Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
Together, the both of them made it to the floor where Victor was wheeled into only to meet Natalie and a few doctors standing at the entrance and speaking. The instance her mother noticed them, she dismissed the doctors and they walked over to her.
…..
“Congratulations, your cousin is strong and has passed the critical stage. However, we would still have to watch over him and see how he progresses.”
“I can see him, right?” Lukas couldn’t wait to step into the room.
“I’m afraid not,” Natalie suddenly said and one should see the way Lukas’s face fell. Even Rhea was uncomfortable by the look and asked her mother,
“What do you mean by that?”
Lukas already waited a long time to make sure that his cousin was okay and now he couldn’t see him. Rhea knew deep down that Lukas was not going to accept that shit.
“It’s hospital policy for his case and limited to just one visit for tonight,” Natalie explained to her.
“In that case, he can still see -“
“Mimi is in there with him.”
“Oh.” Rhea completely forgot about her. If there was another person more anxious about Victor’s situation, it was Mimi. She glanced up at Lukas a little concerned, wondering if he was going to go against her mother’s words and force his way in. Rhea was worried about that even if his reason for doing so was pretty justifiable.
“But then….” Natalie added and Rhea looked at her mother with high expectations. ‘Please consider’, she prayed inwardly.
“Since I’m the owner of the hospital, I guess I can make one exception,” Natalie sighed, taking off her hair met.
However, she was slightly stunned when Rhea suddenly squealed and grabbed her, lifting her a few meters off the ground and she screamed. She had not seen that coming. It completely took her unaware.
Natalie placed her hand on her pounding chest when Rhea finally put her down, a bit white in the face while her daughter laughed in excitement.
Seeing that the gesture was from her heart, Natalie found herself laughing as well. She was touched by the warm gesture, although a little heads-up might be nice the next time. She was not as young as she used to be.
“Thank you!” Lukas bowed his head in appreciation.
“Please get up,” Natalie told him, “It was nothing. Moreover, it’s my duty as a doctor to save lives, it’s an oath I took when I started down this path. There was no way that I could have done nothing, enemy or not.”
Who was she kidding? Rhea knew deep down that if that had been Richardo in Victor’s situation and it was up to her mother to revive him that she would not do so. Her mother already told her, everything she does was for her. Natalie just doesn’t want to admit that Lukas has gained a special place in her heart. Well, Rhea would let her be until her mother’s unable to deny it anymore.
The both of them followed a bit of medical procedure like covering their hair and wearing face masks before they were let into the room. Once inside the room, they saw Mimi by Victor’s bedside. She covered his hand in her palm and lifted it to her face and kissed it at the moment they entered.
Mimi greeted them with silence as if saying, come have a look yourself. Her eyes were red and puffy even though she had stopped crying. If Victor woke and saw her in this condition, he would surely die from a heart attack.
On Lukas’s part, the look on his face was unreadable as he took in his cousin’s appearance. Victor was unconscious with many machines attached to his body.
Lukas looked at her questioningly, “Is he in a coma?”
“I-I don’t think so,” Rhea answered unsure, “It must be all the drugs. He should wake when it’s out of his system.”
With that answer, they went both to staring at Victor until Rhea broke the silence by saying, “I think the both of you should go have a rest, I’ll take care of Victor for tonight.”
“No!” Lukas and Mimi said stubbornly at the same time and Rhea pressed her lips into a thin line.
She faced Lukas, “My mother already told you only one person can stay over. Also, do you want to break down before Victor wakes? You fucking need to rest.”
And to Mimi, she told her, “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Do you want to scare Victor when he wakes? It’s three in the morning, you can come to see him in the morning, looking better.”
Although there were a few arguments, Rhea might as well take up the profession as a lawyer because she won the debate. Lukas and Mimi left and she looked after Victor.
A Gift From Me
“From the look on your face, I’m right to conclude that the boy survived,” Ruth Nickerson said as soon as Natalie joined her on the bench. Both women were seated in the hospital’s garden at that ungodly hour.
“He barely survived. It was all based on his luck.” Natalie said with a sigh, throwing her head back and staring at the sky void of stars. It seems even the heavens were not happy tonight.
Natalie was tired and should have retired for the night but she could not say no to an old friend. Although the both of them had merely been acquaintances and not besties at that time they worked together at the hospital.
Being on the run from Daniel, Natalie did not have the time to make friends who would only betray her in the end or land in trouble for associating with her. Daniel would use anyone or anyone that mattered to get to her. Hence, she kept to herself. They simply worked together in the past, but Natalie knew to honor a person who saved her daughter’s life.
Natalie watched as Ruth brought a pack of cigarettes and put a stick into her mouth and handed another to her, saying, “Do you mind?”
“You’re a doctor, you of all people should know that shit would kill you faster.” Natalie lectured her.
“It’s a no, then.” She returned the cigarette stick to the pack and put it into her bag before coming up with a lighter.
“Everyone would die eventually, so why don’t you live your life a little fuller?” She said while lighting the cigarette.
“To everyone, it’s appointed a time to die, however, it doesn’t mean that we should be careless with our lives. I for one, would do my best to live longer to carry all of my grandchildren in my arms.” Natalie said.
…..
“Well, lucky you, some of us don’t have grandchildren to look forward to,” Ruth said with a wry smile that spoke volumes.
Natalie turned to her and asked, “What happened to you?”
“What happens to everyone else. Life happened.” She went into detail, “Fell in love with the man of my dreams and had not the slightest detail that he was in the syndicate. With time, I had my suspicion and when I confronted him, he said he was going to change.”
Ruth laughed, “Funny part is that he did change and quit the organization even though it was hard. Unfortunately, there was a bust and his former members sold him out to the police. There wasn’t even an arrest, they just broke into our appointment and shot him dead. He didn’t have a fighting chance and I couldn’t save him. “
“So you dedicate your life to saving others like him?” Natalie said.
Ruth released a long puff of smoke, “I can’t kill the police, so that’s my little revenge. Save the villains and make their life a little harder. ” She said, looking away.
There was a silence between both women before Natalie said, “I’m so sorry.”
“You shouldn’t be. It’s all in the past.” Ruth shrugged it off, letting the cigarette ash fall to the ground.
Natalie asked her, “When did you know that Rhea was my daughter?”
“Since the day she walked into my office after seeing the notice I put outside my door for an assistant and I set my eye on her. The both of you could pass as sisters, the resemblance is uncanny. I didn’t even look into her background, all I needed was her father’s name, and every other piece of the puzzle fitted into place. “