Chapter 6 Mother

Sonia's Point of View

“You were the one who brought me here?” I scoffed, realizing what he meant.

There's a saying that when a woman is in the midst of different men, she becomes stronger and learns to live with hard decisions. But in the bad stories we hear about women's violence and abuse, the perpetrators are mostly men, and I'm sure that the moment the victim saw the men, they weren't stronger; instead, they felt weak and sick to their stomach.

Some women's lifelong dream is to wake up between two hot men, but for me, that was a nightmare. I could imagine the argument that'd erupt as they flexed their toxic masculinity, and seeing it play out before me proved me right.

At first, I was entertained by watching Justin and Harridan's disagreement, because I had just woken up from a coma. But later it felt like they were invading my privacy, and they kept talking about things I didn't understand.

“Just think about this, one day you wake up and realize you can't remember anything from your past. Then two men entered and began to talk about how they bullied you in high school, and one of them even called you his property. How will that make you feel?” If it sounds creepy as fuck, then you understand my emotions at that very moment.

“Doctor, can they please leave with you? And about the hospital bills, I will pay. I'm sure I have money kept somewhere,” I said to the doctor. But even I doubted my words. The room I was in looked like a VIP room, and for the men to afford it, it meant they were wealthy, and in most movies, when the male leads are millionaires, the female lead turns out to be a pauper.

And please, don't ask me how I remembered a movie, it just came to my mind…

The guy, Justin, looked surprised by my offer to pay my hospital bills, and he furrowed his brows, his eyes fixed on me.

While the other guy, Harridan, looked relieved. “That's a wise decision, Lydia. You shouldn't collect gifts from the devil because they'll ask for your head in return,” he said, indirectly calling Justin the devil.

I didn't say anything, I stared at him. He looked calm compared to Justin, and while Justin has tattoos, piercings, and a bad boy look, Harridan looked naive and believable. You know the type that wouldn't dare hurt a fly. But something at the back of my mind kept telling me that he was involved with my accident, and I suspected Harridan and Justin.

“Do you know how much the VIP section is? How can you afford it?” Justin asked with a smug. He looked worried about me earlier but now he was acting like a different person.

“I can't afford it? Why….don't I have a job?” I murmured thoughtfully.

Harridan hummed softly. “I'm sure you have a good job. It's been a while so we don't know your career path,” he said with a smile.

“Even with a job, can she afford the bills?” Justin replied, and waved his fingers at the doctor, telling them to leave.

“I will pay for you, and don't worry you can always pay me back later,” Harridan informed me with a polite smile.

The doctor stopped in his tracks, “You don't have to worry, the bill has already been paid … by an anonymous individual,” he informed us, and left the room along with the nurses.

My eyes involuntarily turned to Justin. His face was unreadable, and he looked…. genuine?

“Harridan, please don't poison her mind against me. Three days ago, we had a heart-to-heart conversation, and trust me, she confided a lot in me. It's been five years since you last spoke with her, so you know nothing about her. On that note, let's give her some privacy to think, we can check up on her later,” Justin said, suddenly sounding like the reasonable one.

I wasn't the only one surprised by his sudden change of character, Harridan also looked confused. Nonetheless, he knew Justin was right about one thing.

“Fine, we'll give her time to think. But don't you dare say I haven't spoken to her in five years, you know nothing about our relationship, our bond is stronger than you can imagine,” Harridan replied with a grimace.

I didn't know what to say since I had no idea what they were talking about, so I kept quiet, listening attentively to their every word.

I knew if they both left I'd be all alone. I needed someone to talk to, someone who'd tell me the plain truth. “By the way, can you inform my parents that I'm in the hospital?” I asked the men, and they froze.

“This is strange. If they're really my friends, how come they have a bad relationship with my family?” I wondered, looking at them suspiciously.

They exchanged gazes, and Harridan offered me a smile. “Sure, I'll call your guardian, she has been worried about you,” he said and brought out his phone. “Bye, I will check up on you later,” he left the room, after giving Justin a warning stare.

A few seconds after he left, Justin turned to face me. “Tell the doctors if you need anything, and they'll inform me, okay?” He said, and the worried look was back on his face. There was something about him, and although I hadn't said anything, I remembered his face clearly. It was imprinted in my mind along with the name 'Harridan'. But I didn't know why.

“Thank you very much, for paying my bills and saving my life, Mr. Justin, I will try to make it up to you, but I doubt you need my money,” I laughed nervously, unsure of what to say.

I heard when the nurses were talking, and they said that for three days straight Justin was by my side tending to me, and worrying about my safety. He might act like he didn't care, but I knew he did. It's either he genuinely cares about my life or he is trying to monitor me and prevent me from saying something.

Justin put his hands into his pockets and backed me. “You’re right. I don't need your money, I just need you to give me a chance to help you recall your memories. Better still, you can start over, you don't need to remember the past, let's create new and happy ones,” he said in a whisper.

“You don't want me to remember?” I furrowed my brows. Indeed, he is trying to prevent me from remembering something. But what?

“I never said that, okay? I just don't want you to stress yourself out,” He said with a grimace, his phone rang, and after looking at the screen he excused himself and left.

I wanted to stand up and properly thank him, but the tubes on my body made it impossible. Even if he was the one who caused my accident, I still owed him a lot for saving my life.

Harridan's words replayed in my head; ‘I'll call your guardian, she has been worried about you’. My guardian? She? Does this mean I live with my mother? Is she a single mother or is my father a divorceé?” I asked rhetorically.

I got the answer I so desperately wanted when the door was pushed open and a young sister ‘nun’ entered. She looked probably in her thirties, and a terrified expression was on her face.

“Lydia, my dear!” She cried out, running towards me, and I froze.

“Mother?” I whispered, my eyes widening.