Chapter 2

By the time I finally arrived at the hospital, the doctor told me that Naomi's situation was so critical that she had been taken into the operating room.

I signed a stack of consent forms before the nurse shoved a pile of bills at me and urged me to pay at once.

I wandered the hospital hallways in a daze, calling and texting every relative and friend just to beg for money. But no matter how humbly I pleaded, I only managed to scrape together two thousand dollars.

For a moment, I was so dazed that I considered asking a nurse if I could sell a kidney or part of my liver to cover the rest of the bills.

At a corner of the hallway, I wasn't paying attention and ran into a woman in high heels. Both our surgery documents were scattered onto the floor.

As I apologized and helped gather the papers, she stared at me with a strange look and then tentatively called my name.

My mind was too blank to think, so all I could do was give her a blank stare without recognizing who she was.

She took the papers from me and introduced herself with a smile, "I'm Monica Brown. I was your senior in college and presented you with an award during the anniversary gala."

Monica's father had been the city's wealthiest tycoon. As a result, she had always been a prominent figure on campus.

I heard her father died a few years ago. As his only child, Monica had inherited his fortune and become a billionaire herself.

Looking into her eyes full of smiles, I didn't know what came over me, but the first thing I did was ask to borrow her money. "Monica, my daughter's sick and needs surgery. Could you lend me eight thousand dollars? I swear I'll pay you back, and I can even write an IOU.

"There's nothing else I can do. She's on the operating table right now, waiting for this money to save her life, and I've seriously run out of options."

Monica froze for a moment. Perhaps she could see how close I was to breaking down because she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

She took out her phone, exchanged numbers with me, and wired ten thousand dollars.

"From your bill, I noticed that the surgery costs ten thousand dollars. Pay for it with that money, and don't worry about the rest. I don't need the money either, so whether you pay it back doesn't matter at all."

Compared to Heather, Monica was a literal life-saving angel. I promised to pay it back and even tried to kneel in thanks.

Startled, she quickly helped me up and said she had to leave for company business.

I rushed to the nurses' station, borrowed a pen and paper, and scribbled an IOU. After chasing her down, I shoved it in her hands.

Monica hadn't wanted to take it at first, but I begged until she hurriedly accepted it and left.

With the money she lent me, I paid for Naomi's surgery.

After nearly three hours, a nurse finally wheeled Naomi into the ICU. The doctor told me that the surgery was a success and that she could be transferred to a regular room the next day if she did fine after a short observation.

Looking at Naomi's pale face while she slept, I collapsed in tears and crouched in a corner, sobbing into my hands.

I applied for leave from work and stayed at the hospital to care for her.

Naomi was clearly a fighter. She woke up the day she was transferred to a regular room and called for me in a soft voice, like a kitten's.

Seeing her pale little face, I fought back tears and carefully fed her soup. She lost her appetite after a few sips, closed her eyes, and fell asleep again.

I finished the rest of the soup and took the trash out.

When I came back, I saw Heather holding Jared's hand and peeking through the door. Up close, I heard Jared complaining to her in dissatisfaction that I was a liar.

"I told you Miles was lying. Naomi hasn't had an episode in ages, so how could it have been such a coincidence that she gets sick right before my birthday?

"Miles probably thinks celebrating my birthday's a waste of money, but he could've just said so instead of using Naomi to lie to you.

"Thank goodness Naomi's fine, and you can relax now. But this kind of behavior from Miles is unacceptable. Who knows if he'll try to lie to you again…"

Naomi was in the hospital room, hooked to monitors, yet Jared still claimed that she was faking her illness.

I couldn't listen to another word he said and lifted my foot to kick him hard in the ass.