Amanda didn't let go of her mother's hand as the nurses wheeled her towards the emergency room.
Tears streamed down her eyes as she stared at her unconscious body. " Mom! Please….. please wake up!" She yelled, her voice breaking.
Her mother had a seizure while she was preparing dinner and Amanda had got home from work in time to find her mother's lying helplessly on the kitchen floor.
" Please wait here," one of the nurses stopped her from entering the emergency room.
" No! I have to be with her, I want t-" the nurse slammed the door before Amanda could finish her sentence.
She turned around shakily and reached for her ringing cell phone in her bag, she clicked decline immediately after seeing 'MARCUS' on the caller ID.
The tears hiding at the corner of her eyes made her vision a little blurry as she scrolled through series of missed calls from her mom and then finally saw her dad's number and dialed it.
" Dad, where are you?" She sniffled, trying to control her tears.
" Sweetie, are you okay? What is wrong?" Her father responded hastily, he could tell that something was wrong with her.
" It's mom...she, she-" Amanda burst into tears, unable to control them anymore.
" Don't say another word, I'll be there with you soon!" he responded immediately, with a hint of panic in his voice.
Amanda could hear ruffling and a loud door slam at the other end of the call, but didn't care to ask what it was. She just told him the hospital address and ended the call.
She threw her phone into her bag and buried her face into her already sweaty palms. She scrambled her hands through her hair, unable to forgive herself for not picking up her mom's call.
She had refused to pick her phone calls throughout that day because of her ex-boyfriend, Marcus, who had decided to cause a scene at her workplace after she broke up with him. She now saw Marcus as another spoiled brat who just lives off of daddy's money, she couldn't believe she had fallen for the same guy and dated him for two years.
She didn't know how long she was lost in thought until she heard her father's voice again." Amanda!" Mr Stewart called from afar as he walked fast towards her.
"Dad," her voice was barely above a whisper, she ran to him and hugged him.
Amanda's eyes as started to well up. "She called me before it haappened but I…..I-"
Mr Stewart rubbed her back slowly in a circular motion." Sweetheart, it's okay. I'm sorry we couldn't tell you about this."
Amanda pulled herself out of his embrace with a confused look on her face. " What are you talking about?" Her sad look turned into a confused one.
He let out a heavy sigh and placed his hand on her shoulder. He was about to say something when a man interrupted him from behind.
The man was wearing a white lab coat." Hello, are you Samantha Stewart's guardian?" he asked in a husky but professional tone.
"Yes! I'm her husband, please how is my wife?" Mr Stewart held the doctor by both arms, shaking him vigorously.
" She's stable for now, but we have to act fast because the tumor has grown really massive and-"
" I'm sorry, what?" Amanda interrupted the doctor, pretending not to have heard him.
" She has a brain tumor and it has grown really big now, we have to go into surgery as soon as possible or else there will be critical consequences." The doctor repeated in one breath.
Amanda's lips parted in shock, she gave out a faint gasp as she couldn't believe what she just heard. Her eyes started to fill up again and her lips trembled.
"My....my mother doesn't have a brain tumor, she, she…. doesn't," she tried to argue.
" I'm so sorry, but she does and it's at an alarming stage now." The doctor gave her an apologetic look.
He turned to Mr Stewart. " Have there been any complaints of irregular, painful headaches and exhaustion?"
" Yes, there have been a series of complaints and we have been to other hospitals, but we can't afford to pay for surgery." There was a mixture of shame and disappointment in his tone.
Amanda couldn't believe her ears once again, her father had known about her mother's tumor and told her nothing about it. Even her mother didn't let her know about her illness, at this point she was confused.
" Dad, you know about this? Yet you never told me anything."
Mr Stewart's eyes started to well up "Sweetheart…. I'm sorry, we should have told you about it but we just didn't want you to worry."
Amanda felt even more sorry for her dad. He just faced the issue of his company going bankrupt several months ago and now his wife has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. At that moment she could feel his pain.
" Oh dad! Come here," she hugged him and kissed his cheek.
" We are going to figure this out, okay? We are going to save mom," she assured him as she released him from her bosom.
She turned to the doctor with a straight face. " So, what is the next thing to do now sir?"
The doctor cleared his throat. " We have to operate on her immediately and to start her surgery you'll have to deposit the sum of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars first."
He continued," You will have to do this as soon as possible ma'am, any further delay might cost her life. If you'll please excuse me now." he gave her a pitiful smile and left her presence.
Amanda felt numb and her stomach churned in reaction to the doctor's announcement. She turned to her father with a helpless look on her face.
" Dad....what are we going to do?" She said almost bursting into tears.
Mr Stewart staggered to a nearby chair to sit. He rubbed his palms on his bald head with no expression written on his face.
Amanda sat beside him, " dad, where are we going to get that kind of money from? I'm just a mere waitress in a restaurant and you...your business is barely even a business now because you have gone bankrupt and you are owing debts and-"
" Enough!" Mr Stewart yelled, attracting almost everybody's attention.
" That's enough! I don't want to listen to anymore of that, your mother is going to be fine. I have already figured that out."
"What do you mean?"
"Someone is going to help us pay for your mother's treatment, so you don't have to worry." His tone was now calm.
"Really? And who is this person?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
" Amanda, you already know who this person is. Don't pretend to me like you don't know."
Amanda's face was filled with disgust. "Dad, don't tell me you went to seek help from the billionaire."
"I did, Mr Nicholas is a very good man and he only seeks your hand in marriage. Sweetheart, this is a chance for our family to grow back to the way it has always been."
"You mean a chance to help your business grow back." Amanda snarled.
Mr Stewart paused for a moment. Amanda's words pierced into his heart and sank like a poisoned dagger.
He placed his hand on his chest. "Every decision I have ever made right from the moment you were born till this day has been for the very good of this family."
"And do you think marrying me off just like that is a good decision? I barely know the man in question, marrying me off to a stranger isn't right and you know I won't do it." Amanda's voice was laced with anger this time.
She wanted to tell him about Marcus but she knew that would just make matters worse. He never approved her relationship with him but she dated him secretly.
"Calm down honey," Mr Stewart tried to pat on her back but Amanda pushed his hand away.
"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm never going to marry a man I don't love. This is my life and I will be the one to make my own decisions, not you!" Amanda roared.
Mr Stewart sighed and licked his lower lip. " Don't you think you're being a little selfish? This isn't just about you or me. Amanda, your mother is in there hanging on to her dear life."
He continued. "We have a chance to save her and all you say is no, if you were in her shoes don't you think she would have done anything to save you?"
Amanda was silent for a moment . She wiped the tears slowly tracing down her cheek with the back of her hand. Thoughts of going to Marcus for help started to crawl in her head. She took her gaze away from his face to the plain tiled floor below her.
Amanda sniffled and returned her gaze back to him. "I will find another way to save mom, but I won't let you trade me like some kind of property!" She glared.
She stood up and turned to leave, but she bumped into the chest of an incoming man. She almost fell but the man caught her by the waist and pulled her towards himself. Amanda placed her hands on his chest and grabbed hold on his blazer to gain balance as she met his gaze.
Amanda's heart raced with apprehension. She could feel his warm breath rush against hers, his hands could still be felt around her waist. She had no idea who this strange man was, yet she couldn't take her eyes off him.
Mr Stewart cleared his throat from behind them. "Mr Nicholas! You're here."