Melinda walked back and forth outside the room while Robert sat on one of the wood benches, cupping his face with both of his hands. They"re both horrified with what they"ve seen that none of them utter a single word as they wait for the operation to end. It was lucky for Melinda to have a doctor as a cousin. They couldn"t afford to call a doctor they knew not, considering the oddity of their child.It has been eight hours or so after they called Theodore, Melinda"s first cousin, but he had not left the room yet. All they could do was to pray that their daughter was holding on to the string of life. They couldn"t afford to lose her. Not now, not ever.
According to Martha, one of the hotel"s front desk, there was a woman who fell in the veranda and they didn"t know that it was Ms. Martin until Melinda told them. To her anger, she pledged to sue them if their daughter wouldn"t wake up. The manager contradicted her. He said it"s not their fault that their daughter has a suicidal tendency. Melinda ended up slapping him, telling him that their hotel would start falling down to ashes. Before things could get out of hand, Robert dragged his wife away from them. That"s where they decided to wait outside Zheira"s room.
The moment Theodore walked out of the room, Melinda urged him into telling them about Zheira"s condition. Robert, on the other hand, stood upright; wanting to hear what he"s about to say but was afraid by the idea that their daughter might have been dead.
Theodore smiled, showing off his big front teeth. "You have nothing to worry about. Your daughter is a fighter. She will survive." He removed his surgical gloves and patted them on the back.
Melinda breathed heavily. She hadn"t noticed that she"s been holding her breath. Meanwhile, Robert collapsed on the bench, a wide smile was curving his lips.
"We owe you a lot, Theodore. Don"t worry, we"ll grant any of your wishes." She pressed the bridge of her gla.s.ses and flashed a grin. "Tell me if you need anything." Although her hands were still shaking, the fact that her daughter was fine kept her from collapsing.
Greed crawled in Theodore"s thin face. "Any of my wishes," he repeated with disbelief. He brushed his white hair arrogantly before giving her a wink. It made Melinda think as if she"d made a wrong decision.
"Anything but not the company, Theo. It"s for our daughter," Robert b.u.t.t in weakly. He still couldn"t get over the fact that their daughter fought a battle of dying and won.
Disappointment wrapped his face. His prominent jaws moved slightly. "Of course not." His dark eyes looked uncomfortable. "My wish is far more better than that." Then his cheeky smile was back. Melinda thought Theodore"s cooking something, and it"s not giving her anything but weariness.
"And that is?" Melinda asked. Her patience was wearing thin.
"Tell me the truth about your daughter," he said while looking straight in her eyes.
She bit her lips. "W—what truth?" Their fears that someone might be aware of the little dirty secret they"re hiding might unfold now.
"The truth about her parentage." He stared at them pointedly.
Robert urged Melinda to lean on his chest before he faced Theodore with a frown. "That"s a very obvious question, Theo. The truth is she"s our daughter. What more can you think of it?"
"She"s your daughter?" He faked a laugh. "That"s funny indeed."
"You can laugh all you want but I"m telling the truth." Robert clenched his fist as Melinda sniffed.
Theodore looked at him seriously. "Robert, you can fool yourself and anyone in the world but not me." He crouched and gave him an insulting look. "Now tell me the truth, and I will not give her blood to any hospital." He raised a tube filled with dark red liquid. Robert"s eyes widened, his eyes following the tube while Theodore swings it.
Melinda hissed. "That"s illegal, Theo. You"re not allowed to test a DNA without the permission—"
"I"m not giving this for testing. I"m selling it. I do think this will give me a lot of money. Do you want to know why?" He put the tube back to his robe"s pocket and stood straight. "Because her blood turned crimson every time it touches sunlight." A greedy smile draw his lips.
"What are you trying to prove?" Robert hissed, the veins on his temple was throbbing out of anger.
"Simple." He pinched his finger and made it crackle. "I just want to know why you"re lying. Melinda cannot conceive a baby without having a miscarriage. You see, her ovary is too thin to hold a baby. That"s why ever since you proudly present her as your daughter, I"ve been curious how you get her."
Melinda glared at him. "You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" She pointed him. "Fine! We found her in the Black Forest. Happy?" Her cheeks were filled with red blotches.
Theodore"s brow puckered. "Black forest," he whispered, "in Germany?"
Robert heaved a deep sigh. "Yes. It was one of our business trips, but the company did not meet with us. So, we use the time to hike. We found Zheira on the center of the forest with a necklace engraved with her name."
"And you still think she"s a human." There was fear in his eyes as he looked at them. "For all we know she might have been one of those creatures lurking in that mysterious forest."
Melinda slapped him. "How dare you! She"s not a monster. She couldn"t even hurt a fly—"
"Really?" Theodore laughed. "How would you explain this?" He pointed the small wound in his neck. It was still bleeding.
"I don"t know where you get that and I don"t care—"
"Wake up, Melinda! You"ve been harboring a monster for years. She bit me as I st.i.tch her wound. She"s not a human. She should have been dead with all the blood she lost, but she"s fine without even having a blood transfusion."
"That"s enough, Theodore. You can go now!" said Robert as he wrapped his arms around Melinda"s waist.
Theodore gave them a last glare. "Fine! If you want to be killed then so be it." He stomped away from them.
Melinda collapsed on the carpeted ground. Her heart was beating fast as her tears started racing down to her cheeks. The dreaded truth that she"s trying to bury surfaces, and she didn"t know how she"d cope with it. The fact that Zheira was just adopted gets in her nerves. Her inability to conceive a baby had always been her greatest insecurity but when they found Zheira, everything has changed. As she treated her like her own daughter, she tried forgetting the fact that she"s adopted.
Robert brushed her hair gently while caging her to a tight embrace. His touch made Melinda weaker, making her sobbed in the hallway.
"O—our c—c—child," she whispered in between her sobs.
"Ssh! It"s okay, hon! I never have believed that we can hide it forever. We must accept it." His voice was low and shaky. He didn"t like seeing his wife shed tears. He had once promised not to make her cry. Yet, he couldn"t even do anything to stop her from crying now.
"You don"t understand!" She glared at him. "You don"t understand how it feels to be incapable of conceiving a child. It hurts. It"s like heavy metals were pounding my heart every time a baby dies inside me." She started beating her chest, but Robert grabbed her by the wrist.
"I know you"re in pain, hon! But please, don"t be like this. Stop blaming yourself. It"s not your fault," he whispered, hugging her tightly even when she tried moving away.
"It"s my fault! It"s my fault!" She shouted and trashed, trying to get away from his grip.
"Please stop," he begged, trying so hard to stop himself from crying.
Melinda shook her head. Robert didn"t give up, though. He stayed down, letting her wife hit him in the chest. This was the least he could do.
It took an eternity before she could control herself. Her eyes were puffed and reddish. Every now and then, she would hiccough as another series of tears would fall. She tried wiping it, but it never stopped. Robert gave him a gla.s.s of water.
"Never blame yourself again, okay?" Robert planted a soft kiss in her head. "I"m always here for you, hon! Even if you push me away, I will never leave you."
Melinda smiled slightly before nodding. "T—thank you!" Her voice came out raspy.
Before any guest could start crowding around them, Robert a.s.sisted his wife towards their room. The moment they stepped inside, they felt the air changed. It felt hot.
Zheira was sitting in her bed while staring at her nails. The dextrose that was supposed to be on her hand was abandoned in the corner. She looked straight at their eyes. It made them move back. This wasn"t their daughter at all. Zheira couldn"t stare at them eye to eye and her iris was red, not gold.
"What a drama queen," she remarked, inclining her head towards their stiff figure.
"W—who are you?" Melinda managed to say as the cold voice registered in her ears.
"Me?" She pointed herself. "I am Zheira," she paused to give them a grin. "The new Zheira."