The Moments That Took Everything Away

"That was a good decision, Tere. I’ll send the one million dollars right now.”

Marvin’s voice sounded calm on the other end of the phone, but his words made Tere’s breath catch. She gripped her phone tightly, her heart pounding harder and harder.

“Marvin...” Tere’s voice trembled.

“I’m not going to ask what the money is for. I know your daughter is in critical condition,” Marvin continued from the other end of the line.

Tere swallowed with difficulty. Years had passed since the last time she had seen Marvin, yet the man still knew so much about her life. Even after their relationship had ended in a way Tere never wanted to remember again, Marvin had continued to quietly keep an eye on her from afar.

There was a reason Tere had spent all this time trying not to contact him. It wasn’t because she hated Marvin, but because she knew that if he ever stepped back into her life, the old wounds she had worked so hard to bury would reopen as well.

But tonight, with Ana’s life hanging by a thread, Tere had no choice but to knock once again on the door she had spent years trying to keep tightly shut.

“The money will reach the hospital in ten minutes,” Marvin said again.

“I’ll pay you back someday. But don’t worry, I won’t break our agreement.”

“You’re still the same as you were back then.” Marvin’s voice sounded as though it carried a deep bitterness. “You always feel like you have to pay the price for every bit of help you receive.”

Tere lowered her head deeply. “I don’t want to talk about the past right now. The only thing on my mind this second is Ana.”

“I know,” Marvin replied, his voice softening. “I’ve already ordered the best neurosurgeon at my hospital to head there. He’ll take over Ana’s treatment.”

“Don’t, Marvin!” Tere cut him off quickly. Her voice rose again in panic. “Don’t send anyone!”

“Tere, I’m not asking for your permission,” Marvin replied firmly. “When your child’s life is at stake because of your husband’s cruelty, I’m not going to just sit back and do nothing.”

“I know you want to help!” Tere broke down in tears, holding her breath in the quiet hospital corridor. “But I don’t want to drag you into the destruction of my marriage! I’ve already troubled you enough tonight...”

“You have never troubled me, Tere. Not once,” Marvin whispered coldly. “That man has abandoned the two of you. Let me make sure your daughter survives.”

“I just need Ana to wake up, Marvin. That’s all...” Tere’s voice grew faint, drained by physical and emotional exhaustion.

The phone call slowly came to an end. Tere lowered the phone from her ear and let out a long breath. Her trembling legs carried her back toward the cashier’s desk.

Just as Marvin had said, a man dressed entirely in black delivered a card containing one million dollars. The transaction was processed in full. Ana’s surgical deposit had been paid in full.

However, as Tere turned toward the operating room, her footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

At the end of the corridor, the elevator doors had just opened. Xandes stepped out.

The man was still wearing the same shirt he had worn when he had shouted at Tere in the mansion. Cleo was comfortably nestled in his arms. The boy looked calm, with only a small bandage wrapped around his arm.

To Xandes’s right, Felicia walked close beside him. Her hand was wrapped tightly around Xandes’s upper arm, her body leaning against him as though seeking protection.

The three of them looked perfectly suited to one another. A picture of a perfect family who loved and cared for each other.

Tere stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. Her chest, which had been filled with tension moments ago, now felt as though it had been struck by an iron hammer.

That was the family Xandes had chosen. Not Tere, the woman he had legally married. Not Ana, who called him Father.

Tere watched as Xandes lowered his head and gently stroked Cleo’s hair while whispering, “Does it still hurt, sweetheart?”

Cleo slowly shook his head. “Not anymore, Uncle.”

“Good. I’ll buy you a new toy after this,” Xandes said with a warm smile, a smile he had not given Ana even once in the past two years.

Felicia smiled as she touched Xandes’s chest. “Thank you so much, Xandes. I don’t know what would have happened to Cleo if you hadn’t been there.”

“Cleo is my responsibility, Felicia. You know I’ll always be there for both of you,” Xandes replied firmly.

Those words echoed in Tere’s ears. Her legs trembled violently as she fought against the nausea and anger churning inside her chest.

Tere clenched her fists. She turned her face away and walked past the three of them without saying a single word.

Xandes did not even glance in her direction. He was too busy leading Felicia and Cleo toward the exit.

Tere ran toward the front of the operating room. She sank into a cold metal chair.

Time passed like torture. One hour. Two hours. Three hours.

Tere did not move an inch. Both hands gripped her bloodstained dress tightly. Every time the operating room light flickered, her heart jolted violently.

Until finally, as dawn began to appear beyond the hospital windows, the operating room doors opened.

The surgeon stepped out slowly. He had already removed his surgical cap, and his head hung low.

Tere immediately stood and approached the doctor. “Doctor!”

The doctor stopped walking. Tension showed in the expression behind his mask.

“How is my daughter, Doctor? The surgery was successful, right?” Tere’s voice was hoarse, filled with fear.

The doctor let out a long sigh, his eyes looking at Tere with profound pity. “We did everything we could, Mrs. Tere...”

Every joint in Tere’s body went weak.

“No... Don’t say that, Doctor! Please, don’t say it!”

“The impact to her skull was too severe,” the doctor said quietly, his voice hoarse. “The severe bleeding in her brain had already continued for too long before the surgery was performed. We... we couldn’t save Ana’s life.”

Tere’s world shattered into nothing.