Chapter 15

Clara's POV

As I absorbed his words, the phone almost fell out of my grasp.

The person said, "Are you still there?" with anxiety in his voice.

My eyes filled with tears, and my lips dried up.

"Yes," I was able to respond.

Now, Derek was looking at me, perplexed, trying to understand what was happening.

"Your mother is not doing well, as I have said. You must be here immediately." He said again.

How could my mother have ended up this way? This morning, she was fine.

I leaned on the wall for support as my legs became weaker.

Derek saw how I was feeling. He grabbed the phone out of my shaking fingers and answered the man.

He paced in place, listening to the guy on the phone.

Where? Derek called and inquired.

He hung up the phone a few seconds later.

Derek gave me a severe look. It seemed like everything in my universe was crumbling. I had just my mother for a very long period.

"Let's go," said Derek.

As we hurried to get to Derek's vehicle after leaving the clinic, he grabbed my hand.

Holding back the tears, I told him where the hospital was. He gave his driver the address. My mother needed to get well quickly. Was this the penalty for all the falsehoods I had said lately?

Derek surprised me with his kindness. Deep down, he probably did have a heart.

It has to have been the car's posted speed limit. It didn't take us long to get to the hospital. We must have run a couple of red lights, in my opinion. I would have been terrified for my life in any other situation, but all I could think about was my mother.

My cheeks were wet with tears as I hurried out of the vehicle. I rushed inside the hospital building and almost ran into somebody.

Finding the receptionist's desk to ask about my mother wasn't too hard.

Derek trailed after me.

I was breathing so hard that I almost smashed into the big desk.

"I'm trying to find my mom. She was just brought in here." I took deep breaths.

"Madam, what is her name?" inquired the receptionist.

"This is."

"Harris!" My name sounded in the hallway.

When I turned back, Ivy was sprinting in my direction.

Is this where she was supposed to be?

I looked at her for a moment, pausing.

"It's horrible, but I'm delighted you could make it this quickly." She said.

How on earth did she know my mother was in here?

Was she planning this? Nothing like this could have been intended, in my opinion.

However, none of those inquiries mattered. All I wanted to know was how my mother was doing.

We hurried down the hallway as Ivy grabbed my hand and guided us to the room.

At last, we came to a door.

"It's been a while; the doctors are working with her there," Ivy said.

Ivy conveyed the remainder of the issue as Derek waited for an introduction.

He was the least important thing I was dealing with at the moment.

"Ivy, this is Derek, and Derek, this is Ivy." I presented the pair.

Ivy only said, "Oh," in response.

Ivy glanced away from Derek as if she hadn't seen him reach out to shake his hand.

Derek was left hanging as he pretended to be cool by putting his hands in his pockets.

I didn't think this would be her first response to seeing him, not after she lost it, gazing at his photographs in the mags.

I paced the wall, my old habit of chewing my nails returning as I lost my composure.

All I knew was that my mother had suffered a major heart attack. There were so many unanswered questions in my head.

It was Derek who broke the stillness first.

"I appreciate you coming here. You have to be such a considerate friend. That you were the first to come is fantastic." Derek addressed Ivy throughout his speech.

"She's my cousin," I clarify. Ivy became shaky. Clara didn't have a phone, so they phoned me first. Ivy said, "They phoned her merely to be sure."

That's great; I just found out my mom was in the hospital, and I had a "cousin." Was she concealing anything else?

"You are nothing more than a bothersome presence here; you don't need to be here. The flies are much more beneficial." Ivy went on.

What on earth was she doing?

As Derek opened his mouth to speak, the physician left the room.

The doctor had our full attention at this point.

"Doctor, how's she doing?" So I did.

She was in a hazardous situation, but for the time being, we were able to stabilise her. We're trying our hardest." He said.

With a sympathetic glance in our direction, the doctor walked away down the hall.

She doesn't deserve this out of all the people I know. She always shouts at us to eat healthily since she is such a powerful lady. I never imagined she would come to this place." It was Ivy.

She seemed to have a few tears in her eyes.

I let go of all I was keeping within. My mom wasn't doing well at all.

Ivy saw the new stream of tears in my eyes and hugged me.

Ivy said, "Don't worry, it's alright." As you would with a two-year-old, she was calming me down, which was helping. Ivy said, "It's all part of the plan," behind my back.

She kept massaging my back until her words finally registered.

By "this was all part of the plan," what did she mean?

As I waited for her to explain, I withdrew from our embrace.

She gestured with her eyes to Derek that it was unsafe for us to talk.

Ivy roared, "Let's find you a spot to sit."

Ivy took my hand, and we walked to the adjacent bench to have a seat.

I took a seat and waited for her to continue.

Derek also left, vanishing down the hallway to answer a call.

"Look, that person in there is not your mother; that person is someone else." She clarified.

How come? My eyes became wide, and I muttered.

How had she behaved? She stopped me before I could get to the receptionist, which would explain why.

Ivy let out a sigh and told the tale.

"My cousin had some crucial meetings to attend, so he phoned to ask if I could spend the day with her. I guess I have the least important job in the family since that's why he phoned." Her tone was biting. "I bit your messages just as I was ready to say no. I saw this as a chance. You should come here because I had someone call you." She clarified.

"Did you just say you took advantage of a dying woman's situation?" So I did.

I'm not sure how many individuals take advantage of the fact that a family member is in the hospital after learning about it.

She isn't that serious. She clarified.

I have more inquiries yet.

"Why would you assign someone to accomplish that task? Couldn't you have completed it and shared the strategy with me?" I said something.

It turned out that all of my concerns regarding my mother were unfounded.

"Well, I wanted it to seem realistic, and you are not a good actor." You would have too many questions and wouldn't believe me if I had phoned. I had someone do it because of this." She clarified.

She was not wrong.

I was starting to feel better about the situation after some time.

"Your aunt is here for what?" So I did.

She just had breast augmentation surgery abroad. They need to be taken out since it seems like silicone leaked." She clarified.

I'm shocked that someone can finish anything this quickly. Officially, she was a genius of evil.

Even if this were a fantastic strategy, I would have to keep attempting to hide additional falsehoods.

"I had to miss work because you owe me." She said.

"Maybe the time I gave you a hand so Marcus wouldn't know you were drunk?" I told her again.

She groaned, "Now we are equal."

Undoubtedly, this was a relief.

I don't trust this arrangement. I want to see photographs the next time I hear that my mom is in the hospital.

Ivy said, "Derek is coming, pretend to weep."

I carried out her advice. Glancing down, I pretended to dab at my tears.

Ivy comforted my arm, saying, "You should try to calm down; it's not healthy for you or the baby."

Derek came over to us.

"This is for you," he said, handing me a water bottle.

After a few gulps, the bottle was almost empty. The water helped to settle my anxieties.

Ivy said, "I don't believe it would be good for you to remain here, and I think it's time for you to depart. The rest of our family will be here shortly."

Derek's gentle and collected demeanour soon dissipated.

That's right, I'll remain here. I just cancelled all my meetings, so I have all the time in the world." With a voice.

I didn't want to spend more hours dealing with him here.

"Whoa," shot back Ivy. "You seem to be standing by a person who called my cousin a whore lately."

Ivy's remarks caused my eyes to enlarge.

"To start with, it is unrelated to you. Second, I have a question for you." Derek held back. "You are such a letdown; are you sure your aunt didn't have a heart attack?" He went on.

After hearing Derek's comments, I gasped. Although I was accustomed to his making fun of me, I hadn't anticipated him saying that.

Ivy was shocked by his remarks as well.

This needs to be stopped before it becomes worse.

I interrupted, saying, "My mother is in there; show some respect."

Derek was giving in little by little.

"I'd like you to go now. I don't want any fighting around my sister, who will arrive shortly." I said something.

I covered my face as if I was crying. I believe I had become used to this. I need an Oscar handed to me.

With a groan, Derek got up from his chair.

What caught me off guard was what he did next. He didn't go away as I thought he would.

Instead, he got up to hug me while softly stroking my hair. I didn't struggle with him to get out of his arms. I lingered to smell his delicious, powerful perfume as my body melted into his.

"It's alright, shhhh. Avoid crying. He muttered.

Ivy was probably grinning at us, but Tristan's physical barrier obscured my view of her.

I was still feeling his arms about me when he eventually withdrew.

"I'm hoping your mother recovers. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything." He said.

I remained silent. I was still in a state of emotional breakdown since he had just hugged me. We had not received an insult for a long time until now.

As we saw him turn to go, Ivy did nothing but give him a dagger-like gaze.

I felt like I could finally breathe when he left.

Ivy let out a sigh.

"I was initially sorry for him. I reasoned that no man should be misled about being pregnant, but after this, I'd be ready to assist you in obtaining half of anything he possesses." It was Ivy. "What a bastard he is,"

"I said, 'He probably believed you were disrespectful to him."

"The only way to get rid of him before he learns everything that's going on is to be unpleasant to him." She said.

"I must admit, even though I think Derek is a douche, you two look adorable together." She said.

This was all I needed to persuade myself that Ivy had gone insane. Half the time, I was getting insults from him. That was not at all adorable. I believe he is up to something. Therefore, I don't buy his apologies.

The previous doctor had returned.

"Your companion has left; you know you owe me $100?" He said.

It took me a moment to take it all in.

"You participated in this as well?" Puzzled, I inquired. "Is there not some kind of moral code that prohibits it?" So I did.

"My only goal is to pay off my education loan." He responded. "When I left, your aunt was still awake. She expresses her boredom. He said.

Putting both hands in his pockets, he turned to leave with a casual demeanor.

That he'd consented to do that still startled me.

"It's acceptable to assume that we must be ready for battle now that we are on our own. We had underestimated the guy's intelligence. We must use our most potent weaponry." She went on.

Now we're at war?

"Let me clarify: you're saying that to escape this situation, I must keep lying?" So I did.

"Yes," she confidently said. "You're in much too much already. Reversing this course of action would be self-destruction. Imagine the type of home you could have if he were to purchase you an iPhone right now." She enquired.

I said, "You know, I'm already seeing his expression when he finds out that this entire thing has been a lie." "As soon as he finds out the truth, I won't afford to live in any home,"

"Don't be so pessimistic; this will end before he learns the truth." She said.

"What is the likelihood that he will discover that you are employed at the hotel as well?" So I did.

Ivy stopped.

"Isn't he going to fire the two of us?" She enquired.

With a nod.

I was laughing so hard at how deep I had sunk. Every day, I was falling more and more into this morass.

"I think we simply need to figure out what to do for our next plan—how to inform him that the baby is dead." Says she.

That seemed like an excellent concept. I needed it to get myself out of trouble. What may go wrong?

_________________________________ A/N: I appreciate your reading. Please cast your vote and leave a remark.