"Hello..." Seryne called, picking up the phone.
"Hey, love..." Vanessa said as soon as the call was picked up.
"Sery, did you talk to him about that?" Jen asked, sighing as she sensed Seryne's foul mood.
"Did..." Before Sery could complete her words, she was interrupted by her impatient friends.
"And?" - An
"What did he say?" - Maira
"Did you put some sense into his pea-sized brain?" - Vanessa
"Guys, let me talk," Seryne replied, taking a long breath so as not to shout at these little brats of hers.
"Yeah, let her talk, guys," Jen said.
"I did talk to him. For now, we decided on letting him recuperate from home since he dislikes being in the hospital and has been foolishly taking his health for granted to get out of there as soon as he can. Stupid," Sery explained, recounting how Lucas told her he didn't want to stay in the hospital.
"Okay, do as you see fit," Jeneva replied.
"And I think that you guys need to visit him more often."
"Sery, how long are you going to be like that?" Maira asked, knowing that Sery was trying to avoid Lucas at all costs. They had all met each other at a very young age and knew each other inside out. Lucas was the eldest in the group and also the only guy, while all five of them were girls. It was hard to imagine such a strong friendship, given that they had been through many hard phases of life together. They all had a code of not interfering in each other's lives, but the others had to ask for help if the situation became dire.
Four years ago, when they found Lucas in that situation, they were all shocked and angry at themselves for not checking on him as he wished. They should have done it secretly. If they hadn't also been connected to that mysterious organization, they might never have found out what Lucas went through, given his habit of not sharing his problems or any personal details.
Four years back, they had very little information about him. They only knew his name, age, and likes. Everything else, they thought he would share when he was comfortable. His connection to that organization was also a secret to them. They found out only because he was very severely injured, and his case was so complicated that Seryne had to be contacted for his treatment.
Seryne was a top surgeon, but this identity of hers was a secret to the world, known only to that organization and her friends.
They regretted everything at that time: letting him keep too many secrets, letting him face his problems alone, and letting him stay out of contact for months.
Yes, even though Lucas was the oldest, he was the most spoiled in this aspect, almost as much as the youngest, Anaya. Seryne, being the second eldest, was always the one doing most of the pampering, not only for Lucas and Anaya but also for the other members. They could ask her for anything, and she would not blink before saying yes.
While Seryne pampered them the most, she was also the most feared one, as her means were still unfathomable to them. They feared disobeying or angering her the most.
...
Back to the present
...
After bidding farewell to Lucas, Seryne and Lorayne drove back to their penthouse.
"Rayne, get fresh and go to bed. I still have some work, so I will join you in some time," Sery said as she walked into Lorayne's room after a call with her friends.
"Mom..."
"Yep."
"What do you think of Lucas?" Lorayne asked, a bit nervous about her mom's reaction.
"Lucas... Friend. Why, what happened, baby?"
"Nothing, mom."
"Rayne..." Seryne knew it was not "nothing" as Lorayne said.
"Mom, the aunties were saying that Lucas wants to marry you."
"And what did you feel about this, baby?" Seryne wanted to test Lorayne's mindset about a new family member. While Lucas was in a coma, Lorayne visited him quite often, which was not typical of her since she never liked interacting with strangers much. But after he woke up, she suddenly went back to her old self.
While Lucas was in a coma, Lorayne spent a lot of time in his ward, even though it was always silent. She often tried talking to him. Seryne had thought that Lorayne would become cheerful when Lucas woke up, but the opposite happened.
"I feel that he is okay..." Lorayne replied, pulling herself back from her thoughts.
"Okay? Rayne, baby, please tell me what happened?" Seryne knew that for Lorayne, people or emotions were strictly either good or bad. If she said "okay," then there was something she was not sure about at all.
"Ma... He looks just like her. But your reactions tell me that it is not her. Right?" Lorayne felt that she should just ask her mother. Her mother had never kept secrets and always made her aware of the world.
Seryne became silent as she heard her daughter raise a question that was too unexpected. Now she knew why Lorayne was so cheerful around him during his comatose state but when he woke up she realized that he was not the person she wanted to see.
"Rayne... Yes, that person is not her. But that person, Lucas, is my friend just like your other aunties. He is someone mom feels close to but is angry at because he did not care for himself and landed in that state. So you can be yourself in front of him without worry. As for whether we will marry, you know you will be the first person I tell if it ever happens, right?"
"So... Does mom like him?"
"Umm... Let's say he is one of my best friends, so I do, but I would not marry him for that. Okay?"
"Okay, Mom."
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