Chapter Two The Hospital

Rebecca’s POV

The world around me felt blurred and distant as my eyes fluttered open. The sterile smell of medicine and disinfectant hit my senses immediately, and I realized I was in a hospital room. The ceiling lights above me were too bright, almost painful.

For a moment, everything was disorienting. The last thing I remembered was the sound of screeching tires... Gabriel's face, cold behind the wheel... and the impact that sent everything into darkness. My chest tightened as I tried to piece together the fragments of memory. The crash—it wasn’t just an accident. Gabriel... He did this.

I blinked, and when my vision cleared, I saw Natasha sitting beside me. She had been my best friend since childhood, so I wasn’t surprised to find her here. Still, her face was strained, her eyes red from what looked like hours of crying.

“Hey,” she greeted softly the moment she noticed I was awake. Her voice trembled with relief, but when I tried to respond, the dryness in my throat made it impossible. All I could manage was a rough sound that felt like sandpaper.

“Don’t try to speak yet. You’ve been through a lot.” Natasha quickly moved to help me adjust on the bed, but when I tried to sit up, she stopped me. “No, you can’t do that. The doctor said you need to stay still for a while longer.”

My mind felt sluggish as I tried to process her words. What had happened? Why was I in a hospital? The images in my head—the cheating, the accident—flashed like broken pieces of glass. Then it hit me like a tidal wave. Gabriel. He cheated. He crashed into me. My heart pounded against my chest, panic rising with every second.

“Where’s my mother?” I croaked, my voice weak but urgent. “Natasha, which hospital is this? I need to talk to my mom. I need to tell her about Gabriel—he needs to be arrested!”

At the mention of Gabriel, Natasha’s face shifted, her eyes darkening with something I couldn’t place. She hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line, as if there was something she didn’t want to tell me.

“Rebecca, just rest for now, okay? I’ll call your mom once you’re feeling better,” Natasha said, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

But I knew her too well. Something was wrong. My heart pounded in my chest, and panic began to rise. “Natasha, what’s happened? Tell me! Where’s my mother?” I demanded, my voice gaining strength through the fear gripping me.

Her face crumpled, and before she could hold back, tears welled up in her eyes. “Rebecca,” she began, her voice thick with emotion. “You weren’t just in an accident yesterday. You’ve been in a coma... for a month.”

My heart stopped. “A month?” I echoed, disbelief crashing over me. “How? What about my mom? Where is she?”

Natasha took a deep breath, moving closer to sit on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were pained, and I could tell she was struggling to find the right words. “Your mom… She brought you to India for treatment after the accident. You had surgery, Rebecca. Your heart was damaged. But during the operation, you fell into a coma.”

My pulse raced as I braced myself for the worst, sensing there was something even more devastating coming. “What about her? What happened to my mom, Natasha?” I begged, dread filling my voice.

“She’s alive, but...” Natasha’s voice wavered, and the words tumbled out quickly, as if she were afraid to tell me. “After you fell into a coma, the doctors told her there was a chance you wouldn’t make it. The shock of it… she collapsed, Rebecca. She’s been in a coma ever since. It’s been a month. Tomorrow marks one month.”

My heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest. I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t process the weight of what Natasha had just told me. “No… no, that can’t be true.” I muttered, shaking my head, my voice breaking.

Natasha reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly. “The doctors say she’s improving. She’ll wake up, Rebecca. She has to.”

“If I made it... then she can too,” I whispered, trying to believe it, trying to cling to that hope. But deep down, I could feel something breaking inside me.

Before I could say more, the door to my hospital room opened, and the doctor stepped in. She made a quick check of my condition, shining a light into my eyes, nodding as if satisfied with my recovery. But none of it registered. My mind was far from this room, locked in the uncertainty of my mother’s fate, and the growing fury I felt toward Gabriel.

***

The next morning, I felt strong enough to move, and I insisted on seeing my mother. Natasha reluctantly helped me out of bed, supporting me as I walked with slow, unsteady steps toward her room. I was weak, but determination pushed me forward.

As we neared the hallway, a sudden rush of doctors and nurses raced past us toward a room ahead. I froze as Natasha’s grip tightened on my arm. Her face went pale, and her eyes filled with dread.

“No,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

My stomach dropped. “Is it…?” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Natasha didn’t need to answer. Her expression said it all. Panic surged through me, and I pushed myself forward, ignoring the pain as I hobbled down the hallway. The doctors’ voices echoed in my ears, frantic and urgent.

“We’re losing her! Harder!” They shouted from the room.

My heart pounded as I reached the door, only to be stopped by a nurse. I stood there, helpless, watching through the glass as they worked on my mother. Every second felt like a lifetime. Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Then, one of the doctors stepped out, his face sombre as he approached Natasha and me. His words were soft, but they might as well have been a death sentence.

“I’m sorry. We lost her.”

The world shattered around me. My knees buckled, and I collapsed into Natasha’s arms, wailing like a child. My mother was gone.

And in that moment, something inside me broke. Gabriel had tried to kill me. He might not have pulled the trigger, but he was responsible for this. For everything. The loss of my mother, the woman who had given me life, was because of him.

I wasn’t the same person anymore. And Gabriel was going to find that out.