Chapter 6- Like Mother Like Daughter

Savannah

I walk ahead with Mr. Knights trailing behind me. Some nurses are shocked to see me, but I ignore their reactions. This is me without the Zombie makeup.

I pause in front of the door. “Do you want to talk to her or see the doctor first?” I ask Mr. Knights.

He tilts his head and answers curtly, “See her.” He walks past me, pushing the door open, and my heart hammers in my chest.

I follow him inside to find Mama looking pale, almost lifeless. Her feet and face have swollen. Tears sting the back of my eyes.

“It's worse than I thought,” Mr. Knights murmurs. “Maybe I should go see the doctor now.”

He turns to leave when Mama opens her eyes and looks around the room. Her gaze stops on me for a second, and then it widens as it lands on him. “Is that?” she croaks out, looking from him to me. “Did you bring him here?” Her tone is accusing.

I nod. “He's going to help us,” I answer, looking her square in the eyes. “He's here to help.”

“I don't need his help. I'd rather die than take anything from him,” she declares, refusing to look back at him or speak to him.

“Ma—”

“Enough,” she interrupts sharply. “I don't need his help,” she says, her eyes brimming with hate.

Mr. Knights scoffs. “Too bad we aren't asking for your permission then.”

Her icy glare is now directed at him. “You don't get to speak to me, Sebastian,” she says forcefully. “Don't ever.”

Mr. Knights doesn't even seem phased; he looks at me, “I'm going to meet her doctor; you take care of things here,” and then he's gone.

Mama's glares return to me. “How could you?” she whispers. “You thought it was the right thing? To bring that man into our lives?” She turns away from me. “I cannot look at you right now.”

I snap back, “There won't be 'our lives' if you don't accept his help! Don't you see?! Your son hasn't once visited you, and everything has been on me! He has the money to help, and we will accept it!”

Her voice sternly warns, “Watch your tone, Savannah Miller.” Her eyes narrow. “Look at you; you don't even look like my daughter right now. You look like you're one of them.” She emphasizes “them” with so much hatred that I wonder what she means.

I exhale slowly, trying to control my emotions. “I'm sorry, okay? I just can't let you die. So if it means flagging down that man, I will.” I swallow hard. “You can be alive and mad at me. I can work with that, but I can never live without you. And I am me. Your daughter, not anyone else.”

“My daughter would've never brought that man back into our lives,” she insists, her voice wavering as she speaks.

My heartbeat quickens. “Your daughter will do anything, so you'll live.”

Her eyes soften slightly. “You don't know that man like I do. He doesn't do anything for free.”

I nod in agreement. “Let's accept his help for now and worry about his price in the future. Please,” I implore her, walking over to hold her hands. “Live for me.”

She doesn't answer. She withdraws her hand and turns her face to look into the corner of the room. Tears fall on my hands, and I reach up to wipe them away. “I'm just going to talk to the doctors now.”

I wait for her to speak, but she remains silent.

I open the door and slam it shut behind me, leaning my back against it as I wipe away my tears. I don't care what she thinks; this time, I can be selfish.

Walking towards the doctor’s office, I meet Mr. Knights and the doctor approaching me. “Good afternoon, doctor,” I say politely.

If he notices my tear-streaked face, he doesn't mention it. “Ah, I was on my way to see you. Do you know this man here?” He points at Mr. Knight. “He came to talk to me about your mom.”

So he didn't tell him anything?

“I know him,” I reply, looking at Mr. Knights, who glares at the doctor. “It's good to know we can at least trust the system.”

“Oh, you can. Well, since you know him, let's talk in my office, shall we?”

The sperm donor is already marching towards the door. I guess being told no isn't something he hears often.

I mumble an apology to the doctor, who smiles, leading us to his office. Sebastian is standing at the door; he would've entered, but it seems he has some sense.

The doctor unlocks the door and strides ahead of us. Soon enough, we're crammed into the office. I'm too tired and anxious to notice anything except the solemn look on the doctor's face.

“What's the deal, Doctor?” Mr. Knights asks, “Now that she's here, we shouldn't waste any more of our precious time.” I'm sure even the doctor notices the taunting tone in his voice.

To the doctor's credit, he ignores it. “As I told you before,” he says, facing me, “your mother needs to undergo surgery, and she needs to do so immediately. Now that he's here,” his eyes flick to the other person in the room, “I'm sure you're ready to proceed, right?”

I nod. “Yes, we need her to do it quickly.”

“As I said, she has to go to India, which may take a few days to process with money, but the documents are ready for an immediate emergency.”

“She'll be leaving tomorrow,” Mr. Knights cuts in. “Just hand over her profiles to us right now.”

The doctor looks at me. I nod. “Very well.”

He wakes from his seat and opens the filing cabinet, shuffling through papers before pulling out a file.

He hands it to me. I bite my lip to hide a smile. He doesn't trust the sperm donor. Good, because I don't either.

“Thank you, doctor.”

“You're welcome,” he says, turning to the sperm donor. “Are you the one handling the bill?”

He clenches his jaw. “Yes.”

“Okay, good. You can please pay at the cash register,” he points out. The sperm donor doesn't respond; instead, he gets up and walks out.

“I'm sorry about him,” I say. “He isn't like that always.” I don't even know what he is like outside of here.

The doctor looks concerned. “Is he bothering you? Is this something you want to do?” His head tilts. “You're a sweet girl, and if you need help, we can get it now.”

I shake my head immediately when I understand his point. “Oh no, he's, uh, my father,” I say sheepishly. I was even acknowledging him as my father is hard for me.

The doctor's eyes widen before he composes himself. “Oh, very well, then.”

“Thank you.”

“It's my duty, ma'am,” he says warmly. “That's my job,”

I nod. “I better go find him before he chews the rest of the employees' heads out.”

“You do that, and good luck with your mother's surgery.” He says as he bends down to the document.

I nod and smile bitterly. Even though the doctor approves, she doesn't. If only she knew what I did, she'd be willing to live. She's rejecting and refusing to live for me simply because the help is from her ex-boyfriend.

I snicker at that, and I walk to the front desk, where Mr. Knight is standing, hands shoved into his pockets. His tall height demands attention, and he seems oblivious to it.

I approached him with shaky legs, the scent of medicine perfuming the air. “Did you pay?” I ask nervously, not knowing why I suddenly feel this way. Maybe it's the anger I see in his eyes or the tight coiling of his muscles.

“I did,” he grits out. “I've prepared everything for her to travel tomorrow. She'll be using my private jet.”

A private jet? Another reason for her to say no. “Are there no flights that you can book for her?”

He glares at me. “Do you want your mother to undergo surgery or not?” His eyes narrowed. “The woman you saw lying in there—does she look like someone who should be in a plane filled with others?”

He has a point.

“I'm sorry.” I apologize. “It's just that she won't agree to the private jet.”

“Like she didn't agree to do the surgery? Tough sh*t because she will do both. I'll make sure of it.”

I look up at him. “What would you do?”

He feigns innocence. “We'll just talk.” My eyes narrowed in suspicion. He smiles sweetly. “Just leave it to me.”

I nodded reluctantly. “Okay, I concede. I'm just going to pack my things.”

“No need; you aren't going with her.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“Look, I see it in your eyes that you are prepared to argue with me.” His brows furrow. “But I promise you, I'm in the mood.”

Like Hell, he's not in the mood.

“You can't seriously tell me I'm not going with my mother and not expect me to say something about it.”

“You signed a contract, and they want to announce that you're Dominic's fiancée tomorrow. You can't be out of the country then.”

“So tell them to push it back. It's as simple as that.”

“I told you this contract wasn't between me and you, but you and them. This is what they want.”

I make a noise at the back of my throat. “This is what I want, and I'm not compromising it for anything. Tell them I’m not available until next week.”

He shakes his head immediately. “No way; you do this now.”

“You know what? I’ll tell them myself. I’m not going to leave my mother alone. I’ll stand with her and be with her until her surgery is done. Only then will I be responsible to play wife or fiancée, whatever?”

He looks at me. “You’re stubborn. But fine,” he relents. “I’ll talk to them, but you better be prepared by next week.” He turns to head inside. “By next week, this comes first; your mother will be okay then.”

I nod. “Where are you going?”

“To talk some sense into your stubborn mother,” he says, taking a few steps ahead before he turns to look at me. “Like mother, like daughter.”

I can't help but grin.

I'm sure, like my mother.