MOM!

****

Simon is on his way back from his company when he receives a call from his mother, Emily. Knowing exactly what she wants to say, and it is nothing but pestering him to get married, he ignores her call as he is already tired from the strenuous day he had at work.

While on his way home, suddenly his driver stops with full force. "Are you okay?" Simon asks. "Sir, I think I just saw a woman laying in the middle of the road," the driver responds. "A woman!" He exclaims.

Then he gets out of the car to check, and the driver accompanies him. They both approach the woman to see if she is still breathing. They touch her and discover that it is Gabriella, and she is still breathing but gasping at the same time.

"Please help me," Gabriella pleads while breathing heavily. Simon sees this and still does not want to help. He moves back towards his car but suddenly notices that Gabby is pointing towards the direction her mom is.

"Please save my mother," she begs. But it is not his nature to help anyone who is not his family, and he remembers his planned revenge on the Maxwells and how much he searched for Gabriella to help him make his plans work.

He thinks he would be a fool if he lets her slip away from him. So he decides to stay and help. He goes back, lifts her up with the help of his driver, and runs towards the car to open the door for Simon.

They take her into the car and also carry her mother into the car. They all get in, and they drive to the nearest hospital they can find. While on their way to the hospital, Simon looks at Gabriella and sees how much pain and agony she is in. He feels even more pity for her.

"I really wonder who did this to her again," Simon murmured.

Eventually, they arrived at the hospital and he helped both of them out of the car with the assistance of his driver.

He then hurriedly carried her into the hospital, shouting, "Emergency, it's an emergency!" Simon and his driver continued to run quickly. Everyone stared as they ran, and then they saw the nurses attending to Gabriella and her mom.

"Nurses, it's an emergency!" Simon shouted. The nurses rushed towards them with a stretcher, placed Gabriella on it, and took her inside the ICU.

They immediately summoned the doctor to treat her, and as soon as the doctor walked in, Simeon had never been so scared. Surprisingly, he was overwhelmed with fear and appeared greatly distressed.

Two hours later, the doctor emerged from the ICU room. "Doctor, how is she doing now?" Simeon asked curiously. "She is better now. Do you happen to know what happened to her?" the doctor inquired. "No doctor, I don't know her at all," he lied.

"I just saw her lying helplessly in the middle of the road, on the brink of death, and she pleaded for help, so I did," Simeon explained to the doctor. "Alright, Mr...." the doctor hesitated. "I am Simon doctor, Mr. Simon Grey," he answered.

"Grey of the Greys hotel? Is it that Grey, the most powerful man in the city?" the doctor asked. "Yes doctor, what is the report?" he responded. "Alright, Mr. Grey, could you please come with me to complete the necessary paperwork while she remains under our observation for three days to assess her recovery," he explained.

"Okay doctor, is she awake now and allowed visitors?" Simon asked. "Yes, she is. The operation was successful, but right now she needs extreme rest due to the impact on her head and the accompanying mental stress.

It almost resulted in a brain tumor because she lost a lot of blood before arriving here. Fortunately, she was brought in at the right time. However, she is better now but cannot have visitors yet," the doctor explained. "You can check on her tomorrow."

"What about the other woman? Is she stable as well?" Simon asked. "Hmmm," the doctor sighed. "We did everything we could to save her, but unfortunately, she didn't make it. I'm sorry," the doctor revealed. "Alright, doctor," Simon agreed.

Later on, they both went to sort out the necessary documents for Gabriella's admission and her bills. Simon filled in Gabriella's admission documents as his wife since he had already lied about knowing her.

He left the hospital and went home to rest because it had been a long day for him. However, while on his way, the whole event of saving Gabriella got lost in his thoughts and left him wondering what made him care so much to help her. These thoughts lingered in his head as they finally made it home.

Simon went into his mansion and found the lights turned off, which made him angry. "Alexia! Alexia! Who turned off the lights?" he shouted. Alexia rushed towards Simon and explained, "It is your mother, sir. She came in this afternoon."

"Mom is here, but she could have called me to let me know," he said, but then he immediately remembered the call he got from her earlier and sighed.

"Thank you, Alexia. You can return to your duty," Simon ordered. Then Alexia left, while he went upstairs to look for his mother.

Simon reached upstairs and found his mother resting in the guest room. "Mom! You did not tell me you were going to be here," he confronted his mother.

"Oh! So do I have to tell you when I come over or when I decide to stay in my son's house? And where in the world did you put your phone?" Emily questioned. "Why do you look so messed up, Simon?" she asked, frowning at Simon.

"I have been busy at work, Ma," Simon protested. "And I also helped a poor woman lying helplessly on the road," he said. Emily looked shocked and surprised, wondering when her son started lending help to people other than their family.

This made her happy, though she worried at the same time. "Really? Can you tell me when my son went, because I do not know this person standing next to me?" she teased.

"Mom, please stop with the melodrama already. It's not a big deal that I helped someone, so please stop making a fuss," replied Simon, excusing himself.

"No, young man, this conversation is not over. I need to know who that helpless woman is," Emily pressured while walking close to him.

"Mother! I don't even know her from Adam. I just helped a lady in need. I didn't want to help initially, but I did it anyway because she needed it and was on the verge of death," he lied.

"You just helped her," Emily teased. "Oh, okay! Then she must be special," she mocked.

"MOM! Jesus Christ," he exclaimed.

"Okay, fine. How was work today?" she questioned.

"It was tiresome and stressful as always," he answered while eating chips.

"I just need some sleep," he pleaded.

He walked away from Emily and went into his bedroom to get some sleep and also to take a shower after a long draining day…

****

On the following morning, Simon woke up and got dressed for work, while Emily was in the kitchen assisting Alexia with a morning stretch before her yoga class began.

"Good morning, mother," Simon greeted. "Good morning, my darling. Oh! I see you're already dressed for work," Emily teased and chuckled. "Yes, mother. But before I leave for work, I want to visit the woman I had admitted to the hospital," he explained.

"Oh, the unfortunate woman," she hypocritically laughed. "Alright then. Just make sure you're not late for work," Emily called out.

"Have you forgotten that it's my company, Mom?" he chuckled. "I'm the boss." They both laughed. "I love you, darling. Drive safely," Emily said. "I love you too, and make sure to have a good day," Simon replied. Simon walked towards his car and got in, with the driver already sitting in the driver's seat, and they drove off.

On his way to the hospital, he kept hoping that Gabriella was already awake. A few minutes later, they arrived at the hospital and Simon went to the new ward where Gabriella had been transferred since she was out of the ICU and no longer in danger.

Eventually, he arrived and saw her still sleeping but looking much better. He sat down next to her, staring at her while waiting for the doctor, but not long after, she woke up.

Gabriella woke up and was surprised to see Simon sitting right next to her. "How did he get here?" she murmured silently. While being engrossed in her thoughts, she thought of her mother.

"Please, where is my mother?" she pleaded. But Simon could not find the strength to tell her that her mother was dead. Fortunately for Simon, the doctor walked in and was surprised to see Simon already at the hospital. "Oh Mr. Grey, you came to check on our patient," the doctor teased. Simon smiled. "No, doctor, I was heading to work and just wanted to check on her to see if she was awake already."

"Yeah, that is very thoughtful of you, Mr. Grey," the doctor praised him. While the doctor continued doing a check-up on Gabriella and ensuring she recovered quickly, she asked, "Doctor, please, how is my mother doing now? Is she fine? Please tell me." The doctor sighed. "We did all we could, but we could not save your mother. I am so sorry," he sympathized.

"No, no, no," she yelled. "Mother!" she screamed. "Please tell me it's all a joke. I knew she was unconscious, but you could have saved her. No!" She cried profusely, causing a spike in her blood pressure and breathing, which made her faint. The doctor called in the rest of his team to treat her, and Simon was sent back out.

After some time, the doctor came out of her ward and went directly to Simon. "Doctor, is she better now?" he inquired. "Yes, she is, but still unconscious. She will regain consciousness in a few hours, but you can return to work now. I assure you she is stable," the doctor assured him.

"Okay, Mr. Grey, I am going to head back to my office now," he nodded and smiled. "I will take my leave now."

The doctor left Simon, who was still sitting in the waiting hall. However, his attention shifted to the room where Gabriella was, and he saw her attempting to stand up, but she couldn't due to the pain in her body.

All she could remember was her mom and the scene from the accident. The doctor quickly entered her ward and Simon told her not to stress herself or her body, assuring her that everything had been taken care of. Gabriella sarcastically remarked, "You rich people always brag about everything." Simon responded, "I don't know what you mean by that, but not all rich people brag. I despise bragging." Gabriella murmured, "Hmmm." Simon then said, "I'll take my leave now since you seem better.

I'll just come to check on you." He gave a fake smile, said goodbye, and quietly closed the door as he walked past. Gabriella looked disturbed but laid down and went back to thinking about what had transpired between her and Richard.

She replayed the thugs' attack and her mother's death, as well as how Richard had broken his promises and hurt her with hurtful words. She was filled with rage and vengeance, wanting to seek revenge on Richard Maxwell and his entire family for causing her so much pain.