Lola’s heart was pounding as she stared at the road. Her hand on her lap tightened until it trembled. All she could think about was the call from the doctor — soone she’d known in the past — telling her about Lawrence’s condition.
According to the doctor, Lawrence had attempted suicide.
A hand held hers, making her look up at Atlas.
"We’re almost there," he said. "Calm down."
She nodded but didn’t speak. Not because she couldn’t. She simply didn’t know what to say or think. Her heart, however, knew exactly the emotion swelling in her chest.
Anger.
"How dare he try to kill himself?" she breathed, scoffing at the thought of Lawrence ending his life. "Even in the end, he’s choosing the easy way out."
After all the neglect and maltreatnt she’d endured, Lawrence had no right to take his life. He deserved to suffer — if not once, then at least as much as Lola had suffered because of him. She couldn’t accept or even believe that he had done this.
Soon, their car reached the hospital driveway. Lola was about to jump out when she stopped and looked back at Atlas.
"Wait for here," she said. "I’ll be back."
"Don’t go in there alone."
She shook her head and offered him a short smile. "I’ll be fine on my own. Don’t bother with them."
With that, Lola jumped out of the car and rushed toward the hospital entrance. Atlas watched her through the window.
"Sir." Baby, who was driving, looked back at Atlas. "Are you really going to let her go in alone?"
Atlas considered for a mont. "Maybe."
Baby didn’t press further and drove off to find a parking spot. Atlas’s expression was solemn as he watched Lola. He understood she didn’t want to drag him into her family’s ongoing drama.
"I’ll check on her," he said as soon as they parked. "Co with ."
He didn’t plan to do anything more than make sure Lola would be alright. And so, the two of them headed inside in the end.
*****
Lola hurried to the trauma center, where Lawrence was undergoing ergency surgery. Her steps slowed when she spotted lissa, Jasmine, and Mike standing in the hallway. lissa sat on a stainless bench, her face buried in her palms. Jasmine sat beside her, consoling her daughter.
Lola’s eyes drifted to Mike.
He stood near the bench, utterly calm. Blood stained his arm and clothes, like Jasmine’s. But that wasn’t what caught Lola’s attention imdiately. What she noticed was the quiet composure he carried — the sa calm he’d had when he’d raised his hand against a young Lola "to teach her a lesson." She rarely saw Mike, and each ti the mories were bitter.
Mike’s brows twitched. Then, he turned toward her.
"Lola," he called loud enough to draw Jasmine and lissa’s attention. "How did you—what are you doing here?"
Jasmine turned, her face full of fury when she saw Lola.
"You bitch!" she snarled, leaping up and rushing at Lola. "How dare you show up here?!"
Jasmine grabbed Lola’s shirt and shook her. "How dare you show your face to us again?!" she shouted, tears streaking her face. "This is all your fault! Did you co to see your own father die?! Aren’t you happy that you pushed him to take his own life?!"
Jasmine shook Lola as she wept hysterically, but Lola did not move. She stared at the distraught woman, then at Mike’s glare, and then at lissa’s tear-streaked face as they watched things unfold.
Lola grasped Jasmine’s wrist to stop her. At first, Jasmine resisted, but when Lola’s grip tightened, she froze.
"Ah—" Jasmine winced, but her glare did not soften. "Let go! Are you going to kill too?! I said let go! You’re hurting !"
Lola didn’t let go. Only when Mike stepped forward did she release Jasmine and shove her away.
"Ahh!" Jasmine fell back. Fortunately, Mike caught her just in ti. When she steadied herself, her eyes blazed. "You ungrateful brat—!"
"Touch again and you’ll be the next one getting admitted," Lola warned, her voice low, shaky, but steady. She lifted her gaze to Mike, her eyes just as sharp. "Sa goes for you."
Lola had let many things slide because she believed in karma. She knew these people wanted to see her snap, but she didn’t want to ruin her future over them. But if they pushed her today, she might not hold back.
"How dare you?" lissa’s voice cracked as she stepped toward her mother. Her swollen eyes were red from crying, but the hatred she felt for Lola was clear. "Not only did you push Dad this far, but you’re also threatening us."
"Don’t you have any sha?!" she scread, loud enough for nurses to approach. "If Dad dies, it’s on you, Lola! For the rest of your life, it’ll be your fault! You killed him! You might not have pushed him off the stairs, but you pushed him into doing that! I will do everything I can to make your life a living hell for taking my father away!"
Lola clenched her fists and glanced at the nurses who hurried over. They didn’t ask questions; they stepped in and separated them.
"Please—there are other patients; they’re being disturbed by this commotion," one nurse told lissa, only to be scread at.
"We’re not the ones causing the commotion! It’s her! It’s the woman!" lissa shrieked as Jasmine focused on calming her daughter.
"Lola, you should leave," Jasmine hissed while lissa sobbed in her arms. "You are not welco here."
Lola remained unfazed. As she opened her mouth to speak, the lights outside the ergency room suddenly flicked off. The sound made everyone pause and whip their heads toward the door.
"Dad..." lissa whispered, scrambling to her feet and rushing toward the operating room. Jasmine and Mike followed. As for Lola, she remained rooted to the spot.
Monts later, a surgeon stepped out.
"Doctor, how’s my dad?" lissa demanded, not waiting for a breath. "Is he going to be okay?"
The doctor swept his eyes over their faces and sighed. "We managed to save him," he said, prompting tears from lissa, "but he lost a lot of blood. Upon checking, the patient has a rare blood type. We contacted the blood bank, but they don’t have sufficient units of that type."
lissa froze, as did Jasmine and Mike. Lola’s brows rose at the sudden halt.
"Chances are he shares the sa blood type as his children," the doctor continued. "It would be best if the patient’s children were tested for a match—"
"Take mine," Lola volunteered before he finished. She stepped forward, eyes locked on the doctor. "I’m his daughter too. We might be a match. Please take mine...and save him."
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