CHAPTER 46: SHE'S AWAKE

The door opened where Chelsea was confined and Red entered. He had just returned from the police station and immediately returned to the hospital as he had promised Manang Fe. He found the old woman arranging flowers.

"Here you are, son. How was your trip?" Manang Fe asked.

Red gently closed the door and approached Chelsea's bed to look at her, "It was fine, Manang. The police will take care of it, I'm just updating them on what they should do next." Red said as he sat on the sofa.

He leaned his arm on the back of the sofa and let out a sigh of comfort as he stretched his bones. He softly groaned at the pleasure of stretching. He leaned his head on the sofa and closed his eyes.

"Did you eat already?" Manang Fe asked again.

Red kept his eyes closed, "Not yet, Manang..." He said weakly.

"Okay, I'll go home to the mansion to cook something for you to eat. I already called Roy, he'll be here soon to pick me up. After I cook something for you to eat, I'll come back here." Manang Fe said. Red nodded and still did not open his eyes.

"Oh, and you should rest here for a while. I'll be back soon." Manang Fe said and left the room.

Red and Chelsea were left in the room. Chelsea was still unconscious. Red could feel the fatigue from the non-stop tasks he had to do in the past days. He wanted to rest, but he couldn't do it because he didn't want to leave Chelsea for even a second because he immediately felt anxious whenever she was out of sight. He had been nervous since something bad happened to Chelsea.

He closed his eyes and picked up his phone to call his engineer who was in charge of the house he was building for him and Chelsea. It rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello, How's everything Engineer?" Red asked on the other line.

"Hey, it's you. Everything's okay, we've already checked everything I told you we needed to double check, especially the faucets in the bathroom. Everything's good. All that's left is you and your wife here," Engineer Ramos said. Ramos has been Red's close friend since college. They were classmates in civil engineering and after they graduated, Ramos continued to be a civil engineer while Red continued his father's company.

"That's good, I'll try to come by today. Have the appliances I ordered online arrived yet? I told you I'd sign for them because I can't accept them since Chelsea is still in the hospital," Red said, his voice sad.

"What are you saying, no problem with that. Yeah, the other appliances have arrived. We've set them up already. Our interior designer is great too, Alvin really knows how to design. Your wife will definitely love your new house. It's ready for a family, when do you plan on having a child with your wife? Alvin's already beating you to it, he says his wife is pregnant. Can you believe it, the quiet one among us is having a Jr.," Engineer Ramos said, laughing on the other line.

Red smiled at his friend's story. "I don't know yet. It's not something we've talked about with Chelsea yet. The most important thing now is that we have our own house. So I can be at ease when I leave her alone... Okay, I'll call you again when I'm able to visit," Red said before hanging up the call.

One of Red's plans was to build a house, and now, his plans to promise Chelsea are slowly coming to life. He's just waiting for Chelsea to complete everything. He looked at his watch to check the time, 11:33 am. He was thinking if he could still make it to the house he was building. It occurred to him that he still needed to buy a lot of things for their new house with Chelsea. He wanted to just tell Ms. Dein to do it, but he didn't want to disturb her rest. Like him, she knew she was tired because of what happened and deserved to rest and recover.

He thought he would just do the shopping when Manang Fe arrived. It's a good thing he can rely on Manang Fe to watch over Chelsea. If it weren't for Manang Fe, he didn't know who else he could entrust Chelsea's watch to. He didn't want to entrust her to people he didn't fully know because he was thinking that maybe his mother had sent them and they might do something bad to his wife. Red's thoughts are really different. This is also good so that he can take care of and closely watch his wife.

While waiting for Manang Fe, he closed his eyes for a moment to rest for a while. He hasn't had a proper sleep since they found Chelsea. He opened his eyes again and looked at Chelsea, satisfied. With the sleep that had been running through his head, he fell asleep.

As Red was completely consumed by sleep, he began to enter his dream. He was sitting in his office chair, busy signing documents. He stopped what he was doing when someone knocked on his door and Chelsea came in.

He smiled, put down the pen he was holding, and stood up to greet his wife. As he stood up, he only then noticed that Chelsea had someone with her. Chelsea was holding a young girl who looked like she was only three years old. The girl was particularly beautiful because of the clothes she wore.

Although he was wondering, he still approached Chelsea and greeted her with a kiss. Chelsea picked up the little girl and whispered something to her. They both laughed, which puzzled Red. He looked at Chelsea while the expression of wonder was on his face.

"What, love? Did you forget today's date?" Chelsea said while raising her right eyebrow.

Red's wonder grew even more on his face. "What? Ah---what day is it today, love?" Red asked while just rubbing his head out of excessive wonder at what was happening.

"It's our baby's birthday. Don't tell me you forgot the birthday of your child, Red Chandler Buenavista?!" Chelsea said in anger.

"Mommy! Let's eat now! Athena's hungry, mommy!" The young girl being carried by Chelsea complained.

Red was even more confused by what he said. He didn't know how to react to what was happening. He was about to speak when he suddenly woke up from a deep sleep because someone shook him.

"Hey! I've been trying to wake you up for a while now. It seems like you had a good sleep. You can continue your sleep when you fill up your stomach." Manang Fe said while preparing the food she cooked for Red. Red rubbed his head and looked at Chelsea.

He still had the image of the child that Chelsea was carrying in his dream, according to which, was their child. He rubbed his head, "it's Ramos' fault, he always talks about family stuff..." Red muttered to himself and sat down on a chair.

He started eating. Manang Fe said that she would just buy some fruit because she forgot to buy it before she went straight to the hospital. Red nodded and continued eating.

While eating, he was still thinking about the events in his dream. "Is this a sign for you to have a child?" Red asked Chelsea. He smiled at his own question and shuddered. He felt even more eager to live with Chelsea in the same house because of what he dreamed of. He was thinking about what it felt like to be a father. He wanted to give Chelsea a child but he didn't want to ruin the plan he had been planning for a long time. He wanted everything to follow one after the other. He had many things to do before settling on having a child.

A few minutes later, Manang Fe arrived. She brought a variety of fruits. Red finished eating and organized the tupperware he ate from. Manang Fe was busy arranging the fruits. She put them in a flower vase that she arranged earlier.

After Manang Fe finished arranging the fruits, Red announced that he would leave to buy some equipment for his new house. Manang Fe couldn't help but ask.

"Are you really deciding to leave your mom alone?" Manang Fe asked.

"She was alone when I studied in the States. She has her own life. It's time for Chelsea and me to live separately. I don't want to prolong our living under the same roof, especially since they are capable of doing something like that to Chelsea. Will I wait until they kill my wife before I act?" Red said while spraying alcohol on his hands.

"I don't know about your mom. When she got old, she became like a child. I really don't understand what she doesn't like about Chelsea... She's a good kid, she would really give us beautiful grandchildren; doesn't she want that? But then again, she wants you to be with the Silvestre's only daughter... But as a parent, she should just support you because she can't dictate who you should love and who you shouldn't. Love isn't something you choose, it's something you feel, and when you feel it, there's nothing you can do to stop it. That's what your mom doesn't understand, although it was an arranged marriage with your dad..." Manang Fe's never-ending story.

Red didn't speak anymore and remained silent. "Oh yeah, I'll take care of things here. Be careful when driving ahh... You haven't had a proper sleep yet, you might suddenly feel drowsy." Manang Fe said again.

Red stood up and said goodbye to Manang Fe before finally leaving. When he got down to the parking lot, he decided to go to the nearest mall.

When Red arrived at the mall, he headed straight to the appliances section. Although he had already bought a sofa online, he couldn't help but look at the sofas there.

"Hi sir! Is this for your living room? We have a large sofa that's comfortable enough for your entire neighborhood!" The sales lady said kindly. Red just smiled and continued walking.

His only goal was to buy a bed for Chelsea and him for their master bedroom. As he walked around, he ended up in the bathtub section. He was about to pass it by when the sales lady grabbed him. With all the things she said, Red was forced to buy a bathtub that would be placed inside their master bedroom. This was a good thing because they could relax Chelsea without having to go to the bathroom because the bathtub was already inside their room.

After paying for it and giving the address for delivery of the bathtub, Red left to choose a kingsize bed. The sales lady took care of him there and helped him choose a good quality bed.

*RINGING*

Red looked at his phone as it vibrated from the call. When he saw it, he immediately answered it and saw that it was Manang Fe calling.

"Hijo! Come back here to the hospital! Ma'am Chelsea is awake!" Manang Fe said, unable to contain her excitement.