Carla’s POV.
I was putting on a black dress with a tinted glass to hide away the sorrow and tears that lingered in my eyes. Amelia, the only person who had always been with me was seated beside me, also putting on a black dress, as she held my hand and rested my head on her shoulder. She was trying to comfort me but no matter how hard she tried, I couldn’t forget the fact that I had lost a part of me. If someone had told me I would feel the pain of a mother who had lost her child, I wouldn’t have believed it.
As I sat in the church and the priest delivered his sermon, my eyes were glued on the little casket in front of me. The casket which enclosed in it, was the person I would never see again. As much as I tried refraining myself from crying, I just couldn't. Which mother would be happy that her ward died right in front of her? My mind trailed back to the day before, the day I had received the devastating call.
I remembered how I and Amelia had rushed to the hospital where the teacher had said Mia was taken to. Getting to the hospital, we met the teacher, who was as unstable as I was at the hospital reception, pacing up and down. Seeing her, we rushed to where she was, wanting to know where Mia was and how it happened.
“Miss Anna” I had called out upon seeing her.
“Where is Mia? What happened?” I asked before she could speak, my heart beating fast and worry was etched on my face. It was a bad day for me and it couldn’t have been worse after getting the call.
“She …… she ……” she stammered, as she pointed in the direction of the emergency ward. She was flustered and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Seeing how scared she was, I knew Mia’s condition was worse than I had thought. Leaving her and Amelia alone, I rushed in the direction of the emergency ward. Upon getting there, I looked around to see if I would get a sight of Mia, but she was nowhere to be found. Eventually, I ran into a nurse who later directed me to where she was.
Getting to the space where she was laid on the bed, I gasped as I covered my mouth in shock. I couldn’t believe it was my daughter who was lying there in such a critical condition. Tears began to roll down my eyes at the sight of the state she was it. She couldn’t breathe on her own. She had been placed on oxygen and the medical team hovered around her, examining her, trying to detect what was wrong and where she was hurting.
As young as she was, pain was etched on her face. It was evident that she was in pain. Seeing her in pain made my heart ache and not being able to withstand the pain, I broke down. I collapsed onto the floor as I began to sob. The medical team noticed my presence and after getting to know I was her mother, they informed me of her condition.
“Miss Evans, I am sorry to say this but your daughter is in a critical condition” the doctor said as she faced me but I couldn’t utter a word as I didn’t know the words to put together. I just stared blankly at her and when she realized I wouldn’t say anything, she continued.
“According to the result of the x-ray we conducted on her, it was discovered that one of her veins had ruptured due to how she had hit her chest on the floor when the car hit her. Hence, she has internal bleeding and the only way she can survive right now is undergo surgery as soon as possible. But the ……..” she further explained but I cut her short before she could finish.
“Then, get her into the theatre and do what you are supposed to do to save my child. I do not mind doing anything you want. Just please save my daughter doctor. Please!!!!” I interrupted, as I got on my kneels and began to plead with the doctor, crying profusely. At that moment, all I wanted was for my child to be saved and not minding that I was embarrassing the doctor and that eyes were on us, I continued to plead while on my kneels.
“You do not have to do this, Miss Evans. It’s our responsibility to save your daughter and we will try our possible best to do that. You can get up now” she said, as she helped me up.
Hearing what she had said, I wiped away my tears and thanked her.
“Thank you doctor. So, will she be moved into the theatre now? How much do I need to deposit for the surgery? Do you need me to do anything?” I hurriedly asked, wanting to make sure the surgery wasn’t delayed and my daughter was saved. As soon as I asked those questions, I noticed that the doctor’s countenance changed. She looked worried and I could see pity in her eyes as she looked at me.
“That’s where the problem is Miss Evans. All our surgeons are booked. They all are currently in the operating rooms performing surgeries and the only person surgeon left is currently on leave. He got married recently and he is on his honeymoon. All we can do now is to wait till one of the surgeons is done, then we can proceed with your daughter’s surgery” she apologetically explained.
“What? Wait till they are done with the surgery? You just told me she needs to undergo the surgery as soon as possible. What if she dies before then? Will you take responsibility for that? Can’t you just call in the supposed surgeon who is on leave or better still, get into the operating room and do the needful!!!!!” I yelled, losing my sense of reasoning and patience.
“Miss Evans, you have to calm down. I understand you are in pain right now but there is nothing I can do to help. I am not a surgeon, so there’s no way I can operate on your daughter. As for Doctor Charles, there is no way I can call him in as I do not have the authority to. He is the Chairman’s son-in-law” the doctor gently explained.
At the mention of the name ‘Dr. Charles’, my brain clicked and it was at that moment I realized that, there was still a chance to save my daughter. I had forgotten that was the hospital Charles was working and that he had gotten married to the daughter of the owner of the hospital.
“He might be on his honeymoon but he wouldn’t forsake his daughter, would he?” I had thought as I excused myself from the doctor and brought out my phone to call Charles. As I dialed his line, I prayed silently for him to pick my calls but it seemed as if God didn’t answer my prayer as he didn’t pick.
I was confused, helpless and in desperate need of his help. In as much as I didn’t want to contact him, I needed him at that moment to save my child - our child!!!
I began to pace up and down as I continued to press my phone, trying to get in touch with him. I messaged him, which showed that the message was delivered and read but he didn’t respond. I sent a voice message, explaining to him the critical situation his daughter was in and how we needed him to come around but he listened to it and didn’t respond.
I was heartbroken and sad.
“How can he do this to me? How can he do this to his daughter?” I had thought, as tears streamed down my eyes, colliding with my cheeks. My heart was hurting. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t give up as I kept on messaging, calling but he didn’t respond.
I begged him. I promised I wouldn’t disturb him again if he saves my daughter. I told him I would let him be with the woman he chose to be with and luckily, he responded.
“Really? Is that a promise?” that was all he said. Not minding the hatred I was feeling towards him, I quickly responded, assuring him that he had my words. I was willing to tolerate his ridicules and torment as long as he saved my child. I kept on staring at my phone, waiting for him to respond but he went off again, not giving a response.
10 minutes later, he responded with a laughing emoji, after which he said:
“Let her die. She means nothing to me. I have a new family now. She can die for all I care. I hope we do not get in touch with each other again. Goodbye”. I thought I had seen wrong as I blinked repeatedly as I read the message. I couldn’t believe the cruelty in his words.
“Let her die? She means nothing to me? Is he joking or he is being serious right now? Does he know I am talking about his child? His Mia?” I soliloquized as I collapsed on the floor, expressing my frustration and anger through the tears that rolled down my eyes.
Just then, I saw the doctor who had attended to me earlier and the other medical team, rushing into the emergency room. Seeing them, I knew something was wrong. I quickly got up from the floor and just as I had thought, something was truly wrong. It was Mia. Her monitor had begun to beep and even with the oxygen mask on, she was finding it hard to breathe. I ran to her side, wanting to know what was going on but the doctor told me to step aside as they needed to attend to her.
I stepped aside as instructed, while praying to God for her to be fine. My legs were trembling, same as my hands. I felt weakened as I watched them try their possible best to save her. I buried my face in my hands, praying vehemently and crying at the same time. I still had hope then, the hope that she would survive but when the monitor finally stopped beeping, I knew that was the end.
It had all ended but I couldn’t bear to uncover my face and look at her. I didn’t want to accept the reality but when I heard the doctor say: “Time of death, 4: 10 ……”, I knew that was the end. And with that, I slowly lost my consciousness and my body collided with the cold tiles.
Carla’s POVI watched as her body was being laid to rest. The thought of my darling baby being alone in that shallow grave made me cry the more. Everybody who had come to show their condolences left including the priest but I stayed back at the graveyard as I couldn’t bear to leave her all alone. Amelia volunteered to stay with me till I was ready to leave but I told her I wanted to be alone with Mia which made her leave.As I sat by her graveyard all alone, I remembered my aunt’s words. The hurtful words she had said to a mother who had just lost her child.“Stop crying and get your ass up. See what happened as God’s blessing to help you make a better choice in life. Since what was tying you down to him is dead, then I would advise you to find a better man to marry than a pauper like him. No wonder he left you since you have nothing to offer him. Be like you sister, Catherine, who makes good choices. Look at the man she will be getting married to tomorrow. Follow her footsteps and le
Carla POV. “Get the hell away from my man!!” Catherine yelled as she interrupted our kiss by pulling me away from Carlos. I expected that as no woman would be happy seeing another woman take her place on her day of joy. She stood in between Carlos and I, with a stern look on her face like that of a lion, who was ready to devour its prey. It was so satisfying to see her in distress. As a smile curled up my lips, I folded my arms and locked my gaze with hers, ready for whatsoever she was bringing forth. Carlos on the other hand stood passive, not saying anything and I wondered if he was planning to leave me to fight the battle all alone. I briefly glanced at him, hoping to know what he was thinking, but he averted my gaze. “Really?” I thought as I rolled my eyes. “What’s the meaning of this? Don’t you feel ashamed? How dare you try to steal my man from me?” she blurted out with a scornful look on her face, as she clenched her fist as if she was getting ready to punch me in
Carla’s POV. The moment we stepped out of the hall, he abruptly let go of my hand. I was neither surprised nor hurt as all we did in there was just an act. We both entered the car and after giving the driver the directive on where to go, we zoomed off.“Drive us to the hospital. We need to pay granny a visit” he had instructed as he rested his back on the seat and put on his seatbelt. Throughout the journey to the hospital, no one spoke and the silence in the car felt heavy. The silence made me feel uncomfortable. So, I took a quick glance at Carlos, hoping to start a conversation with him but he was too engrossed in his thoughts to notice me, as he was staring outside the window, his face, a vast array of emotions. The glance, which was meant to be quick, lasted for quite a while as I took my time to observe his countenance and mood. Although he had successfully gotten his revenge on Catherine, he still looked sad. Anguish and hurt were written all over his face. As I looked
Carla’s POV It was him. Those eyes of his, which used to draw me in and make me drunk in love, had become what I hated to see. I glared disdainfully at him as he approached me. The anger I felt just from seeing his face made me explode. I wanted to punch him, to release all my anger on him, to tear him apart. The thought of Mia’s death only agitated me the more, and I clenched my fists in frustration. I was so consumed by rage that I had forgotten Granny was holding my hand—and that I was squeezing hers so hard that it hurt her. I only realized it when she placed her other hand on mine and gently caressed it, as if she felt my pain and was trying to relieve me of it. I looked at Granny, and she smiled at me before murmuring, 'You will be fine'. I stared blankly at her as I was surprised. It was barely an hour that we met, and she had made me feel at home. Her compassion towards me reminded me of my mum – the woman I had lost to the cold hands of death, when I was at a tender age
After Mr. Clinton had apologized over and over again, he saw us off to the parking lot. He didn’t leave the parking lot until he saw our car zoomed off. Throughout our ride home, nobody said a word. Silence filled the car. I was seated at the back with Granny beside me, while Carlos sat at the front seat with the driver.I knew Granny had a lot of questions on her mind to ask Carlos and I but surprisingly, she pretended as if nothing had happened some minutes earlier and was on her phone all through our ride home. Same as Carlos. Realizing that I was the only being who was not occupied, I brought out my phone from my bag only to see several missed calls and text messages from my best friend, Amelia.“What the heck? I heard you got married to your sister’s fiancée. That can’t be true, right? Get in touch with me as soon as possible”, these were some of her messages.I knew exactly why she had called. She must have heard the news. I didn’t inform her of my arranged marriage with Carlos
Carla’s POV. I was expecting to see only Granny and Carlos seated at the dining table, but I was shocked to see those whom Carlos had warned me to beware of, seated with them. Aunt Stephanie, Aurora (her daughter” and Uncle Chris (her husband), were seated on the dining, digging into their food. “What the hell is going on here? What are they doing here?” I silently thought in agony, as I stood at the entrance of the dining room, with my hand on my forehead. Carlos had told me a lot about the trio and I wasn’t mentally and emotionally okay at that moment, to deal with their dragging, because I knew they were going to. With the way I had thrown shade at Aunt Stephanie at the wedding hall earlier, I knew she would definitely come for me, not only her, but also her grown up daughter and her husband, as Carlos had told me they were birds of the same feather. While amid my thoughts, Granny, who had caught a glimpse of me, called out to me and requested I joined them. “Carla darling,
Carla’s POV. As a child, I only knew my mother as my only family. It was not until I was 12 years of age, I got to know I had an aunt. My mother never spoke about my father and although she tried her best to never make me feel his absence, I still did whenever I saw my friends with their fathers. I tried several times to make her tell me about him, but she always waved off the topic, pretending as if I never mentioned it. But there came a day, the day I couldn’t take it anymore. The day I also made up my mind to never ask about him again. That day, I had gotten into a fight with a classmate of mine, who shamed me for not having a father and called me a bastard. I was so pained and hurt that as soon as I got home that day, I stormed into my mother’s room angrily. “Darling, you are back already. How was school today?” she said as soon as she saw me, with a smile curled up on her lips. Normally, I would have rushed to her and squeezed my tiny self into her arms but that day, I s
“Mom” I called as silence filled the room, with my eyes fixed on my mum, whose gaze was avoiding mine. I slowly walked up to her and when I eventually closed the gap between us, I held her arms and made her face me. “What did you just say? Abandoned us?” I queried, searching her eyes for answers but I didn’t find any. Instead, I found fear and reluctance. She hastily averted my gaze and began to look everywhere except my face, as if she was trying to run away from the hidden truth.I already had an hint as to what was going on but I didn’t want to believe it. “Abandoned us? The man I have been longing to meet wouldn’t have abandoned us, would he?” I had thought, as I continued observing my mum’s body movements and the fear of my thought being true, gripped me. “Mum, talk to me!!” I screamed, losing my patience, which made her flinch. I tightened my grip around her arms, with me shaking her, as if trying to get her attention to give me the answers I wanted. “I …… I “ mum stutter
Carla’s POV “I am sorry, but we lost them” the doctor announced, each word dragged as he let out a heavy breath. “Lost them? What does that mean?” I thought, staring at the doctor blankly. “What do you mean by lost them? They just had stomachache and bleeding noses. So, how could they have died from that?” Carlos’ trembling, yet loud voice asked. He was anxious but tried his best to be as calm as he could be. “Those signs they showed before giving up, could be likened to food poison, but we can’t be certain until we conduct an autopsy on them. I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Carlos” the doctor sympathized, before excusing himself. I couldn’t talk .... couldn’t move. I just stood still, giving my brain enough time to process what was going on. “Died? How could they be dead? People that I was with at the dining table a few minutes ago. He must not know what he is talking about” I mulled over, scoffing before bursting out into laughter. I was in denial – vehemently believing tha
Carla’s POV I was staring at her lifeless body, which was laid on a stretcher, in the holding room. I had run to the hospital thinking the Detective was wrong – thinking he had mistaken someone else for Amelia. “Amelia can’t be dead. She isn’t the one” I had assured myself as I drove to the hospital, being optimistic. But seeing her lying there, cold and motionless, I knew I had hit rock bottom. There was no way for me to deny reality anymore. The heavy weight of the truth and reality made me shiver under the hot weather. My legs trembled and I saw myself collapsing onto the floor, tears slowly rolling out of my clouded eyes. When I realized my only confidant was gone, the fear of being alone gripped me. “She was the only one who stood by me – the one who reassured me that everything would be okay. She fought for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself. Then, why wasn’t I there when she needed me the most? I haven’t even reciprocated half of the love she showed me. So, how co
Carla’s POV. I stared blankly at the soul, which was lying on the bed before me, feeling tired of everything. I wondered what I had done to deserve that kind of life – the life where I will be happy now and the next minute, my happiness will turn into sadness. I was tired – frustrated by everything. I wanted to run away, to yell at Catherine to stop throwing tantrums but I couldn’t bring myself to abandon her. I remembered how I had driven crazily to the hospital after receiving that call. “She slit her wrist as soon as she woke, obviously with the intention of killing herself. For now, I will advise we all keep our eyes on her. She shouldn’t be left alone at any point in time” the doctor’s words rang in my head. That was the time she needed me the most, and I was ready to stick to her side no matter what. Amelia and I stayed with her all through the night, watching over her and waiting for her to wake up. Eventually, she did. “Catherine, are you okay?” I anxiously asked
Carla’s POV “Why did you do that? I thought we both agreed on sticking to the plan. Why did you have to tell her the bitter truth?” I asked Carlos, who was seated beside me on the bench, which was outside Carla’s ward. I was furious about what he did and was ready to lash out at him. At the same time, I feared what Catherine would do after finding out the truth. “Firstly, I never agreed with you on deceiving her and secondly, how do you expect me to hurt you again when I had done that before?” he replied, his dazzling eyes piercing into mine. “I know you are hurting, and you are just pretending to be okay. I have hurt you because of that woman before and you want me to do that again?” he asked, pointing in the direction of Catherine’s room. His pitch was somehow high, as if he was angry with me due to my decision but he was trying not to make it noticeable. “Babe, I know you are worried about her, but I can assure you that she will be fine. You don’t have to keep sacrifi
Carla’s POV “What do you mean, her? Have you been cheating on me with her even before my accident? Have you?!!!” Catherine yelled in frustration; her voice laced with accusation. By that time, I had already turned around to face them. “Cheat on you?” Carlos scoffed, releasing her hands as he stood abruptly. “I never cheated on you—but you did. Do you even know what you did to her? To your own sister?” Carlos’ voice was filled with anger, the forced smile he had worn earlier vanishing in an instant. I knew exactly where Carlos was headed—he was about to expose everything. But the truth could break Catherine. It could make her hate herself, or worse, drive her to harm herself. “Carlos, don’t,” I warned, stepping closer to him. “I shouldn’t? Why do we have to keep lying to her? Let’s tell her the truth so everyone can finally be at ease. She needs to stop making these ridiculous demands! I am fucking tired of this pretense. Her touch alone disgusts me.” Carlos’ voice dripped with
Carla’s POV I was too shocked to realize that everyone else in the room was staring at me. The sound of my phone falling had diverted their attention to me.“Marry her? Where is that coming from? Why would she ask for that the moment she woke up?” I wondered, struggling to steady my breathing. My gaze met Carlos’, his eyes silently pleading for rescue. He looked cornered, unsure of how to respond to Catherine’s request. “Either he accepts, and we become co-wives, or he refuses, and she does the unthinkable,” I thought, torn between the two choices. Silence consumed the room, as if the world had come to a halt for a few seconds. “Carlos, why aren’t you responding? Don’t you want to marry me? Is it because I am crippled?” Catherine’s heavy-hearted voice interrupted the silence, making the room lively once again. Her eyes were laced with tears, as she heartbrokenly stared at Carlos. “No, my love. That’s .... not it. It’s just that .........” Carlos’ shaky voice said stammering, un
Carla’s POV Just as she was about stabbing herself, Carlos walked in, saving the day. The moment Catherine saw him, the knife slipped from her grasp, clattering loudly against the cold tiles. She was so overjoyed by Carlos’ presence that she couldn’t wait for him to move close to her. She tried getting up from the bed to throw herself in Carlos’ arms, momentarily forgetting about the condition of her legs. She fell onto the ground, yelling in pain. As Aunt Stephanie, Aurora and I moved towards her to help her up, Carlos just stood frozen on the point, confusion hitched on his face. We helped Catherine up onto the bed, while she continued to whine in pain. Catherine’s gaze travelled to Charles, who didn’t move an inch. “See, he didn’t even try to help me up. He doesn’t love me again!!” Catherine lamented, as she sobbed the more. “Just let me die!!! Leave me to die” she yelled, trying to hurt herself but Aunt Stephanie and Aurora pinned her hands to the bed, preventing her f
Carla’s POV Weakened by the news, I dragged my feeble legs out of the doctor’s office to Catherine’s ward. I couldn’t bring myself to enter her ward as I feared breaking down in front of her. I sat on the chair placed opposite her ward; my face buried in my palms as I thought about how worsened everything was getting. I was still trying to cope with the fact that she won’t be able to walk again and now this? “She still doesn’t know that she can’t walk again. How will she react if she does? Will she receive the news well?” I thought, worried about Catherine’s reaction to the news. The other time when she had gone for the test, she was moved from the bed onto the wheelchair by the Nurses. She had thought that was because she was sick, not knowing it was because she couldn’t use her legs anymore. I thought of hiding the fact away from her but when I realized she would eventually get to know, I decided to tell her myself. The question that now lingered in my mind was: “How will
Carla’s POVI did an all night shift at the hospital and Aunt Stephanie was supposed to take over from me as early as 8 am the following morning but due to an unexpected incident that happened, she couldn’t make it to the hospital on time.I had planned to leave the hospital early and head home to freshen up and take a nap before going to pick Amelia up at the airport but all that did not go as planned due to Aunt Stephanie’s lateness.After handing over to Aunt Stephanie, I drove straight away to the airport as it was almost close to Amelia’s arrival time. I had to sacrifice my sleep so I wouldn’t keep Amelia waiting.Halfway to my destination, I received a call from Aunt Stephanie - a call that disrupted my plan and at the same time, filled my heart with joy.“Carla, where are you? Hope you haven’t driven too far away from the hospital?” she asked upon me picking the call. Her voice was filled with excitement, which made me wonder what was going on.“Not really. Is anything the prob