"Who are you? Do I know you?" The aged woman turned to her. Most of the times, Jessica's mother was in a confused state. She was rarely conscious too. Although she didn't recognize Jessica, her condition was much better than how she usually was. Probably that was because she felt her daughter close to her. A mother could always feel her daughter.
Jessica, it's Jessica! Mom, can't you recognize me? Come and touch me, it's me, Jessica!" Jessica reached out to hold her mother's hand and then pressed the old woman's hand on her face. The feeling of being unrecognized by her own mother overwhelmed her too much that her tears poured down her face.
"Jessica? No, you are not Jessica. You look different from my daughter. I'm not your mother. I'm afraid you are mistaken." Jessica's mother took a look at her with a pitiful expression. Then the old woman took her eyes off her and stared at the family portrait sitting on the bedside table. Her mother stopped reacting after that.
"Mom, I am your daughter! Take a closer look at me, please! I've just had surgery on my face. There is always something that won't change, right? Mom, please. Try it, try to recognize me," explained Jessica with a choking voice. She turned her mother around to face her and tried to wake her up in a hurry. Everything she did appeared to be in vain though as her mother remained blank and caught in her own world. It looked like she wasn't coming back soon no matter how hard Jessica tried. She wasn't responding to her at all! Not even a blink nor a look.
"Why? Mom, can't you recognize your daughter? Why? What happened to you?" Jessica was desperate. All hell broke loose inside her chest as she began to shake her mother violently. Nevertheless, her mother remained unconscious and sluggish. The old woman didn't even bat an eyelash as her daughter's action went crazier.
That was the scene that welcomed Coco when she came into the room with Jessica's mother's decoction. "What are you doing, Jessica? Let go of her," Coco shouted to stop Jessica. She put the decoction on a side table and then walked to her cousin to stop her from shaking her mother heavily. Did she just go insane to treat a patient like that?
"What happened to my mom, Coco? Why can't she even recognize me? She is not supposed to be this sick," Jessica choked. She let go of her mother and then turned to Coco. She grabbed her cousin by her shoulders and started shaking her instead.
"That's enough, Jessica. I told you just now that she was rarely conscious. You are not the only person she doesn't remember. She has forgotten all of us. So don't be mad at her anymore, okay?" Coco explained and pushed her off forcefully. She felt dizzy because of her violent shaking. What a crazy woman!
"No, things are not supposed to be like this. She should recover from her illness. Coco, we still have some hope, don't we?" Jessica asked in a hurry as she expected a positive reply from Coco. She could feel her anger for Daisy burning even more. She couldn't accept the truth that her mother would be ending up in a hospital all because of Daisy.
Well, I don't know. It will all depend on her efforts. The doctor said that her will to be okay would be the most critical factor." Coco took the decoction she placed on the desk and put a clean kerchief around Jessica's mother's neck. She then started giving the old woman medicine by spoon. She seemed to be quite familiar with the procedure.
"Let me do this!" Jessica sniffed and offered for the job. She might not have the best character but she was nonetheless a loving daughter. Everyone had their weakness anyway.
"No, no need. You are not familiar with it. I'll take care of this! She may flap it away." Taking care of Jessica's mother wasn't an easy job for Coco when she started. Her Auntie wasn't that cooperative at all. The situation in which she flapped the medicine away happened a lot in the past. It took a while for Coco to get used to it. She learned to tell when was the right time to give her the medicine from her tiny behaviors or expressions.
"Thank you, Coco!" Jessica sniffed.She felt sorry for Coco for the first time when she saw her take care of her mother so carefully. Should she not have persuaded her with sweet words, she would not have been banned by FX International Group. In that case, she could have still been the superstar under the camera and on the screen. She could have still remained as the perfect woman in men's hearts. However, her sorry wouldn't get her cousin back to where she had been anymore.
Hey, it's nothing. We are still family no matter what happens, aren't we?" Coco smiled faintly. Gone was the proud and arrogant Coco that everyone remembered. She became much milder in both mind and behaviors. She realized many things after what she had gone through. She clearly figured out how to keep herself from hatred. Thus, she stopped fighting for things that did not belong to her. She accepted whatever life offered her such as her cousin. It was the reason why she decided to take care of her cousin's mother.
Jessica did not come back to Kate Hotel as soon as she left Coco's home. She drove to FX International Group instead. She decided to take her plan into action after seeing what her mother was like. Edward had already known her real identity anyway. There was no need to hide.