"I can’t really say, but Serena is not home. And that, that is strange."
There was an odd silence in the background, like Samir was moving from where he was.
"What about Chris?"
"Chris just got back home, but he came alone."
Samir stared at nothing in particular.
Serena was blind. It was impossible for Chris to leave her all alone wherever she was.
Unless...
"Did Chris go out alone?"
Amie narrated how Chris had gone out with June and came back home alone.
"I think Chris must have broken up with her or something."
"Shut up!" Samir shouted at her. "There’s no way Chris will date her, not when she’s pregnant with Rauf’s child."
Amie’s mouth dropped open. She knew June was pregnant, but she never knew it belonged to Rauf.
That bitch.
"Father, are you sure? It might be some bastard child she’s trying to pin on Rauf."
Samir almost yelled at her on the phone, but he had to calm himself. There was no point in yelling. "You’ve got Gerald with you over there and yet you’re not informed about what’s going on there. What have you been doing?"
Amie glared at the door as if it was Gerald.
"Father, you don’t get to blame me. It’s Gerald’s fault for not telling me anything. And moreover, I have been working hard to get the introduction done soon."
Samir could bet that all she had been doing was spending money. After all, he knew the child he gave birth to more than any other person.
"Okay. Anyways, I am going to call Gerald now. He needs to find where June was and probably Serena."
Amie nodded. "I don’t really care about where June is. All I care about is where Serena is."
But Samir wasn’t interested in what she cared about.
"Just remember to stay low-key. Once she introduces you to the world as her daughter, I’ll handle the rest."
With a smile on her face, Amie hung up the call.
A look of relief took over her features, and she dropped onto the bed. Her gaze moved to the box where the dress was.
She could already imagine what she would look like in the dress.
And more importantly, how people would start bowing to her after realizing who she was.
With those sweet thoughts in her mind, she finally drifted to sleep, unaware of the danger looming close to her.
June woke up with a stir.
Though the nurses had given her a bed to sleep in, it was still uncomfortable, and her back ached. And it was impossible for her to sleep on her stomach. Just sleeping on her back and both sides made her back ache.
Serena was still fast asleep.
June got down, opened her small bag, and took out her essentials.
She went into the small bathroom connected to Serena’s room.
She brushed her teeth and took her bath before coming to wake Serena to also do the needful before the doctors came to attend to them.
June helped Serena up.
She helped her with her things and also to the bathroom.
Even when Serena had insisted she could do some things herself, June had insisted too.
At the end, June won.
She helped Serena with her bath and also assisted her until she was properly dressed again, and all that was left was for the doctor to attend to them.
June’s stomach grumbled, but she held it. Turning to Serena, she asked, "Is there something you’d like to eat this morning?"
Serena shook her head. "I’m okay. I’m not really hungry."
Her stomach gave a low rumbling, giving her away.
June chuckled under her breath. "Well, you don’t have to eat because you’re hungry. You need to eat before the surgery."
Instead of replying with what she would like to eat, she turned towards her.
"Aren’t you going too? Ever since you came last night, you haven’t eaten anything."
"I’m okay."
Her stomach growled again.
Serena chuckled. "I guess we are both hungry but pretending not to be."
The sound of a knock on the door interrupted their moment.
June stood up and whispered to Serena before leaving.
"I hope it’s not that nurse again. She could claim we woke up too early."
Serena laughed this time.
When June got to the door, it was Chris with two bags in his hand.
"I brought breakfast."
June opened the door wider for him with a smile. "Thank you."
Although she couldn’t see, Serena’s eyes were fixed on the door.
"Is that Chris?"
"Yes, mother. And he brought breakfast."
Serena shifted on the bed as if settling herself in a better position.
"Chris always knows what I want."
Chris chuckled. Seeing the two women he cared about the most getting together brought a rare smile to his face.
There was nothing better than this.
After settling the food in front of Serena and giving June hers too, he moved closer to her and whispered in her ear.
"How was the night?"
June’s cheeks burned red. "It was awesome."
She tried to whisper back, but her voice came out in a high pitch.
"Are you guys talking about me?" Serena asked, her mouth filled with food.
"No, mother."
"Absolutely not, mother."
They said it at the same time, making Serena smile.
"You’re definitely talking about me."
The rest of the meal was filled with them joking.
Just as Chris was packing the dishes, the ’complaining nurse’ came in. She wore a wide smile, and her eyes kept darting to Chris.
"I’ll ask you to please excuse us as we have to prepare her and roll her to the surgery room."
Her voice was sticky like sugar.
And June could tell she wasn’t seeing them but only Chris.
Chris nodded.
June wanted to remain in the room with Serena. She wanted to see every part of the procedure up to the point when they rolled Serena to the surgery room.
But Chris pulled her with him.
"Wait," June said suddenly, moving towards her bag.
The nurse didn’t complain. She still wore that perfect smile on her face.
"I want to give her something."
She pulled her bag up and brought the chain out of it.
She lifted Serena’s hand, placing the chain carefully in her palm.
"This is my first gift to you, mother."
Serena’s hand closed around the chain.
"I promised to be wearing it the next time you see me."
Slowly, Chris tugged her out of the room, leaving the nurse to her duty.
"She will be fine," Chris assured her as they moved to the waiting area on the floor.
"You’ve no idea what could go wrong in just a few minutes."
"Try to be positive, June. Nothing is going to happen to mother."
June nodded.
Soon, the nurse rolled Serena out of the room towards the room that indicated the surgery room.
She seemed to have injected her with something to make her sleep, as Serena slept as if she was vulnerable.
Doctors covered with nose masks and wearing gloves followed her with more nurses.
June and Chris remained in the reception area until the signal ’Surgery in progress’ appeared above the door.
"God, please let this be successful," June said.
She wasn’t big on prayers, but she knew there was a God out there.
Chris sat on a chair casually as if it was a normal procedure for Serena to be wheeled off like that.
After a while, June asked, "How long do you think it’s going to take?"
Chris shrugged. "I have no idea. But we will be here when she gets wheeled out."
They fell into silence until the ringing of Chris’s phone broke the silence.
He stared at June, then at the phone, before excusing himself.
It was a call from Nate.
"Sir, there are strange people asking if Mrs. Vassari is at the reception."
Chris’s eyes widened for a brief second before going back to normal. He moved further from June, not wanting her to hear any of the words Nate spoke to him.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Two men dressed casually are asking about Mrs. Vassari at the reception. They claim to be family. Should we attack them?"
Chris sighed.
He had done his best to keep his mother’s surgery and the hospital where the operation was taking place private.
But the fact that some people could still figure it out was surprising.
"Waiting for your order, sir?" Nate said when he didn’t hear Chris speak.
Chris pinched his nose. "Don’t do anything to them. Most of those at the reception don’t even have any idea that mother is here. Just wait a while. I bet they will be leaving soon."
Out of anxiety, June came beside Chris.
"Is something wrong?" Her voice came out small.
Chris shook his head. "Everything is fine. Just wait for me."
He moved a bit away from her again, making her frown at his back.
He was hiding something.
"What about now?"
"They left the reception, sir."
Chris sighed. "Great."
As soon as he hung up the call, all the lights at the hospital went off.