MasukOrlena's POV. "Hello," the voice came into my ear.I stared at the phone, and my hand shook. It felt strange, like a gun pointed at my head. I turned it over once in my palm, like I could not believe I had finally picked up the phone to call. "Orlena?" The voice waited for me to answer, patient, like it had been sitting there all day just for this.Dr Gran's voice."Dr Gran!" I said, and I moved the phone to my other hand. My fingers were cold and damp with sweat.I grabbed the pillow beside me and pulled it against my back. It helped me sit up straight, straightened my hurt spine, and gave my back something to lean into."Thank God I finally reached you," I said. My voice was thick. I had to push the words out one at a time, like I was carrying them up a hill.I did not let him speak, nor could I afford the silence."Dr Gran, please, can you help me reach Mr Brent? The CSO? Please, it's urgent, sir."I stopped. My heart pounded in my ears, loud enough to drown out my own breathing.
Orlena’s POV“T…that is…not possible.”My lips trembled as I struggled to find the right words.“I….I pleaded. I begged. The former doctor told me everything was fine. She said the management…”My voice suddenly cracked in the middle of the sentence. I gripped the edge of the bed tightly until my knuckles turned white.He only looked at me and shrugged, as though we were discussing nothing more important than a business transaction.“As I said earlier, she acted too fast. She was too hasty, and she didn’t wait for the final approval from the top before she and the other doctors carried on with your surgery.”“I’m sure all of them know where they are now. I guess they could try their luck in other hospitals and health facilities in Alaska. Beyond that, I don’t know.”“And lastly,” he continued, “we advise you to pay the remaining part of your bill. It may reduce the attention of Nurse Tiffany and our staff from attending to you adequately during the week or two you will spend here with
Orlena's POVPim… pim…That was the beeping of the machine behind my back.My vision blurred, my eyes barely opened. A sharp pain, like needles poking into my skin, traveled through my spine.My head felt heavy, like it was made of stone. I could hardly feel my legs. My hand crept toward my stomach.My baby was there. A small pulse surged beneath my fingers.Then everything began to come together. My vision slowly returned.Like a thick, cloudy veil that had covered my eyes was gradually being removed. Just like a cocoon opening…My head throbbed badly, my brain pulsating like it was about to explode.I turned my head on the bed I was lying on, trying to check my surroundings, but I found myself in the ICU. No one was there, only the beeping of the lifesaving machine echoing into my eardrums like it was about to tear them apart.The smell of antiseptic and something I couldn't name hit my nostrils.I breathed heavily. All I knew was that I was in the hospital. The last thing I remembe
Joan's POV.I lay in my bed, thinking about how it would go in the office.By now, Brent would have signed the deal. I crouched on the seat with a glass of wine curled in my fingers, reading the lifestyle magazine filled with the hottest breakup news in Hollywood.Once the maid had stepped in, cleaned the room, and taken Brent's and my clothes to the laundry room, I started flipping through the pages. Engrossed in all the latest news happening in Hollywood, I barely noticed when my phone buzzed to life.Right beside me. I checked. It was him, Mr. Henry.I checked the time. It was around 2 p.m., roughly heading toward closing time, and Mr. Henry had just finished a meeting with one department.I didn't care.So what the hell was he calling me for?After all, he was the one who had helped me reignite the Alaska deal in the boardroom, and I had told him I would compensate him from my cut of the Cayman Islands deal.So why now? Why the calls now? This is simply inappropriate and untimely
Brent's POV I picked up my bag the next morning. Someone was trying to threaten me over the phone. “Who?” Greg replied, furrowing his brow as the car sped toward the office. “I won't ask you to help me with this.” I snapped before he could say anything. “You have failed me in Orlena's case.” “Boss!” “Don't fucking ‘boss’ me, Greg.” My voice thundered, cutting into the thin air in the car. “I swear, I'm still working on it. I want to get you capable hands so that…” “You are still on it? Please, that's enough. That is where I will vehemently disagree with you.” “You are the CSO. I fucking trusted you with my life and my loved ones, based on how long you have worked with me, and painfully, you are fucking playing poker with my life, and you're enjoying it.” “I'm not, boss.” “You are, Greg!” I snapped. “...And I don't want to hear anything from you about it again.” Silence reigned in the car; my chauffeur kept his eyes on the road ahead. “I am beginning to question everyth
Joan's POV.Bang!That was the door.I watched as Brent slammed it shut in my face.The voices of him and his mother echoed from the bedroom as they exchanged angry accusations. I had seen Brent argue with his mother before, but today was different. They sounded ready to blow the roof off the house.All because of two people, Orlena and Eli.I walked back into the bathroom and switched on the faucet. I undressed, then lowered myself gently into the bathtub, my brain throbbing painfully.My grip tightened around both edges of the bathtub, My knuckles turned white.You fucked up, Joan.The voice struck my heart.I growled, gritting my teeth together so hard they felt like two stones grinding against each other.You shouldn't have questioned him that way. You shouldn't have questioned the love he has for Eli. You know he puts that boy above everything in his life, as if he were the one who gave birth to him.I breathed heavily, my lips trembling.And the more I bring Orlena into this, th
Orlena's POV My phone suddenly rang the moment I stepped into the parking lot, my fingers tightening slightly around my bag as I slowed down. Brent and Joan were already heading toward my car, their steps unhurried like they had all the time in the world.I paused, glancing down at the screen.It
Orlena's POV He would snap at any moment now, I could feel it coming, and my hand tightened at my side as I stood there, watching him.“Why is this here?”He finally looked up at me, his brows pulled together as he held the paper in his hand.“How is this here? You realize how important this is?”
Orlena’s POV. “Little gift?” The word parted my lips, “I think you're mixing it up somewhere.” I let out a hard smile. The sound came out brittle, like I was crushing a dry leaf under my foot. “Was I?” “Yeah,” I replied, nodding. At this time, the smile had dissolved into something I coul
Orlena’s POVI had buried my father in my heart that morning, but painfully, the universe is asking me to stay and care for a child who wasn't mine and who would never be mine. Isn't that cruelty? The thought of that almost made me laugh. “Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?” I muttered the words repe







