CHAPTER 3: THE HOSPITAL

The white hospital lights were blinding.

Alison Carter was running. Her old shoes were slapping against the cold floor. She didn't care that her blouse was already wet with sweat. She didn't care that Noah Walker and Agustin Montefalco were running behind her, two CEOs in expensive suits running like bodyguards for a small secretary.

"Ma! Mama!"

Room 304. Her mother, Elena Carter, was lying on the bed. Pale. Thin. An oxygen mask on her face. The doctor was beside her.

"Are you family?" The doctor asked.

"I'm her daughter! I'm Alison! What happened? What happened to my Mama?"

The doctor looked at her chart. "Your mother had a heart attack, Ms. Carter. We need to operate tonight. If not, she will not survive until morning. The operation costs 500,000 pesos. You need to pay 50% now."

Alison's world collapsed again. 500,000. Where would she get 500,000 at 9 PM?

"I... I don't have..."

"You don't need to pay," a deep voice said from behind.

Agustin Montefalco stepped forward. He was no longer smiling. His Mafia CEO face was serious. He showed his black card to the doctor.

"Charge everything to me. Agustin Montefalco. Walker & Montefalco Tower. All expenses. Operation, medicine, VIP room transfer after operation. Use the best. I already called Dr. Santos. He is on the way."

The doctor's eyes widened when he saw the name. "Mr. Montefalco? The Mr. Montefalco from Italy? Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Right away, sir!"

Noah Walker stepped forward too, angry that Agustin was faster again.

"Doctor, I also have money. I'm Noah Walker. I will pay too. Just save her mother."

The doctor was confused. Two billionaires paying for one patient? "Sir, one payment is enough..."

"I said I will pay!" Noah and Agustin shouted at the same time.

Alison was crying beside her mother's bed. She held her mother's cold hand. "Mama, wake up please... I'm here..."

Noah knelt beside her. He gently put his suit jacket over Alison's shoulders because she was shivering. "Alison, don't worry. The best surgeon in Manila is coming. Your Mama will be fine. I promise."

Alison looked at him, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Sir Noah... thank you..."

Agustin didn't kneel. He stood behind her like a wall, protecting her. He put his hand on her shoulder. His hand was heavy but warm.

"Alison, look at me," Agustin said.

Alison looked up.

"Your Mama will live. I will make sure of it. Because if your Mama dies, you will be sad. And I don't want you to be sad. Ever."

It was such a simple sentence, but from a Mafia CEO, it sounded like a vow. Like a threat to death itself.

After 30 minutes, an old doctor with gray hair arrived, running.

"Dr. Santos!" The young doctor stood straight.

"Where is the patient of Mr. Montefalco?" Dr. Santos asked.

"Here, doctor," Agustin pointed.

Dr. Santos checked Elena. "We need to operate now. Prepare the OR."

Nurses started moving fast. They pushed Elena's bed out of the room.

"Mama!" Alison tried to follow.

Noah stopped her gently. "You can't go inside the OR, Alison. Let them do their job."

Alison collapsed on the chair in the hallway. She was shaking.

Noah sat beside her on the left. Agustin sat beside her on the right. Again, she was between them.

"Alison, you haven't eaten," Noah said. He took out a sandwich from his pocket. It was from his office, his own dinner that he didn't eat. "Eat this."

"She doesn't want a sandwich," Agustin said. He called someone. "Bring food. From Shangri-La. Now. And bring a blanket."

In less than 10 minutes, a man in black suit came with a paper bag. Expensive food. Steak, rice, soup. And a soft blanket.

Agustin opened the blanket and put it over Alison's legs. "You are cold."

Noah opened the food. "Eat, Alison. You need strength."

Alison looked at both of them. She was too tired to argue. She took a small bite of the steak. It was the most expensive food she ever tasted, but it tasted like nothing because she was worried.

Three hours passed. Three long hours of silence in the hallway. Noah was holding Alison's left hand. Agustin was holding her right hand. Neither of them let go.

Finally, Dr. Santos came out of the OR. His mask was down.

"Doctor! My Mama?" Alison stood up fast.

"The operation was successful," Dr. Santos smiled. "She is strong. She will wake up tomorrow morning. She needs to stay in VIP room for one week."

Alison cried again, but this time with happiness. "Thank you! Thank you, Doctor!"

She hugged Dr. Santos.

Noah and Agustin both stood up. They both sighed in relief, but they looked at each other with competition.

"Thank you, Dr. Santos," Noah said.

"Good job, doctor," Agustin said and handed him an envelope. Thick. "For you."

Dr. Santos refused. "No need, Mr. Montefalco..."

"Take it," Agustin ordered.

After the doctor left, Alison was allowed to see her mother in the VIP room. It was not a room. It was like a hotel suite. Big bed, TV, sofa, private nurse.

Elena was sleeping peacefully.

"Mama," Alison whispered and kissed her mother's hand.

Noah and Agustin were standing at the door, watching her.

"Alison," Noah said softly. "It's 2 AM. You need to go home and rest. You have work tomorrow."

"She will not go home," Agustin said. "She will stay here. In this VIP room, there is another bed for family. She can sleep here."

"No, she needs to rest properly at home," Noah argued.

"Her home is far. Tondo to Makati? It's dangerous at night. She stays here," Agustin argued back.

Alison turned to them. "Stop fighting please... I want to stay here with Mama tonight."

Both men nodded.

"I will stay with you," Noah said.

"I will also stay with you," Agustin said.

Alison looked at them, exhausted. "You two... you don't need to stay. You are CEOs. You have work."

"We will stay," they said in unison.

So that night, in the VIP hospital room, Alison slept on the small family bed beside her mother's big bed.

And on the sofa, two billionaire CEOs slept sitting down. Noah on the left sofa, Agustin on the right sofa. Both watching over Alison while she slept. Both jealous of each other even in sleep.

In the middle of the night, Alison woke up and saw them.

Noah had taken off his suit jacket and was using it as a blanket. His face was soft when sleeping, like the janitor she first met.

Agustin was still in his suit, arms crossed, sleeping like a mafia boss even in his sleep. But his face was also soft when looking at Alison.

For a second, Alison's heart beat fast for both of them.

Who is she supposed to choose?

The hidden billionaire who was kind to her when he was a janitor?

Or the mafia billionaire who saved her mother without asking anything in return?

Alison didn't know that this was just the beginning. Because tomorrow, at 8 AM, she would have to report to work.

And she still hadn't decided if she would be Noah's secretary... or Agustin's.

Outside the hospital window, the city lights of Manila were blinking.

And inside the hospital room, a love triangle was slowly burning.