Neli immediately trembled with anger when she saw Hazel in the abandoned room where Mel took her earlier, she suddenly remembered all the things that had happen to her back then, all her suffering, all the humiliation and insult she received from other people because of her lies and she almost lost her life, and it was all because of her. Her anger increased even more when she remembers that her husband was in a critical condition as well, so she couldn't stop herself from pouring out all her anger and hatred towards her.
While Neli was in the car on the way back to the hospital, she thought of a plan so that Hazel could pay for everything she did and go to jail.
"Mel, can I ask you to do something?" she asked Mel. "But you can refuse if you don't like what I'm going to tell you."
She saw Mel looked at her from the car's rear view mirror.
"Madam, you can ask me anything."
She immediately told Mel about her plan, but she also needs Grandpa's help and her in-laws. She will not hesitate to ask her family for help anymore,
When she returned to the hospital, her father immediately approached her.
"Are you okay now?" her father asked her worriedly. "I asked Rhence to check on you outside earlier but she said she couldn't find you."
Before she left early, she told them that she just needed to go outside to get some fresh air and to calm herself, but she didn't think that she had been gone for more than an hour.
"I'm fine now, Dad." she said smiling and approached Grandpa. "Grandpa, can I talk to you?"
Grandpa nodded and stood up, they went out and went straight to the garden on the side of the hospital to sit on the bench.
"Can I use the Valdez influence and your status, Grandpa?" she asked directly.
"Of course." he answer immediately. "You can do everything you want."
She will need Grandpa's position in the military so the police will move and the influence of the Valdez family to control the media to destroy Hazel's image in the public, she wants her to go to jail but she has to pay first for all the humiliation and insults that she received from her back then.
She wants to show everyone her true being.
Grandpa says that she has the evidence of Hazel killing a maid, she was the one Hazel ordered to poison Grandma back then, in the mansion, and he also made sure that the maid's family were willing to testify against her.
They talked for a few minutes before deciding to go back inside the hospital. They were very grateful that Grandma is in a good condition now and can be transfer to a private room to rest and recover, the young doctor also said that the operation on her husband was successful, the suspect only used a low caliber gun so the damage to Caleb's heart did not become severe. The bullet was safely removed from his body, they had to suture the damaged blood vessels and clean the part where hit by the bullet in his body so he wouldn't have any complications, they still had to observe him for a few hours before transferring him to the private room.
She breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that she just now felt the fatigue as her body relaxed slightly at the news that her husband's life was not in danger anymore, and just over an hour later, Caleb was also transferred in a private room.
She sat on the chair beside Caleb's bed and held his hand, the doctor said that his vital signs are now stable and they just have to wait for him to wake up.
They were in a VIP room in the hospital with two big beds, they decided to take only one room so that it would not be difficult for them to visit each other. Neli and Grandpa were left at the hospital to watch over the two, her family and Valdez family decided to go home after the two safely transfer to the room and said they would be back before lunch so they could take rest as well. Since the bed was big in that private room, Grandpa laid down next to Grandma to take a rest, but she stayed awake.
It's past four in the morning but she still couldn't get sleepy. She did nothing but look at the handsome face of her husband and pray that he will recover soon.
"Honey, please wake up." she whispered to him as she fixed the hair that had fallen on his forehead. "I still haven't answered what you told me last night."
She could feel her nose heating up because she was holding back her tears, she didn't want Caleb to see her weak and she had to be strong for both of them.
She put Caleb's hand on her cheek, she felt the warmth of her husband's hand.
She suddenly missed him.
-----
After Christian's blood was drawn, he decided to leave the hospital, somehow he helped the Valdez family so he no longer had a reason to stay there.
"Christian, wait."
He stopped walking out of the hospital when he heard his father's voice, or he should say Mr. Cedric Valdez.
He faced him and noticed that there was a trace of worry on his face.
"When... how did you know...?"
"Which one?" he asked, but his father didn't answer so he just smile at him. "That I'm not your real son?"
His father just nod.
"Uhmmm, I was about twenty one... when a woman suddenly approached me."
He didn't hear his father say anything so he continued.
"She told me that she's my real mother, her name is Altheya Mercado. We also did a DNA test so that she could prove that she was telling the truth."
"Did she tell you that… I'm not your… real father?"
"No, she just asked for help." he answered. "Her son which is my stepbrother needed blood, so I know what blood type I have. I'm willing to help her and my stepbrother, I even gave her half of my pocket money just to support them for almost a year. I was a bit upset towards you at that time, because I didn't know why you are not living together even you have a child, but I couldn't confront you because my mother has her own family and you had yours as well. But as a son, I wanted to help them, so I thought that if I can show a proof about the relationship you two had with each other from me, at least you can give them a little help as well, so I took your hair and mine to do a DNA test so I can have a proof." he smiles at him. "...and that's how I found out that we are not related."
"Are... are you mad at me?" Sedrick asked him worriedly.
For the first time, Christian saw his father worried face because of him. Sedrick is a good father, he provided everything that he needed but they didn't become close unlike the other father and son, but he was always thankful with him even before he found out the truth.
"Are you worried that I got mad at you back then?"
Sedrick nodded.
He chuckled.
"No, of course not." he answered honestly. "I was upset, yes, because I was thinking that time why did you kept that a secret to me. But I realized a lot of things back then, the reason why I'm not the heirs of the Valdez family even though I am the oldest grandson, the reason why you left the mansion, the reason why you are not talking to your parents are perhaps, all because of me."
He noticed that his father seemed relieved, he was not a bad person to hold a grudge against the Valdez family.
But the reason why he's with Hazel was he really likes her, when he saw her for the first time in the hospital bed, he couldn't get her out of his mind. He was amazed and thought that she was so brave to save his cousin's life back then, the admiration he felt gradually deepened and he became fascinated with her. But he couldn't do anything because she likes Caleb, he just hid his feelings for her and quietly supported her, and when he found out that his cousin married another woman, he was overwhelmed. He had a chance to be together with Hazel or at least become close to her, so when she approached him at his bar, he didn't hesitate to talk to her even though he knew she would only use him.
He pretended that he had a grudge with the Valdez family and said that he would support all her plans even though the truth is that he did nothing to help her. She also asked him many times to teach Caleb's wife a lesson, but he didn't do any of what she said.
He always thought that it wouldn't take long for Hazel to learn to like him too, especially since Caleb broke up with her and got married. But he was wrong, it was more than five years since they had been together but she still head over heels in-love with his cousin, that's why he was so pleased when she told him that she wants to go together with him in the mansion.
But he didn't think that she had a plan to commit a crime that night, he was disappointed because of what she did.
"I was just starting my business when I found out that Theya was pregnant." he suddenly looked at his father when he heard him speak. "I confronted her because I knew I was not the father of the child, she confessed that she had a boyfriend other than me and she blamed me for what happened to her because I was too busy during those times."
He didn't ask his mother why they broke up so he just listened to his father's story.
"Because of my desire to give her a better life without depending on my family, I didn't realize that I was neglecting her. I do really love her to be honest so I couldn't help but blame myself back then. Until I saw a baby in front of the door where I live, I found out that Theya left the baby when I watched the cctv footage. I am the one to blame for why she able to betray me so I accepted the consequences of her mistake, your Grandma was against my decision to bring you in the mansion and said that she will no longer consider me as her son if I will take responsibility to the baby that is not mine, but I still adopted you. Your grandmother got angry, until she made an agreement that I would let her choose a woman to marry so that she could accept you into our family. It was also my decision to leave the mansion, I don't want to compete for being the heir because I don't want someone to dig up your birth."
He smiled but felt his heart break for his father, he sacrificed a lot because of his love for his mother.
"Thank you, thank you for taking care of me for all these years... Dad." he smiled at him.
Sedrick spread his arms as if he was waiting for something, he laughed and rushed towards him to give him a hug.
Who is he to hold a grudge against the family that helped him and what kind of a person he was if he will get mad at the man who took care of him since childhood even though they were not related by blood.
"Go back to Grandma, Dad." he said after he left his embrace.
"Let's go back together." he said.
"Nah, I'm about to cry Dad so I will go outside first." he said then laugh. "I'll be back after I cry it out."
He walks away from his father, he went straight to the garden on the side of the hospital because he couldn't hold back his tears. That was the first time he and his father talked, he felt overwhelmed. His father is always serious whenever he meets him, as if at a young age, he is teaching him to become a strong independent person.
He suddenly wiped his tears and lifted his head when he felt something cold on his cheek, he saw a young lady standing in front of him.
"Drink this." she said and offered her a small tetra pack.
He suddenly remembered where he saw this young lady, she was Neli's stepsister but he didn't know her name.
"Milk?" he exclaimed and raised his eyebrow as he accepted the milk that she offered to him. "Seriously?"
"Babies often stop crying when they are given milk, and do you expect beer in the hospital?"
He chuckled because of what she said, she was different from her older stepsister Neli.
"I'm a grown-up man, young lady."
"So don't cry then." she said and left.
He just stared at the milk that she gave, he couldn't stop smiling because of that young lady.
Is she trying to comfort me or teasing me?