Waiting

"How's everything going?" Danica asked Brando from the other line.

"Soledad will have a hard time because Steven himself filed the case against her for attempting to kill Nicole and the children."

"Damn it! He'd rather believe that woman! I won't allow it!" Danica's anger towards Nicole grew.

"What do you plan now to do with Soledad, Ma'am?" Brando asked her.

"Wait for my call." Danica quickly turned off the phone and her sharp eyes focused in a corner.

Rita felt like a thief who was afraid of being caught. She didn't know if Danica had seen her. But she made sure that she had left her hiding place before the woman looked in that direction.

"Are you leaving?" Rita asked Danica with a smile as she passed in front of her.

"Yes, I just have something important to do."

Rita was unable to meet Danica's gaze. She was not the type of person to wear a mask and think of doing a bad thing to others. She also can't smile at someone she knew had done bad things to her family.

Danica secretly smirked as she studied the expression on her friend's face.

"Be careful!" Rita tried to give a genuine smile.

"Thanks, if Daniela looks for me, please take care of her."

Rita closed her mouth and nodded to her. She distracted herself by reading a magazine when Danica turned away.

Danica looked at her friend one more time before continuing to leave the mansion. She drove slowly until she reached the small flower shop. She adjusted herself first and put on thick sunglasses. She ordered flowers using online transactions. She told them to send it to the hospital Kanor was staying at. She even smirked as she watched the arrangement of flowers from inside her car. When she was satisfied, she left and went to the bank. She needed to secure her savings for the imminent end of her fight with Nicole.

Nicole angrily threw away the flower that the delivery guy handed her. She felt frightened and squeezed herself next to Gaven as her gaze wandered around.

"Who ordered you to bring that flower here?" Gaven asked the delivery guy angrily.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't know who they are." The man replied, afraid of Gaven.

"Go away and take that garbage you brought before I call the police!" Gaven threatened the man.

Even though the delivery guy had left, Nicole still felt anxious. She knew the flower for the dead was deliberately sent to remind her and scare her.

"Don't think about that flower, Dad's all right."

"She won't really stop until she gets what she wants." Nicole muttered and gritted her teeth.

When Steven found out from the staff that someone had sent flowers to Nicole, he immediately went to the hospital.

Nicole sighed when she saw Steven. Luckily Gaven wasn't there because he had to take care of something. She was the only one left there to look after Kanor. The way Steven acted, it was as if she was his wife and even though there was a nurse inside, he still kissed her on the lips.

"Who do you think did this?" Steven asked the woman while holding her palms.

"There's only one person who wants me to die and that's because of you." Nicole couldn't help but spit those words out.

Steven knit his brows and looked at her intensely. "What do you mean?"

Nicole withdrew her hands that he was holding and stood up. "Let me solve this on my own. I don't want to lose the most important person in my life."

Steven's jaw clenched and couldn't accept that there was someone more important in her life than him and their children.

"I'm just begging you to better marry Danica."

He violently stood up from his seat and faced her angrily. "What does my marriage to Danica have to do with your situation now?"

"Just do what I ask if you want to keep our children safe." Nicole answered coldly.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked in an interrogating manner.

Nicole suddenly averted her gaze from him. She did not want her tongue to slip again and tell the truth. She worried for her daughter's safety. She remembered the last conversation she had with Danica and the threat she posed to her.

"I'll only give you a month's time, Nicole. If Steven doesn't become mine, I'd rather die and take your kids to hell with me!"

Nicole suddenly shivered while remembering Danica's threat. She had no fears. She valued nothing else in life but to be Steven's wife.

Nicole was thankful that the doctor who was examining her foster father came, so she avoided Steven's other questions. A few minutes later, her parents came.

"We heard what happened to Kanor," Joey said to Nicole. They took this as an opportunity to talk to their daughter.

"Daughter, your father and I are worried about your condition. We don't want you to leave us again. The few years that we've suffered from grieving over you were enough." Rox pleaded with her. She was still hesitant to hug her because she might completely push them away.

"You know Nicole is amnesiac, so don't force her to accept you into her life right away." Steven calmly intervened when he saw the confusion on her face.

Nicole felt guilty when she saw that her parents were hurting and missing her. She did not know how long she would live. Thus, she decided to fix what needed to be fixed before it could get too late.

"Can you take care of Dad for me? I'll just talk to them." She asked Steven.

"Don't go too far away and I will let one of my staff to accompany you to ensure your safety." Steven said.

Nicole just let him do what he wanted, so he wouldn't have to worry. She knew he wouldn’t go home either without her. Their children have personal bodyguards to ensure their safety.

The couple did not object when Nicole took them to the hospital chapel. No one was there and their daughter's guard was left outside to keep watch.

"Daughter…" Rox said and held her daughter with one hand.

Nicole just let her mother hug her. She also missed them, so she allowed herself to feel the care of her parents again.

"I know it's my fault why you suffered when you were pregnant. Forgive me for driving you away, even if you don't remember it now." Rox was crying.

"I want to start life again." She said honestly.

"What you thought is great, daughter! Come back to us. Leave Steven to Danica."

Nicole was disappointed with the last thing her mother said. Until now, she felt that her mother's desire for Danica to be happy was greater than anything else. At that thought, her heart and mind rebelled again against her parents.

"You badly don't want Danica to be hurt?" She asked her mother sadly.

"Daughter, there are many other men out there. It's not good to snatch someone else's loved one. You won't be happy completely that way either." Rox explained to her. Joey was just there quietly listening.

"What about my children?" Nicole asked, trying her mother.

"They won't lose the right to their father. I know Danica, she's not greedy for love."

Nicole laughed out loud and shook her head, which confused her parents.

"Not greedy for love?" Nicole had a bitter smile. "I thought you came to bring me home and we can be reunited, but that's not it. You're still thinking about that woman's well-being!" Nicole uttered the last words with emphasis.

"Nicole, Danica isn't a stranger to our family, so don't talk like that." Joey spoke calmly to her.

Nicole laughed even more and she felt her bitterness.

"Daughter, when you remember your past with Danica…"

"Enough!" Nicole interrupted what else her mother wanted to say. She slapped off Rox’s hand that was about to touch her arm. As if it would burn her and she wanted to get away from them. Her grudges against Danica resurfaced and her resentment towards her parents.

"Daughter…"

"Did you know that it was because of that woman that I went missing for many years?"

"Daughter, it's not Danica's fault why you ended up in Soledad's hands." Rox tried to make her daughter understand everything, but she only laughed even more while crying.

"That criminal's story isn't true!" Nicole referred to Soledad. "Believe it or not, that woman works for Danica who wants me to get out of her way! She just used me to have a so-called child and stay by Steven's side!"

Rox's eyes widened, thinking her daughter was losing her mind.

"I know you don't want to believe me. But this is all I can tell you, you let a snake in our house back then! She claimed my identity to get into Steven's family. She was not satisfied and even used my womanhood to have a child!"

"Then it's true what Danica says you don't have amnesia?" Rox questioned.

"Enough, Nicole, your mother and I have forgiven you for pretending to be dead. Let's forget the past, but don't ruin your friend's life."

Nicole wanted to go berserk when she heard her father. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. That Danica is still the one you will side with and keep on believing her."

"Daughter, it's not like that, but…" Joey stopped talking when Nicole glanced at him sadly.

"You don't know Danica, when you see my corpse maybe then you'll finally believe me." Nicole's eyes were blurred with tears and the pain she felt was apparent on her face.

Joey was suddenly confused by how his daughter was behaving. She was serious and it was their first time seeing her so hurt because they didn’t believe her.

"I gave birth to triplets."

The couple looked at each other and were nervous about what she would say next.

"They locked me in a secluded place until I gave birth. I was just lucky and I escaped with Sean. Dad Kanor was the only one I thought of asking for help to survive. My two children were left in their hands. Now, Danica is using my other child against me to make me do what she wants."

Tears welled up in Rox's eyes and she stared at her daughter in disbelief. She could feel right through her heart her longing for her other child and fear.

"If I don't convince Steven to marry her, she will kill Natasha."

"Is that the truth?" Joey clenched his fist and asked his daughter.

"Rita, she's Tata."

Rox knelt on the floor and burst into tears when she heard the truth. They knew about the child Tata. They looked for Tata back then and wanted to know if she was in good condition at the request of their daughter.

"How did she do all this to our family?" Joey asked angrily and he almost fell down.

"My daughter!" Rox continued to sob and hugged her. She felt too much pain for her. She couldn’t imagine the reality she had gone through, six years ago.

Nicole felt numb at the moment. She also fell sitting on the floor and both of them were crying. Several more minutes passed and she silently cried with her mother. Her father was also silent as he clenched his fists. His expression showed so much anger for Danica.

"What do you want your mother and I to do now?"

"I want her to pay for all the evil she did to me. But this is not the time yet, I must first get my other child back from her." She responded determinedly.

"I'm sorry, Nicole! It's my fault why all this happened. I accepted her wholeheartedly into our family and I didn't see her mistakes anymore. I neglected you and…"

"Nothing will happen even if we regret it. Like you, I also trusted Danica. Even I was blinded by her outward appearance. Like you, I also wanted to help her then because I thought she was weak."

"I wish I had listened to her mother when I took her and let her stay in our home." Rox said sadly. She knew that Danica was just adopted by them, so she rebelled against them.

"Whatever you decide, we will support you. Just tell us if we can help."

Nicole hugged her father and thanked him. The weight on her heart was lessened because her parents were enlightened.