Chapter 2

ELSIE’S POV

You did amazingly well”, the nurse whispered to me as soon as my eyes opened. Her fingers caress my hair. In that tender moment, I couldn't help but remember my mom. She would have done the same if she were alive.

“She's perfect,” I murmured. My heart goes with joy as I gazed at my newborn baby. I marveled at her exquisite beauty, my little treasure, so incredibly beautiful.

But my fleeting joy was shattered quickly as Emilia entered my hospital room, her face beaming with wicked smiles, bearing bad news as always.

“ Your father found out the trash your mother was and has left.” She declared nonchalantly.

“ What do you mean he has left? Why do you love to be a bearer of bad news?” I asked, my voice trembling uncontrollably.

Emilia surged, her eyes scanning through the hospital room and casting a dreadful look at the nurse then finally landing her eyes on me. A smile of satisfaction waved through her eyes before she continued with her evil news,

“ He left, but not before asking me to relay a message to you.

He wants nothing to do with you anymore. He believes you are as trashy as your mom and strictly demands you refrain from seeking him out or even asking for his help. And as for me, I don’t want to ever lay my eyes on you ever again, if I do, I will take your baby and give her to her rightful father to raise. You know what I am capable of.” Emilia proclaimed coldly before exiting the room, leaving me with a hollow feeling inside.

At least I have my adorable little daughter, I thought.

A knock on the door snapped me back to reality.

“ Miss Crown, can I have your insurance number? Your parents left without paying the hospital bill.”

A wave of shock and despair coursed through my veins. They abandoned me, my father has truly abandoned me,Emilia’s words were true.

It was hard for me to believe Emilia words but they were undeniably true.

“ Miss Crown?” The nurse prompted

“ I don’t have insurance,” I managed to reply.

“I’m sorry, According to the hospital policy, you have to leave,” the nurse announced, signaling to the staff beside her to assist me outside.

I was hopeless as anything, I sobbed as I made my way out of the hospital and sat on the stairs at the entrance. My frail body was exhausted from childbirth. I clung tightly to my baby, seeking to warm her body from the cold stormy night.

Even the mighty sky seemed to cry along with me, it was beginning to get cloudy and I had nowhere to go.

I did my best to shield my baby, the vulnerable tiny human was weeping, each of her cries breaking my heart.

My heart raced with questions and concern, I have never been in a position to care for another being. Truth be told, life had failed to prepare me for this situation.

As a businessman, my father had taken care of all my needs, so I needed not to lift a finger let alone provide for someone. It was understandable, I was only 22 years old. If not for this pregnancy I would have been in my first year in college.

Fear coursed to my veins but I fought against it. Exhaustion settled in my frail body causing me to think that my time has come.

However, fate had other plans for me as a black SUV stopped in front of the hospital. A man in his late fifties walked over to me and my baby.

A glint of hope shined in my eyes. “ Help” I managed to scream before blacking out, my remaining strengths fading away.

*****

My heavy eyes tried to blink away the dizziness that clouded my vision. When I finally managed to open them, I found myself in an unfamiliar room.

Uneasiness washed over me as I caught the sight of blinking monitors surrounding my bed, and I was more perplexed when I noticed the tube connected to my veins.

I wondered if I was in the hospital room, or did the nurses saw me lying half-conscious and decided to help me, but aside from the medical equipment, there was nothing to suggest that it was a medical facility.

The room exudes elegance. From the beautiful furniture to the adorned paintings, and the luxurious curtains. Everything whispered of luxury.

Amidst this opulence, my heart gripped with a mixture of fear and longing as my baby was nowhere close to me. My pulse quickened, causing the machine to emit a loud beeping sound, alerting the attention of a nurse who rushed into the room almost immediately.

“ How are you feeling Miss?” the nurse asked, genuine concern filling her voice.

“ Where am I? Where's my baby?” I asked, my voice trembling with desperation.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and the fear that something bad might have happened to my child overwhelmed me.

“ Calm down Ma'am, your baby is fine and you are in safe hands. Let me check your vitals please.” the nurse responded calmly.

Without hesitation, I grabbed her by the edge of her gown,

“Leave me alone, where's my baby?” I yelled, tossing the thermometer she was holding and attempting to remove the IV while tears were streaming down my face.

“ Please stay still, you will get yourself.” the first pleaded, trying her best to restrain me.

But how can I stay still and be calm? My daughter was nowhere to be found.

“ Please where is my baby? Where is Isabella?” I cried out again, my voice filled with despair and my tone breaking.

Of course, it was expected of me to name my daughter after my late mother, her grandmother. She looked so much like me and I am the complete replica of my late mother.

“ The baby is here.” a masculine voice rang out. His time was strong and commanding, this handsome fellow exuded power and authority, causing the hair on my body to stand on end.

“ Please leave us alone!” he commanded and the nurse withdrew silently.