlie. After I drove you to the airport that day, I visited Dad home. I found out that Dad owed someone two million dollars. That someone is Gideon Henry. Gideon threatened to put Dad in jail if he didn't pay him back within a month." I couldn't