Chapter 1

Amanda’s POV

With sluggish feet, I walked into mom's ward taking deep breaths. The sound of the heart monitor was the first thing that could be heard, her chest rising and falling as the oxygen mask covered her face. She had been on life support for some months now. Closing the door shut behind me, I held on the strap of bag as tears formed in my eyes.

“ Mom,” I called out, my voice shaky as I walked closer to her bed. Of course, she couldn't respond, not when she was unconscious. I sat down on the chair besides her bed and placed her hand in mine, raising it to my cheeks - I missed her badly.

“ Mom,” I sniffled. “ I brought your favorite fruits,” I wiped my tears, still trying so hard to hold back the tears in my eyes. It had become an obsessive habit of mine to visit her every day after her heart failure, everything had crumbled in our family after she fell sick but that was the least of my problems, I just wanted her back. I placed my head on her bed and started crying once more but the sound of the door opening made me raise my head.

“ Dr. Lee?” I got to my feet the moment he walked in with his team of nurses.

“ You're here early, Amanda. I'm guessing you took excuse from work again,” he gave me a warm smile as he approached me.

“ Yes, but I'll make up for it tonight,” I wiped my tears away.

“ Alright, good to know that you're alright,” he beamed. “ Nurses go ahead and check her vitals, I and Amanda have something we need to talk about privately,” he said. Did we?

“ Yes, sir,” the nurses chorused.

“ Come with me. We need to talk,” he beckoned to me and I followed him out through the door. We stood in hallway facing each other, I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to say.

“ Doc, is it about my mom's health condition? Is she getting... W...,” I couldn't get myself to say the word so I bit the bottom of my lips as I clenched my fists.

“ As much as I hate to say it, your mom is far from getting better. She needs to undergo a heart surgery soon and even we can't tell how bad her condition will be even this even, the sooner she gets a transplant, the better,” he dished out.

“ I-I..,” I wasn't sure what I wanted to say.

“ That being said, your mom's bills are outstanding and as much as I've been trying my best to cover up for you, I'm not the owner of the hospital and I as much as I want to help you and your mom, it's not within my power to. I hope you understand,” he sighed. He had indeed tried for I and mom but where was I going to get that sort of money from?

“ I'm begging you, just give me extra two months, I'll figure something out,” I pleaded with him.

“ I'm sorry, your mom would have to suffer the consequences if you don't pay up. These are hospital rules and no one other than me is going to pity your mom or consider her fire state,” he voiced out. I had never felt so hopeless before.

“ Okay then, just give me less than a month. I'll find a way to raise the money for both her heart surgery and her pending bills,” I sighed trying hard to suppress my emotions. How was I ever going to raise that much money within a short period of time? I couldn't even raise that amount then when I had a longer frame of time.

“ Alright, I believe in you,” he placed his hand on my shoulder before walking back into the ward. My knees gave in and I crumbled to the hospital floor, I was tired of everything. I began to cry silently but profusely in confusion and stress.

Getting down from the cab, I walked into our family house with puffy eyes and slumped shoulders. Even our mansion was at risk with how much we were owing. I opened the front door and just I was walking in, I could hear the cackling laughter of David, my stepdad. Rage filled me instantly.

 “ Don't worry about it. I already said there's no need to thank me, I can always get you plenty of those,” he bragged over the phone to one of his side chicks. He must have spent money again. “ I...” he kept quiet when saw me walk into the living room. “ You know what? I'll call you back later,” he hung up.

I stood in front of him though far from him and we kept staring at each other, tension brewing.

 “ You're back early, I didn't expect you to come home so early,” he broke the ice.

“ Of course you wouldn't. Have you even gone to see mom at the hospital ever since her heart failed?” I questioned him.

“ Well, no but it's not a big deal. After all, you visit her everyday,” he raised his brows like he had only stated the obvious. Was he for real right now???

“ I can't believe you're saying this! Mom actually loved someone as base as you!” I raised my voice in anger. I was furious. Here he is sitting down relaxed and comfortable even seducing girls with mom's money when mom was hanging on to her life in the hospital.

“ You can shout all you want but I said the truth” he shrugged unbothered.

  “ Mom needs to get a transplant done and the hospital bills need to be met,” I told him straight up.

“ I'm very well aware of that but what can we do? Your mom's company is closing down due to bankruptcy, we don't even have a home to call ours since this will soon be taken away from us as well,” he pointed and gestured at the house. Now he referred to her as ‘ my mom ’. 

“ I don't even know how the money in your mom's account got finished,” that was the only thing that bothered him. “ I can't believe I'm still riding this sinking ship,” I heard him mumble.

“ What? Sinking ship?” I smashed a vase on the floor in anger. “ You're the reason we're were we are! If hadn't mismanaged funds and hadn't been spending recklessly on those your stupid women. We'll still be rich enough to afford mom's bills, to secure her hardwork,” tears began to cloud my eyes.

 “ I have no idea why mom would ever tolerate a cheating man,” I held myself back from unleashing my full rage.

“ Your mom already knew my lavishing behavior, who's fault was it that she trusted her company into my hands?” He scoffed confidently. Mom really had willingly given him the position to control and run the company even though he was the one who convinced her but in the end, she was still responsible for making the decision.

“ You know, I want back the money you spent on your side chick,” I walked closer to him, with my hands opening and retracting as I demanded the money he had spent for the bag and jewelries he bought for his mistresses.

“ And why should I do that?” 

“ If we sell all those, we will be able to offset majority of the hospital bills,” I briefed. 

“ Even if you say this from now till next year, I'm not giving you anything. It's my own money not your mom's,” he said like he had any money independent of mom's own.

“ You better give me,” I demanded in a threatening voice.

“ I do have a suggestion that could fetch you more than enough to take care of your mom's health and bills, if you're interested of course,”

“ And what's that?”

“ Alpha Xander of Blood bond pack is in need of a suitable breeder and would pay the person handsomely,” he rubbed his fingers, smirking. “ All you need to do is give him children. Don't worry, I've already talked to his personal assistant,”

“ What do you mean by that? Were you planning to sell me off to him?” I fumed. He was already discussing it with them without my consent.

 “ See, I'm doing it for our family okay? Because I know you can't make any useful decision,” he said not even bothering to know if I wanted it.

“ I'm not doing it,” I said.

“ What?”

“ I said, I'm not stooping low to do something so degrading as being a sex object to anyone or any Alpha,” I defied. I would never anything like that and mom would never want me to do anything as such even if it was to save her.

“ Suit yourself then,” he shrugged. “ Don't forget that your mom is your responsibility and I really don't care if she lives or dies, after all, life goes on rather smoothly for me. It's you who would be crying so think wisely,” he got up from his seat and headed upstairs, answering a call from another of his lovers as he walked up the stairs.

I would find a way to raise money for mom without doing this even if it meant I would work my body to it's limit. I would save mom.