CHAPTER THREE

"I hate to break it to you, but your wife's condition is getting worse by the second. She must have the operation tonight! The operation bill is five hundred thousand dollars. You must pay it before five o'clock this afternoon. If not, she won't get operated on and she can't make it through tonight!"

The doctor's words hit Harrison like a bolt out of the blue. His legs suddenly felt wobbly and he staggered back.

He left the doctor's office and walked back to his wife's ward, dragging his feet slowly.

Tasha Smith was lying motionlessly on the bed at this time. A painful lump went up to his throat as he stared at her. Wrinkles filled her deathly pale face. Her hands were riddled with calluses. More so, her breathing was extremely weak.

Harrison knew that she had suffered a lot for so many years, from childhood as a result of asthma. Here again is a life threatening disease coming to keep her in pain and Harrison wont let it claim her life. With tears in his eyes, he straightened the messy quilt and tucked her in bed well. He sat on the edge of the bed for a long time before walking out.

As he stepped out weak and tired, He walked through the road lifelessly, being so helpless. He decided to reach out to one of his Older brothers who is financially capable to offer help.

The response his brother gave to him hit him very hard and chartered his heart once again.

"YOU ARE NOT ASHAMED OF REQUESTING FOR MONEY FROM PEOPLE AT YOUR AGE. Five hundred dollars is money you can get at a snap of time if only you play smart! You are even capable of raising that. Just reach out to the right place as a kidney donor and place your charges and you'll get paid immediately to pay your bills. NEVER YOU CALL ME AGAIN!"

It was a bang. He bent to the floor sob for a while, encouraging himself to move on when he remembered his wife still lies in the hospital waiting for a surgery bill.

Horace felt a pang of pain in his heart at this moment. This period was even more difficult because he had no one to support him. Holding his chest, he squatted on the lawn for a long time. Later, he went back to the oncology department.

"Harrison!" A weak voice called out to him as soon as he entered her ward.

"Yes, Sweetie!" Harrison replied, staring at his pale wife with sunken eyes and sallow complexion on the bed.

"Baby, please don't beg for money again. The pain is too much. I don't want to live anymore!"

A glint of frustration and struggle flickered in her eyes and her eyebrows furrowed in pain. She already looked distant from this world.

"Tasha, please don't say that. Everything will be fine! Didn't you say you wanted to witness our bright part 9f life again, or have you given up that things will get better Sweetie? It's not time to do that yet. You have to live for me. How do you expect me to live in this cruel world without you? Don't speak like that anymore!"

"Yes, I want to see us live happily again.

Alright, I will.

Tasha replied!

All of a sudden, after her response, her body became stiff.

"Baby, what's wrong with you? Please talk to me!" Harrison held her and tears welled up in his eyes in an instant.

The heartbeat monitor gave a loud warning and the pulse line began to drop at a fast rate. Harrison's shout alerted the nurses and doctors who rushed in and wheeled Tasha to the intensive care unit.

A strange and empty feeling overwhelmed Harrison as he watched them wheel her away. It felt as if she would never come back. He ran after them in fear. However, he wasn't allowed into the intensive care unit. He could only pace about in the hallway restlessly.

It was after ten minutes that one of the doctors walked out of the unit and said to Harrison,

"We managed to stabilize the patient's condition for now.

But we were on the brink of losing her this time. She wouldn't make it past tonight if we don't operate on her. I advise that you look for the money for the operation or begin to say your goodbyes."

Harrison's heart dropped to his stomach instantly. His blood ran cold and he suffered a splitting headache at this time.

"Oh God! Why is this happening to me? The person

I care about the most in this world almost passed away just now, but I couldn't do anything about it! I'm such a loser!"

Harrison pounded his fists on the wall in anger and blood seeped out slowly.

"Come on, Harrion. Swallow your pride. Set aside your hatred for him and save your foster mother's life first. There's still hope. Use your last resort even though you don't want to!" Horace urged himself.

After wiping his tears, he took out his phone and scrolled to the number he had blacklisted.

He was about to ask for the help of the person he hated the most.

This person was responsible for his biological parent's death because he is hard heartened and stingy. Warren never knew that Harrison knew about all his evil underground work. However, he had to set aside his hatred because he wanted to save his wife's life by all means necessary.

"Hello, Mr. Warren?" A familiar voice came through from the other end of the line. It had been about a year since Harrison heard this voice.

With a trembling voice, Harrion was about to place his request, as his face was filled with worry and anxiety then his eyes came in contact with someone as he walked down the road from the hospital.

As he kept gazing at the person, he lost focus on the call he was making. Trying to figure out where he met the person.

"Wow! Harrison!

Mr. Roland called out…