CHAPTER 2

Katherine's Pov

I struggled to keep my balance despite the sudden stabbing pain that I felt in my abdomen.

My father flared at me, “What have you done?! You are killing your own mother?! Get out of my house!” My father yelled, helping my stepmother up. I shook my head, tears streaming down my face, seeing him had suddenly made the dam that I had been trying to hold in, open up.

“Dad… Do you even know…” I sniffed, standing up from the ground, “Do you even know what she did? Do you think I care if she dies?! I don't care, at all! If I could kill her, that's the first thing I would have done!” I yelled, the anger coming back.

“Katherine! How could you speak about death so lightly? Is this the way I taught you?” My father yelled back at me.

“Taught me? Then you should have figured out what your wife did,” I sneered, “All the payments I had been sending to her for Jordan's bills, she used them. She used them all to pay for her daughter's university entrance fees. After all the work I did, I just found out today that everything I had been paying was not being paid at all, Dad… Jordan would die if I don't get the money to pay for his surgery, he's going to die!”

“What is she talking about?” He asked, with a hard edge to his voice, “Explain quickly!”

My stepmother, now visibly shaken but still attempting to maintain her composure, turned her face away, avoiding his stare, “I told her already.” She said, her voice wavering for the first time, “I used the money for our daughter's entrance exam. It was necessary, and she’ll pay it back eventually. Jordan is…”

“Enough!” I shouted, cutting her off, unable to bear hearing her justify her cruelty any longer, “Dad, she stole from me. She stole the money that was meant to save Jordan’s life! How can you just stand there and not…”

“Katherine, shut up.” My father said suddenly, his voice cold and detached.

I blinked, staring at him in disbelief, “Dad?”

“She’s right.” His words felt like a punch to the gut. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him, unable to process what I had just heard.

“W… what? What did you just say?” I whispered, the sound of my heart breaking echoed in my ears.

“She’s right.” My father repeated, looking away from me, “Emily has a future. Jordan, he’s been sick for so long. He’s not going to make it, Katherine, maybe it’s time you accepted that and let him go. You will only continue to work if you don't let him go.”

I felt my knees give out, and I sank to the floor, staring at my father as if he were a stranger. The man I had relied on, the man who had once been my hero, was telling me that my brother, his son, wasn't worth saving.

"You... You actually agree with her?" I whispered, my voice cracking, "You think that my brother's life… your son's life isn't worth it? That it isn't worth saving?”

“Katherine, you need to think about what’s best for everyone, not just yourself.” He said, avoiding my eyes, “It’s not an easy decision, but we need to focus on the future. Emily has potential, and the money was used for a good cause and not just for anything. Emily isn't an outsider, she's your sister and is the most dazzling girl. She has the potential to become a great person.”

I cut them off, “Emily?” I scoffed, raising my voice, “Who cares about Emily? We're talking about my brother! Your son! Your blood son and not an outsider like Emily! Do you even know where that girl came from? Who her father is? What does she have to do with you?! Your own flesh and blood is in the hospital, how can you… The doctor said he can live! He has a chance to live! You're trying to kill him!”

“Katherine.” My father said sharply, his voice hardening, “You’re being unreasonable.”

“How can you be so heartless?! He's your son! Your own flesh and blood!” I could not comprehend it, how could this man disregard his own son like that? The boy he had watched grow. The body who landed in the hospital in the first place because of his negligence? How did he have the heart to say something like this?

“He should just go ahead and die! He can stop causing trouble for everyone! You as well, do you think we have forgotten all about what you did? How do you lose your virginity to a random man in a hotel?! You're just as shameless! Only my daughter is the good egg amongst you all!”

I glared at her as I bit my lips. How could I forget? I had woken up on the bed of a random person a few weeks ago, almost a month and I found out that I might have had a one night stand with a stranger. I had no idea who he was and not to talk about the fact that I might be… My heart pounded in my chest and I had nothing left to say, the air suddenly became too little for me and I couldn't breath, I felt like throwing up. Without another word, I stood up on shaky legs, the tears I had fought so hard to hold back streaming freely down my face.

My father didn’t move, didn’t call out to me as I turned away and walked toward the door. I had always thought family was supposed to be everything, even though it was going to be just me, Jordan and dad, but in this moment, I realized that the people who were supposed to love me most had chosen their own selfish desires over my brother’s life.

I paused at the doorway, turning one last time to look at my father, “If Jordan dies because of this, I’ll never forgive you. Never.” I said, my voice breaking. I ran out, out of the house and to nowhere in particular. I didn't even know where I was going, I was running blindly. The only thing I could hear in my head was money… I needed money to save my brother and I would do anything in order to get that money.

I stopped running, now walking on the road, trying to figure out my next actions. I had to stop crying, because the more I cried, the more Jordan's life was slipping away.

He just had a few hours left.

However, a sharp pain shot through my stomach; the kind that I felt back there in the house but this time, the pain was heavier. My legs suddenly felt weak and I fell to the floor, darkness surrounding me.

I shook my head, trying to pursue the drowsiness but nothing was working. Then I heard footsteps coming near me and the scent of Lavender and Bergamot flooded my nose. Raising my head, I wanted to glance at the person who was coming but the last thing I heard was someone calling out my name in a panic.

*************

“She's stable now, but we'll still have to watch her for the next few hours to see how she's doing.”

I heard voices in my ear, then the beeping of monitors and it was really annoying if I might add. My eyes blinked open, slowly adjusting to the blinding white ceiling above me. I turned my head and winced at the dull ache that pulsed behind my eyes.

Wait… Where was I?

I pushed myself up on my elbows instinctively, only for a bolt of pain to slice through my abdomen. Gasping, I collapsed back onto the bed, my breath shallow and uneven. Panic gripped me like a vice.

What the hell was happening?

“W… Where…” My throat was dry. My voice cracked as I tried again, “Where am I?”

There was a flurry of footsteps outside the room before the door creaked open. A tall figure stepped inside, white coat, clipboard, calm expression.

Dr. Mason. The one who is in charge of my brother.

“Don’t try to move too much, Katherine. You need to rest.” He said gently, walking toward the side of my bed.

“Rest?” I was confused, “What happened? Why am I here?”

His expression changed. Subtle, but enough. A flicker of hesitation. Of pity.

“You were brought in unconscious.” He said, pulling up a chair beside the bed.”

“Why? What happened to me?” I asked, tilting my head. This wasn't going to cut it out, I had to leave.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he placed a hand on mine, his voice lower now, gentler.

“Katherine, I need you to stay calm. When the stranger brought you in, we ran some tests on you and we found out that you were pregnant. You are pregnant, two weeks pregnant.”