Reina’s eyelids twitched faintly. The heart monitor beeped steadily, a sign that her body was finally responding to the world after being asleep for so long.
Ambar woke from her brief sleep in the chair beside the bed. The moment she saw her daughter open her eyes, she stood up in a panic, overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Reina… sweetheart… can you hear me?” Ambar’s voice broke as she cried.
Reina tried to focus, but her vision was blurry and her voice sounded hoarse. “Mom… I… where am I…?”
“At the hospital, honey. You’re past the critical stage. You survived.” Ambar tried to smile, but her lips trembled violently.
Reina blinked, trying to remember what had happened while she was unconscious. Flashes of pain, tears, her weak body, and the person she had hoped would come to save her and stay by her side when she needed him.
“Aries…” Reina whispered, softly enough that Ambar could still hear her.
Ambar froze. She didn’t know how—or where—to begin telling Reina everything. She knew her daughter would be utterly shattered after learning the bitter truth about her life.
“He came, right, Mom? Aries is here, isn’t he?” Reina asked.
Reina slowly turned and looked at her mother with eyes full of hope, praying that what she imagined had really happened. “Aries came to see me, right, Mom?”
Ambar closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength. There was no easy answer to that question.
“Sweetheart, Aries didn’t come to see you, and he was never here to stay by your side.”
Reina fell silent. The eyes that had been dull moments ago slowly filled with tears. How could Aries not have come to see her when she had already contacted him? She had told Aries that she was about to give birth.
“He didn’t come? He didn’t come at all, Mom?” Reina whispered, tears streaming down both cheeks like rain.
“But he said he’d always be there for me, Mom.”
Ambar reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Reina, listen to me. That man has gone back to his family. He chose to be with his family. From now on, stop thinking about him, Reina.”
Reina weakly shook her head, refusing to accept it. “But I gave birth to his child, Mom. He must have come to see our baby, right? Where’s my baby?” Her voice trembled.
“Where’s my baby?! Mom… I want to see my baby…”
Ambar felt as if her heart were being crushed. This was the part she had feared most. She had no answer to her daughter’s simple question.
“Reina, calm down first, honey. Your body is still weak. Get some rest, and I’ll call the doctor.”
“MOM! WHERE’S MY BABY?!”
Reina forced herself to sit up, setting off the monitor alarm. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, and her face went pale.
“WHERE’S MY BABY, MOM?! Where is my baby?”
Tears poured down her face. “Aries is holding the baby, right? He’s waiting for me to wake up, isn’t he, Mom? Right?!”
Ambar finally couldn’t hold back her tears. She cupped Reina’s face in both hands, forcing her daughter to face the truth reflected in her grief-stricken eyes.
“Reina… sweetheart… your baby…” Ambar looked at her daughter with pity, feeling unable to tell Reina the truth.
“Your baby didn’t make it, honey.”
For a moment, Reina froze, still trying to understand what Ambar had just said. God couldn’t be that cruel to her. Since childhood, she had lost so many things she had loved, and now God couldn’t possibly make her feel that same pain all over again.
“Are you lying to me, Mom? My baby couldn’t have died. I can feel it—my baby is fine right now. Please don’t lie to me, Mom. I’m begging you,” Reina whispered. Her face was pale, and her body looked even thinner. Ambar couldn’t bear to see her daughter in that condition.