She caused you grief! What a joke? My daughter has never hurt any human being and never will. Your impression of her is completely erroneous".
…
Hearing Mr. Tsukishima's affirmation, Oscar was at a loss regarding what to think. Several questions crossed his mind at once.
( Why is Mr. Tsukishima telling me this with such certainty? Doesn't he know what his daughter has done? I don't understand anything anymore).
" You were so close with my daughter. You were her best friend; every time she came home, she would always talk about you even when we were a family time together; you had always been the main topic, but one day, everything fell apart. Angelique has never smiled since and has never been the same again. She stopped confiding in us and would always lock herself up in her room".
…
" I'll kindly ask you to leave. Don't make me behave rashly with you!" He expressed himself with the little composure he has left.
…
Oscar turned back and left the hospital. Outside, he encountered Angel accompanied by Alicia Muto and Alexia Kobayashi.
( Oscar?)
He gets past them without greeting them. Angel stared as he walked away from the hospital.
( What's wrong with him? Why did he harbor that look?)
Angel, Alicia, and Alexia head inside the hospital. They encountered Mr. Tsukishima outside Angelique's hospital room.
( That man looks slightly like Angelique in resemblance. He must probably be her father).
" Hello, Sir!" They greeted him together.
" You must be my daughter's classmates. Are you here for Angelique?" He asked with utmost politeness.
" Yes! We've come here to enquire about her wellbeing and see her if possible". Alexia responded compromisingly.
Mr. Tsukishima was so fixated on the girls that he didn't notice Angel's presence at all. When he finally took conscious of him, he stared at him arbitrarily.
" Who are you? Are you also my daughter's classmate?" He asked suspiciously.
Angel realized that he had yet to introduce himself and said bashfully: " Sorry! My name's Angel Jay and I'm Angelique's classmate. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir!"
Alicia and Alexia followed through and introduced themselves to Mr. Tsukishima respectively.
( Angel Jay? Would he happen to be the man my wife has been telling me about?)
The doctor came out of the ward after examining Angelique. He told Mr. Tsukishima could go inside to see his daughter before walking away from them.
" You girls may head inside first!" Alicia and Alexia head inside Angelique's ward while Angel stayed outside with Mr. Tsukishima.
( He asked the girls to head inside the ward. He might want to talk with me. Is it related to Angelique?)
" My wife told me about you. Thanks for saving Angelique!" He said with utmost respect and thankfulness towards Angel.
( I see! He only wanted to thank me and nothing else. I overlooked things a little).
" Don't embarrass me by thanking me, Sir! What I did isn't worth such praise". He retorted in embarrassment.
Inside the ward, Alicia and Alexia approached a hospitalized Angelique who was bashful to see them.
" How are you feeling, Angelique?"
Their expression and tone reflected anxiousness and worry for Angelique. Angelique didn't answer the question. She simply stared at them in silence.
" You must be surprised to see us, right? It must be why you're not uttering anything at the moment".
…
" Angel-Kun was coming over to see you, so we asked him if we could come along with him and he agreed".
Hearing Angel's name, Angelique reacted, unmuting herself in the process.
" Angel is here? Where is he? Why hasn't he come inside to see me?"
" He's outside with your father". Alicia said in response.
( He's with dad?)
" Thanks so much for coming to visit me. I wasn't expecting you to come to the hospital for me".
…
" We're not the only ones who came here today". Alexia said suddenly.
" Who else came?"
" When we were just about to step inside the hospital, we saw Oscar who was leaving. By the look on his face, he didn't have a pleasant time". Alexia said in response.
…
( Oscar? Oscar was at the hospital? Why did he come?)
" Angel didn't tell us anything but we know he has something to do with your hospitalization". Alicia said firmly.
" Why would he have anything to do with me being in the hospital?"
" It's obvious he's the one behind it. Every bad thing that happened to you was always related to him one way or another".
…
" What happened to me is in no way his fault. He has nothing to do with my hospitalization".
Angelique took Oscar's side although it was due to him she was in the hospital. Alicia and Alexia couldn't understand why she was taking his side despite the way he's always treated her.
" You said Oscar has nothing to do with your hospitalization, right? If that's truly the case, then do you mind telling us how you've ended up here". Alexia asked straightforwardly.
…
" I was already sick and neglected it. As a result, it got worse and I ended up here". I answered firmly.
( She's lying! I'm positive he has something to do with this. He has to be the one solely responsible for her hospitalization. What I don't understand is why she's still taking his side despite everything that happened? He had always humiliated her, spilling his venom at her back and forth. He had hurt her so much over the years. Despite all that, why is she still defending him? What's the nature of their relationship?)
" You may not know it because you've been hospitalized but, Professor Hiwatari announced this morning who'll be partnering up with for the upcoming class project".
" Is that so? That's good!"
" Guess who you're partnering up with!" Alicia couldn't hold her excitement.
…
" Your work partners will be none other than us. Are you surprised?" Their eyes twinkled with anticipation.
Angelique stared at both of them as they announced the news to her. She was surprised by the news. That was a fact but what surprised her more, was how enthusiastic Alicia and Alexia were regarding the group project. They were way too enthusiastic for her part.
...