Chapter 5

Kayla's POV- 

Two days had passed since Sarah and I had that argument, but those memories were like a ghost haunting me Everytime because we were so close.

But thankfully my mother’s surgery had been a success. And I took a taxi to the Hospital. When I arrived I went to her ward and pushed open the door to her room, my heart beating fast as I saw her mother. She was awake. She looked pale, and fragile but healing.

"Kayla?" Her voice was a fragile, raspy, but it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

"Mom!" I rushed to the bedside, collapsing into the chair and taking her cold hand into my own. Tears, began to stream down my face. I pressed her palm to my cheek, sobbing with a relief so heavy it felt like my chest was breaking. "I was so scared. I thought... I thought I was going to lose you."

She smiled weakly, and reached up to brush a strand of hair from my face. "I’m still here, baby. I’m not going anywhere yet."

We talked for what felt like hours, though it was only minutes. She spoke of the dreams she’d had, and I listened to every word, feeling the crushing guilt in my stomach slowly transform into a quiet, painful ache. It was during a part in our conversation that her look sharpened, turning toward the pile of medical forms on the bedside table.

"Kayla," she whispered, her expression turning serious. "The surgery... the specialized team... the ventilator. I heard the nurses talking. They said the deposit alone was twenty thousand dollars. How? How did you pay for all of this? We don't have that kind of money."

My blood ran cold. I had rehearsed this moment, but hearing her hopeful, trusting voice made the lie taste like ash in my mouth. I tightened my grip on her hand, looking down to hide the fresh tears in my eyes.

"Sarah," I managed to say, my voice steadying just enough to sound convincing. "She... she had some savings she wasn't using. She insisted, Mom. She said it was a loan, and I'll pay her back when I get a stable job."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she squeezed my hand, completely unaware of the price that had actually been paid. "Sarah is such a good friend to you, Kayla. I don't know what we would have done without her kindness."

I just nodded, unable to speak, the lie clouding itself in my chest. I had saved my mother, but every "thank you" felt like a knife, reminding me of exactly what I had done to earn that peace.

"TWO WEEKS LATER"

Two weeks later, the hospital room—which had become a second home—was finally empty. I brought my mother back home, the color finally returning to her cheeks and the mechanical hum of the ICU became a fading memory. The relief was overwhelming, but underneath it, I still carried the secret like a weight.

Back at our place, my mother, overflowing with gratitude, insisted on calling the person she believed had saved her life. "Kayla, give me Sarah’s number," she said, sitting comfortably in her armchair. "I have to thank that girl properly. She is an angel."

I hesitated, my heart dropping straight to my stomach, but I couldn't refuse without raising suspicion. With shaking fingers, I handed over the phone.

Across town, Sarah was on her bed, a cloud of sweet-smelling vape smoke hovering around her head, when her phone buzzed with an unknown number. She groaned, annoyed at the interruption, and swiped to answer. "Yeah? Who is this?"

"Sarah, my dear," my mother said, her voice warm and thick with emotion. "It’s Mrs. Williams. I’m finally home. I just wanted to call and thank you from the bottom of my heart. You saved my life. That money you lent Kayla for the surgery bill... I don't know how we can ever repay you for your kindness and your sacrifice."

Sarah froze, the vape pen halfway to her lips. She blinked, pulling the device away as the words hit her.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on, ma'am," Sarah interrupted, her voice dropping into a sharp, confused tone. Her eyes darted toward the wall, her mind racing. "What are you talking about? What surgery bill?"

"Kayla said you were the one who lent her the savings for my surgery, dear," my mother continued, her voice trembling slightly with confusion as Sarah's tone grew colder. "She told me you were our saving grace."

A laugh escaped from Sarah’s end of the line, cold enough to make the air in the small apartment turn freeze. "So, she really told you that, huh? That little saint actually had the guts to lie to your face?"

Sarah’s voice was dripping with venom, the sting of my earlier insults—the ones about her career and her heartbreak—fueling her need to burn everything to the ground. She didn't care about the consequences anymore; she only wanted to see me suffer the same humiliation she had endured.

"Listen closely, Mrs. Williams," Sarah spat, her words sharp and calculated. "I didn't lend her a dime. Kayla didn't have 'savings'—she was broke, begging on the streets. I'm the one who signed her up to sell her body to a billionaire for a night just so she could get the cash to cover your precious bills."

The silence on the other end of the line was heavy, suffocating. Sarah didn't stop, her tongue moving faster than her conscience. "Maybe you should ask your 'sweet virgin'—oh, wait, I forgot, she’s not pure anymore, is she?—to tell you the truth herself. She didn't earn that money with kindness, Mrs. Williams. She earned it on her back."

I had just walked into the living room in time to hear the end of the conversation. I felt the world drop out from under me. I watched in absolute horror as my mother’s phone slipped from her hand, hitting the floor with a thud. She stood frozen, her face drained of all color, her eyes wide and fixed on nothing.

And she turned to me and asked "what.. what was Sarah talking about?"