She was bound to hope for feelings that never evolved, but if she had been present to listen to her mother's nagging, then she would have wished to die.
~*~...~*~...~*~
"Why should we fork out so much money for that wench!"
Anna Perez raised her voice at Neil James, declining any further arrangements or persuasion from him. It was clear that she wasn't the type to change her mind once she had decided, but as a father, Neil had to persist.
He was at the convenience shop, when a neighbor rushed to inform him about his youngest daughter's accident. No one knew if she would survive, but they all knew she was still breathing when the ambulance took her away.
Disoriented and nervous, Neil James dragged his cold body to the said hospital and caught sight of his youngest daughter on a stretcher. Her petite body was bundled in a baggy t-shirt, yet unable to conceal the heavy wounds that led to her bleeding. Her bleeding head was casually wrapped in a gauze to stop the bleeding, making her look even more pale and fragile, as if a single pressure coul snap away her life.
Neil James immediately felt his legs turn jelly at the bloody sight of his youngest daughter, but he was able to gather some strength to ask about her condition to the doctor in charge.
Only then did he realize how serious her condition was, at that critical hour. She needed to undergo a surgery in the coming three hours, but money needed to be deposited, if not her life would be gone.
How could Neil James possibly watch his daughter die in front of him. He came from a humble background, struggling with his convenience shop to reach his family's need. Though they still lacked and compared to other families who could eat meat every day, his family of five could only eat meat once in a week.
None of his daughters had ever been driven from school because of school fees and they hadn't lacked any school necessities. But his youngest daughter suddenly decided to quit school and work. Though she said it was her decision, he knew without doubt it was an idea from Anna Perez.
He knew that this mother had never been kind towards their youngest daughter, so he could only convince her to show more love to her, but his words sank and was washed away by her.
Though he didn't agree, nor had he ever approved of such treatment from Anna Perez, he was powerless in front of her and could only keep mum.
However, this now concerned the life and death of their youngest daughter, how could he just let her brush it away with an unreasonable logic.
"How can you say such a thing, even if you despise her because of the past, it was no way her fault. Shirley is one your daughters and she came through your womb." So no matter how she despise and hated her, you can't just treat her like an orphan or a baby that was picked up from the street.
His wife gave birth to Shirley, fed and took care of her, no matter what grudges she had over the years due to the past, it shouldn't implicate her flesh and blood.
"So what if I gave birth to her, am I condemned to look after a wench like her. She should be glad that I didn't abort her when she growing in my womb. I almost lost my life giving birth to that jinx." A girl that only causef her troubles upon troubles, how could she tolerate the sight of that youngest daughter.
If she needed to deplete her energy to take care of her, it was enough to look out for Jenny and Jane who were her pride. Compared to a child that only came to cause her more harm than good.
"Anna, this is about a life, if we don't do anything, Shirley might die. Hasn't she always worked to help with the family's finance, if she died wouldn't that be a lost for you."
After saying those words,Neil James immediately felt guilty for his youngest daughter, but it was fine as long as it served to save her life. If her mother didn't value her as a daughter,then she might at least value her as a cash cow.
But he was bound to lose, as Anna Perez looked at him and sneered.
"Don't pull such a stunt with me, making use of reasonable words of interest to push me into saving that wench. I'm not stupid." , She was clearly aware that this husband of hers was barely making use of her interest to push her into taking out the money to save the youngest daughter. But she wasn't stupid to fall into such a trap, if not she wouldn't be Anna Perez anymore.
Besides, weighing the pros and cons had always been her fort.
If she had to fork out 200000 dollars from their savings to save the wench, then what would she do if one of her daughters was in need of a huge sum of money.
Besides, the little wench didn't gain more than 50 dollars from her part time jobs, the maximum was always 60 dollars. So how could she bare to give up on their life savings for her, it would be best if the little wench finally died.
"Anna, how can you be so cruel towards that poor girl, I know your heart feels heavy due to the lost in the past, but you can't pour your grievance on her."
"If I don't pour my grievance on her, then on who should I pour it, you?"
Neil James fell silent, unable to give his wife an answer, because he understood her grievance and it particularly had to do with him. But how could he let his youngest daughter carry the burden of the past.
"Are you blaming me?"
If he had not been weak, then he wouldn't need to be indebted to his wife and watch his youngest daughter pay his debt with her blood. The bank card with all their saving had been with his wife all the while and if he wanted to save Shirley, then he needed to pass through her. Though it would deplete their savings, leaving them in a lurch, it was best than watching his eldest daughter die in vain.
Neil James sighed and said dejectedly
"Don't be heartless, even if you hate her to the core, as her mother you need to save her at all cost. Would you be able to live in this community if others knew you watched your daughter die, think about it."
"You..."
Anna Perez gritted her teeth and glowered at the man with whom she been married with for nineteen long years, went through thick and thin with him and even sacrificed a lot for him.
But, he was unable to understand her pains and adjust to it. How could he go against her because of a wench tht only brought misfortune to their family. Asking her to fork out such a huge sum from their account, though the sum wasn't even enough to save the wench's life.
They were poor, but had to give up their savings and borrow from neighbors and friends to save the wench. Though she could still make the little wench work her ass off to pay off the debts and replenish their account. She really couldn't bare to spend a dime on a bastard.
"Anna, Shirley needs to be saved, you can't hold back the money and watch her die."
"Mother, father is right."
A soft mellow voice caught the attention of both adults s, causing them to turn towards the door where Jenny stood with Jane, looking helpless.