53 Gerbera's story

With her fair skin, long legs, and pink lips, I was faced with the beautiful model,Gerbera. The girlfriend of Liam Wang. She was not wearing any makeup and was dressed in a pair of white shirt and jeans. Her hands were hooked onto the male beside her.

I was thinking: 'Why is she here? Come and trouble me next time. I don't have time to spare.'

Meeting me, she was surprised and unbelieving. She kept blinking and after freezing momentarily she subtly withdrew her hands.

"What's wrong?" the guy beside her asked.

"Uh, nothing. I was just surprised to see a young lady like her here." Gerbera answered him.

The guy turned to me then back at her, "Don't think too much. She must have a friend she's visiting. Big guy Indigo on the second floor got his daughter visiting him daily. She also wears those kinds of dresses so it's a normal scene now."

"Ah," As I was ignoring and acting like I didn't know her, she smiled at him as she suggested. "Let's go?"

"Yeah." The guy tried to hold her hands again, but she avoided it by checking her phone.

They bowed slightly as they went past me, and I did the same. Like what I thought before, who cares about her this time? Why would our paths crossed when I already have my plate full with worries. Come and find me when I am bored, then I'll play Sherlock with you.

Without further ado, I examined the surroundings in the hopes to see Lilac. It was unfortunate that I did not even find even a single hair to trace her. I decided to end today's adventure and visit the hospital before going home.

The nurse had only finished changing Aster's urine bag when I got there. Mr. Wei was taking a nap on the sofa and Heather was already in dreamland. Her lashes shook as she breathed in and out. I went first beside Aster and spoke, "Hey, did you know that you are in the hospital and you have a tube to help you breathe? Well, they said this was just temporary, you are doing great, and that you're making progress." I said so as advised by the healthcare team. They said that it helps the patient if you tell them a short positive statement.

I sat opposite Heather and looked through my phone. Ms. Violet arrived a moment later with no Lilac on sight.

'Wait, why am I obsessing over her? I'm getting weirder.'

I was going to clear my throat and start a conversation with Ms. Violet when Mr. Wei woke up. He smiled upon waking up with Ms. Violet by his side as he reached out to squeeze her hand. I could only pretend not to see how affectionate they were with each other. I, too, once experienced that kind of love. It just didn't end like those fairytale books do.

Honestly, I've once reached the highest point of bitterness in my life. One day, I'd be spilling some news to my colleagues about their partners and smirk when some of them broke up. There was even a time I petitioned for those fairytale books not to be distributed in the country. I had questioned why would they give false hope to poor and innocent kids? Thankfully, work was hard, so I focused my time on it which lead me to forget about trivial matters.

Heather roused from her sleep. She quickly massaged her neck while sitting straight. She did not bother Ms. Violet this time and only paid attention to me. Though indifferent, her treatment with her was better than before when she'd purposely said something to irk the other party.

"You didn't wake me up," She said, her eyes blaming me.

"I tried, but you did not wake up," I told her. I really did wake her up but with a very soft voice.

"Really? I didn't hear anything."

"You were sleeping soundly. At that point, I think you had reached dreamland, honey."

"I see." She mumbled. "Anyway, come with me for a snack?"

"Sure," I said as I stood up and grabbed my wallet.

Having walked two steps, Heather stopped and turned, "Dad is there anything you want me to buy?"

"No, thanks. I'll go down once I get hungry. Go ahead and stretch your limbs a bit." Mr. Wei told her.

"Oh," Heather looked at Ms. Violet but was reluctant to ask.

She must have understood Heather as she softly spoke, "No need for me as well. I'll accompany your dad for a while."

Heather nodded and we continued on our way. Once we reached a small café outside, we ordered a takeout and decided to eat it on the way. I wanted to ask Heather's opinion on Lilac, but I was hesitant to make a mistake. I saw how she interacted with Ms. Violet and it was beginning to lean on the positive side. To make her doubt the daughter was the same as doubting the mother.

"Why'd you keep looking at me? Do I look gaunt?"

I was startled, "I-I ah…"

"Oh goodness! You let me go out looking old?"

"No!" I quickly denied. "Who told you that?"

"Your eyes did. Isn't that why you're so startled?" Heather told me. We stopped under a tree on the side.

"No," I said and gestured for us to sit on a wooden bench. "Heather I---"

Beep!

A big black car honked, interrupting my momentum. I couldn't help the burrowing of my eyebrows and turned my head to see the culprit. The window by the driver's side was halfway down revealing a handsome face. It was Liam with Gerbera by his side peeking at us. Liam told us that they're here to visit Aster after hearing the details from Luke before driving all the way to the parking area.

"What did you want to say before?" Heather asked me after remembering the scene.

"Now that you mentioned it, I don't remember. I'll tell you if it crosses my mind again. Let's quickly finish our food and meet with them, shall we?"

"Uh huh."

The four of us met and went up the hospital. Heather explained the rules to them while we boarded the elevator. Gerbera suggested that she'll go inside with Heather first then after her would be Liam's turn. She indicated that she'll only take a few minutes since she can only give encouraging words, but Liam was different; being born from the same kind of family, he had a lot of topics to share with Mr. Wei inside. Liam agreed and went inside after her.

Heather acted as the middleman so she accompanied both while I stayed outside on the floor's waiting area. There was no one else in there aside from me. I was busy with my phone when I felt someone's presence. I looked up and it was Gerbera.

"May I speak with you?" She asked carefully. I said 'yes' and motioned for her to sit down.

She was quiet for a few minutes and kept patting her knees before she had the courage to speak.

"About the thing this morning…" She began whilst I was still browsing my phone. "That guy was my stepbrother." She said. "My father died when I was four years old. We were struggling that time when my mother met my stepfather. I was already seven when they got married and got introduced to my new family. Unfortunately, one rainy night, both our parents died in a car crash. The road was slippery and they collided with two cars before them. I was only twelve and brother was sixteen. My brother drop out of school and worked so he could support us. I was sixteen when I met someone from the agency and when my career started to rise, they told me to keep a clean record. I was young then, so I was sensitive to all the gossip. I started to distance myself from him and lived on my own. It was last year when I met someone from our old neighborhood who told me that he was sick…so I sent somebody to inquire." Her eyes darted back and forth looking at my reaction.

Although I was silent and busy with my phone, I was also listening to her story.

"This morning, I accompanied him again for a checkup…"

I nodded and said, "I see." To imply I understood her side. She had already told me her reasons, and I was aware of why she was telling me this.

"Then..."

"Don't worry. I am not nosy to other people's relationships. I just hope that you'd tell Liam your story too, so that you won't create misunderstandings." I sincerely advised her.

"Thank you. Yes, I'll tell him." She smiled. It was her first time giving me a genuine smile since she started talking.