7

Thailah pulled free from Benjamin's grip after realising that panicking wouldn't help her. Then she dashed over to a small safe hidden in a cabinet beneath the worktable. She grabbed some money and began to walk away when Benjamin stopped her by grasping her left arm.

"What hospital is she in? I'll drive," he said.

He let go of her arm as she turned her gaze at him, tears still in her eyes.

"Don't stand there, let's get going," he said to her.

When they got out, Benjamin walked directly to the vehicle, while she quickly closed up and joined him in the car.

Then he drove to the Clearwater Community Hospital, which was about ten minutes away from the cafe.

Thailah unbuckled her seat belt as soon as she saw the construction of the medical building. When Benjamin came to a halt, she opened the door and dashed to the reception like a mentally ill patient. She had been suppressing her emotions for almost twenty minutes and she couldn't do it any longer. Her mother was all she had, and if she died, she'd lose everything.

"Excuse me, please," she began, tapping on the marble stone counter where a nurse stood.

"How may I assist you?" the small nurse in green scrubs inquired, turning around to see a distressed Thailah.

"My mother... "I got a call about thirty minutes or so that she was in the hospital here," Thailah said.

But then the nurse looked at her, perplexed. She needed a name because they had three freshly hospitalized female patients.

"Mrs. Rivera," Thailah responded, realising how meaningless her explanation sounded.

"This way," the nurse said, walking away from the counter.

Then she brought Thailah directly to her mother's room. Benjamin stayed outside for a while since he knew a lot of people would recognize him and he didn't believe it was a good moment to tell her he was Caliwell Jr.

Thailah was trapped in time for a split second when she saw her mother. She was placed on a gurney with her eyes closed, and she was given oxygen. That meant there was yet another hospital cost to pay. She guessed that all of the earnings from Mrs. Caliwell's outfit would end up in there. Her mother's declining health was the reason they remained impoverished; they spent every penny to keep her alive.

She stood there in tears as she heard her mother cough and her eyes blinked a little. Thailah exhaled a sigh of relief and dashed over to her bedside. She shouted out in low tones, holding the icy handle of the gurney.

"Mum,"

"It's Thailah.Please wake up," she pleaded again, her voice weak and unsteady.

Her mother blinked several times more before attempting to move her hands. A part of Thailah was terrified as she stood there watching. She assumed that what she was witnessing was her mother battling for her life. Her mum could take her last breath at any time, and her entire world would end.

Her worry was getting the best of her, and she was allowing it to do so because she felt defenseless and helpless.

"Mum, please, I beg you, wake up," Thailah begged, slightly raising her tone and softly patting her mother on the shoulder.

She didn't move this time, so Thailah tapped her harder and harder until someone grabbed her hand from behind.

"What do you think you're doing?" a feminine voice asked, and she turned around to see a lady in a lab coat with a stethoscope over her neck.

Thailah assumed she was the doctor, but she appeared new, or perhaps it was the nose mask covering half of her face that made her unidentifiable.

"Who is she to you?" The lady inquired.

"My mum," Thailah responded quietly.

The doctor then took her hand and walked her out of the room.

She then assured her that she didn't need to be concerned; her mother had merely experienced a blackout as a result of her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and she needed adequate rest and oxygen to keep going. Thailah calmed down once she spoke some sense into her. She thanked the doctor and proceeded to pay the bill that was given to her.

When she arrived at the desk, the nurse she'd seen earlier informed her that her debts had been paid. After a moment of widening her eyes at the nurse, she immediately remembered she was driven to the hospital by an undeniably good first-class citizen. She had completely forgotten about him because of the predicament she was in.

She dashed out to the parking lot to check on him. Unfortunately, he had left. Thailah stepped back inside the hospital, her chest heavy, with a dismal expression.

"He left a letter," the nurse told Thailah as she approached the desk.

She then grabbed a piece of paper from her scrubs pocket and presented it to Thailah.

Thailah eagerly examined the note she handed her. Benjamin had put down his phone number and added, "Remember to remove your apron when you see this."

Thailah's cheeks flushed instantly since she hadn't realized she'd been wandering about the hospital wearing an apron.

She thanked the nurse and dashed back to her mother's room to remove the apron. Then she gazed at Benjamin's phone number, undecided whether to contact him or not. She put the paper aside after much thought and collapsed into the room's couch.

Night came and went like a gust of wind, and suddenly it was daylight the next day. Thailah, who had hardly gotten any sleep the night before due to keeping an eye on her mother, was attempting to sleep when she heard a tap on her door and a nurse stepped in.

"Delivery for Mrs. Rivera," she said, clutching a floral arrangement.

Despite her astonishment, Thailah sprang to her feet to accept the bouquet from the nurse.

Before leaving, the nurse gave her a message and a box of chocolate and cupcakes.

Thailah opened the get well soon card as soon as the nurse walked away. Her gaze was drawn to the sender, who turned out to be her mystery prince charming, Benjamin. It stated, "Love Ben."

Her tummy fluttered unusually, causing her to stroll casually to the couch. She then placed all of the gifts on the couch and dug into her trousers pocket for the piece of paper with his phone number.

She finally took up her phone and made the call after staring at it for a minute.