SHIMMER'S POV
I paced up and down the room, failing to get settled. Where was he? Was the job done yet? Was he going to call me afterwards; or we were already done? All sorts of emotions ran through my mind. Calm down, Shimmer, just calm down, I spoke to myself over and over again.
Iris entered the room. I flushed her a forced smile and she smiled back,
"Why don't you sit down? I can massage you, or if you want, I can call in your professional massager."
"I'm fine", I smiled at her.
"Are you very worried about what ma'am Ciera wants to tell you? I'm sure it's nothing bad. If it was bad news, she would have never asked to meet here for dinner. She would have just told you." Iris did her best to comfort me.
"I don't know, Iris. I keep having this negative feeling, as if something bad is about to happen."
Iris came closer to me. I was standing, so she held me by the shoulders and gently let me sit on the chair. The image of Dylan flashed in my mind. What had I done? My son…was he ever going to handle the grief? But part of my mind told me that he was going to manage. It was not as if they spent decades of their lives together. They hardly knew each other, for all I cared. I was sure he was going to get over that girl soon enough. I also thought about the child who they were in the process of adopting. Silly Anisha! She was already making another Olga Children's home out of my son's mansion? How pathetic. Her mind was just full of pitiful ideas which brought in no money at all.
Dylan…was my son going to manage the pain of losing his newly married wife? But…Delicate Zamara was available to comfort him. Even if he was going to mourn, has anyone ever mourned forever? Surely a time was going to come when he would be happy. Delicate was there to make him happy. Everything was going to be fine. And I, as Dylan's mother, was more than willing to stand up for my son and make sure that he is fine. I was willing to hold his hand throughout the whole mourning process. I even planned to have him brought back to Clear Opal, to stay under my watchful eye, while I made sure that anything and everything he needed was catered for. I was willing to stand up for my son.
Everything was going to be well. Our family was going to go back to its glory. We were going to live as per our status; without any reasonable doubt. The de Milos of the de Milo Group of Hospitals; the most successful business in the country. Roderick and Shimmer; with their equally successful children. Multi-billionaires. The best of the best. Their first born Ciera, married to Keith Junior Octavia, a successful film producer; founder and CEO of K JNR PRODUCTIONS. The son of the affluent Keith and Honour Octavia, giants in the hospitality industry. And their other daughter Arianna, married to doctor Pete Rockridge, son of the late Janine Rockridge and Hayden Rockridge; a well known business tycoon, a legal giant whose firm never lost a case, and a leader in the shipping and real estate business. And of course their only son, Dylan. Dylan, married to the beautiful Delicate Zamara, a physiotherapist by profession, daughter to the well known Zamaras. Business people running a successful shipping business and some boutiques. That sounded beautiful. Good. What more could I have asked for?
"Ma'am, the kitchen is done preparing the food. Can I ask them to set it all on the table now?" Iris asked me.
"Umm, I don't know. Iris, you hardly ever ask me such things. Why today?" I tried my best to smile.
She laughed a little and then said, "you look stressed, ma'am. I was thinking that you can eat a little bit of food as we wait for sir and ma'am Octavia."
"No. I will eat with them," I smiled.
Ok. Where was I? Dylan…was Dylan going to be able to get over it? He was! I was sure of that! My strong son could do anything. And that guy Israel. I trusted him. I knew he was not going to make any mistake. Toast managed to do a great job. My name was never mentioned in that Lisa and Carter fiasco. Oh those silly people! I was certain that Israel was going to do a very perfect job. He definitely was better than Toast. He was the boss; wasn't he? I trusted him that much.
"Ma'am, your phone is ringing," Iris slightly shook me.
Oh! My phone was ringing? I never heard it. Huh? Two missed calls already? I must have been very deep in thought to miss it.
I quickly dialed back the number, and Roderick answered immediately, "where are you, Shimmer?"
"I am at home, why?" I stood up right, holding tightly to my phone.
"I will get a driver to bring you to the hospital now." Roderick said.
"Why? What happened?" I asked.
"Shimmer, you have to come now. It's very urgent. Come to our family ward."
"Ok," I ended the call and told Iris everything that Roderick said.
"I'm coming with you, ma'am!" Iris was quick to say.
The drive to the hospital appeared to be much longer on that day. In the back seat, Iris held my hand, assuring me that everything was fine. I, on the other hand, pretended to be very sad and in great worry, for that was the only way to act.
So he did it? Israel did it? That stupid girl Anisha was in hospital? Was it hospital or mortuary? What happened? Did Israel miss? Israel did not look like the type that could miss! So then why was she in hospital! 'You should be in the mortuary, where you deserve to be, stupid woman!' I cursed in my heart, still trying hard to maintain a sorrowful face.
The car soon parked in the basement right in front of the VIP elevator. We went into one that was programmed not to stop at any other floor except at our family wards. The machine wheezed up before coming to a stop, and the door slid open.
I saw KJ walking up and down the corridor. He turned to face me, and I could see that he had been crying a lot.
"She has to make it! She just has to make it!" he cried like a baby.
'Oh come on, Keith Junior. Do you love Anisha that much, such that you cry like baby for that stupid piece of trash?' I cursed in my heart, but I pretended to care, taking Keith Junior in my arms.
"What happened?" I asked in a caring voice.
"Someone broke into Dylan's mansion…I don't know why? Maybe to steal. He ended up shooting her! He shot her!!" Keith Junior continued to cry pitifully. For a moment I felt sorry for him.
"She will be fine," I assured him in a calm voice.
The large door to the room in which the patient was opened, and a nurse came out, appearing to be in a hurry.
"Mrs de Milo!" she nodded at me before running down the corridor, the huge door closing up behind her.
"She lost a lot of blood! She lost too much blood! I don't know if she will make it!" KJ continued to cry.
'Do you really love Anisha that much? What; is it her beauty that enticed you? If your wife was to see you crying like a baby now, for that disgraceful curse to humanity, how would she feel? Are you sure this is what you want? How good is she? I mean, is she that good at work that you have come to value her this much? Bawling like a little girl for that meaningless no-name orphan who spent half her life using a number as her name! And she dared worm her way into my family. And you dare cry that hard for her? Silly! Keith Junior Octavia, I thought you were better than this!' I continued to curse in my heart.
"Where is Dylan?" I asked.
"He's in there! He's one of the doctors attending to her, I think!! Oh, what happened? Why did that robber have to do this?"
"Everything shall be well," I said in a low voice.
The door opened again and Dylan came out, with his eyes blood red. He…he was crying, wasn't he? What happened? I mean, it happened; didn't it? He looked at me, and he looked at Keith Junior, then slightly shook his head.
"Say it! Just say it!" Keith Junior demanded. He immediately went on his knees, weeping ever so loudly. Dylan helped him to stand up and hugged him for a very long time.
"She didn't make it," my son whispered.
I forced some tears and started crying too. The elevator door clicked and Keith and Honour came out, and they too were crying. It looked as if they had already heard the news. Keith Junior threw himself at his parents, and Dylan came to me. He hugged me and cried like I had never seen him crying before.
"It's ok. It's all ok my son," I comforted him, struggling hard to get my tears to flow.
"She didn't make it! She couldn't make it! She was always a fighter, and she failed at the last minute! She failed to fight! She failed to hold on just this one last time!" Dylan cried uncontrollably.
The elevator clicked again, and out came Pete and Arianna. Arianna was barely walking on her own. Pete held her as she threw herself wildly, crying at the highest pitch her voice could allow. It sounded like she would just break her throat.
"My sister! Did it have to be so soon! Did it have to be this soon? My sister!! My sister! You never said goodbye!! You didn't bid me farewell!! And you took the baby with you!! You took my little nephew or niece with you!! The world is unfair! The world is unfair! I want my sister! I want my sister back!! My sister!! It's too soon, my sister please come back to me!!!!" Arianna's voice echoed throughout the whole building. She fell on to the floor and Pete and Dylan helped her up.
Roderick came out, looked at me with red eyes, and shook his head in grand pain.