"I told you this isn't your business. Stop poking your nose into something you aren't involved in."
"And you think you have the right to tell me what to do?"
The child behind Luna was still trembling. Her tears started to fall from her brown eyes, cheeks slightly flushed from the slight fever she still had. Her wide, round eyes looked up at Luna, begging her—pleading her—not to give her to the other woman. The girl clutched on Luna's skirt while trying to suppress her tears.
Her small hospital dress wasn't tied properly, and Luna grimaced at the thought that this woman allowed a child like her to walk around with such thin clothing covering her small body. She could see the child shivering and trembling from cold and fear. Amber looked like a kitten seeking for her mother's protection from another predator.
"Once I married your father, you will have to listen to me, Amber!"
Knowing that Luna would never give her the child, the woman turned around to leave, seething in anger.
Stunning silence descended. Luna sighed, hoping that it would be the last time she would meet such a woman. She leaned down and took the girl from the ground. The abnormal heat coming from the child surprised her. Where the hell did this child get all the energy to run away from that woman?
"Amber! There you are!"
When Luna and the girl turned their heads, they saw a young woman running in their direction. Unlike the other woman, she was panting hard and had a worried look on her face.
"Don't run away like that! We have to go back for your medicines. I thought we agreed that you'll have your desserts later?" Finally, she noticed that Amber was clinging on Luna. "I'm so sorry, Miss. I'm Joanna. Little Amber here is my niece. You are?" Joanna offered a hand to greet Luna.
"Luna. I'm Luna Jiang."
"Come, Amber. The doctor is waiting for you."
Little Amber shook her head and buried her face on Luna's neck, breathing in her scent. Her small arms tightened around Luna's shoulder, refusing to acknowledge her aunt's request.
"Oh," Luna adjusted the child on her arms. "Then that rude woman isn't really related to Amber?"
"You mean Veronica? She's also Amber's aunt. A younger sister of Amber's mom."
Wait. Didn't that woman say she would marry the child's father?
"And her mother?"
Joanna folded her arms around her and cast a pitiful glance on her niece.
Amber didn't like people. She didn't like being pampered or treated as a child. What's more was that there's this kind of conflict between her and her own father. They never got along well, and it didn't help that Joanna's brother wouldn't spare his own child the attention she needed.
So imagine Joanna's surprise when she found her own niece seeking refuge in Luna. She even refused to be parted from her savior. Joanna nibbled nervously on her lower lip. If she lost Amber earlier and allowed Veronica to hurt the child, she would never hear the end of it from her brother.
"Her mother died in childbirth. Amber never saw her and had never been with her since birth." Joanna explained and led Luna back to the pediatric ward.
"I assume Amber isn't deaf, but can't she talk?" Luna felt concerned for the child. Amber hadn't spoken a single word since she met her.
"Our Amber here can talk, but she refuses to talk to us."
They turned right and were welcomed by busy doctors and nurses, rushing a patient to the emergency room. It was a good thing that Amber wasn't looking and decided to relax on Luna's arms, with her eyes closed.
When they arrived at the private room designated for Amber, she was already fast asleep. She only made a small grumble sound when Luna laid her back on the bed.
Joanna went limp with relief as she sat beside her sleeping niece. Her brother didn't need to know what happened today, but she was really grateful that Luna was there to help Amber. She was already tensed enough as it was. She didn't need another dose of her brother's notorious inscrutability.
"I don't know how to thank you. It was my own fault why Amber ran away. She doesn't like Veronica, and I didn't expect her to visit today."
"Don't worry about it," Luna patted Joanna's shoulder. She already grasped the implications of Joanna's words immediately. "I understand. I once found myself in a somewhat similar situation with Amber. One does what one must. Don't blame yourself."
"I had a feeling you'd understand." Joanna smiled. "Thank you, Miss Jiang."