Arshaka stroked his daughter's head, then walked toward his room. After showering and changing clothes, he went downstairs. Emeli was already waiting in the dining room with Kayla.
"Dad! Dad! What if I give the phone Uncle Abbas gave me to Aunt Kayla? It's so sad that Aunt Kayla doesn't have a phone. I already have the one you gave me, Dad. I won't use the other one."
"Hmm, that's fine," Arshaka replied. He was grateful that ever since Kayla had been with them, Emeli had become cheerful and wasn't as temperamental as she used to be. If no new problems had arisen, Arshaka would truly have felt happy today.
"Thank you. Then let's eat!" Emeli urged, and the three of them ate without anyone saying a word.
After eating, Emeli excused herself to go to her room, and Kayla escorted her while Arshaka chose to sit in the family room and call someone. Emeli had reminded him of Abbas. Unfortunately, Abbas's phone was turned off, and his assistant said the man was overseas.
"Tsk, who else can I ask for help?" Arshaka was extremely stressed thinking about it all.
"Sir, what's wrong?" Kayla asked as she approached. She had come out of Emeli's room to get hot water from the kitchen to mix into the water for Emeli's medicine. Emeli preferred swallowing her medicine with warm water.
Arshaka, focused on his phone, was startled by Kayla's voice.
"Oh, Kayla, just go!" Arshaka snapped, making Kayla uncomfortable because he never usually acted that way toward her.
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. If you don't like Emeli giving me her phone, I'll return it."
It seemed Kayla had misunderstood. She headed toward the kitchen.
Arshaka massaged his temples. "Wait!"
Kayla stopped.
"I never thought that. I'm sorry if I was harsh. I'm stressed right now. I'm sorry—I'm really sorry."
"It's okay, Sir," Kayla replied before continuing on her way.
From her room, Emeli called out to say that Kayla had invited her to go out the next day. Arshaka agreed because Emeli rarely went anywhere. He hoped that going out with Kayla would cheer her up and keep her from being afraid whenever she was invited to leave the house.
"Kayla!" Arshaka called when Kayla came out of the kitchen carrying a thermos of hot water.
"What is it, Sir?"
"Don't let Emeli stay exposed to the sunlight for too long tomorrow, okay? Her skin is sensitive."
Kayla nodded.
"All right, you can get back to what you were doing!" Arshaka went back to scrolling through his phone, searching for anyone who might be able to help him.
The next morning, Emeli and Kayla left early so it wouldn't get too hot, while Arshaka continued struggling to find help. This time, he went to see someone.
"Mr. Agam is inside. He still has a guest," Agam's secretary said when Arshaka asked where his boss was. Arshaka waited outside with the secretary. A short while later, the office door opened, revealing two men walking out.
"Delano? What is he doing here to see Agam?" Arshaka thought, beginning to feel that something was wrong. Of course, it wasn't unusual for businessmen to visit one another to discuss business.
"So remember, never agree to work with Shaka, especially don't invest there. Even Sir Jonathan has pulled out his shares because Arshaka has cheated several times."
Delano's words instantly ignited Arshaka's anger. He strode toward the man and grabbed Delano by the collar.
"So you're the one behind all the rejections I've been getting?!" Arshaka glared at Delano with undisguised hatred. Agam himself looked shocked.
"And now you're making ridiculous accusations! They rejected you because they felt you weren't worthy of working with them! Of course they did. Someone as incompetent as you has no business running a company. All you know how to do is steal other people's clients!" Delano's eyes were hostile.
"Why don't you go be a scavenger? I'll give you all the used stuff from my company for free."
Feeling humiliated, Arshaka immediately punched Delano, and the two broke into a fight.
"Stop!" Agam shouted, but neither man heard him as they grappled with each other. He was forced to call security and have the two troublemakers thrown out of his office.
News of the fight between the two businessmen went viral on social media.
"That damn Arshaka! It looks like Emeli inherited her father's temperamental nature," Elena grumbled before putting her phone into her bag.
When she looked ahead, she smiled upon seeing Emeli inside the mall. The woman quickly approached her.
"Hi. Do you still remember Aunt Elena?" she asked insincerely.
Emeli didn't answer, unwilling to respond to Elena.
"Oh, by the way, are you here to shop? Do you even have any money?" Elena sneered.
"Who is she?" Kayla whispered in Emeli's ear.
"Wicked Aunt Elena," Emeli answered, making Elena's eyes widen.
"So what if you call me wicked? At least I'm still rich. Unlike your dad, who's broke and bankrupt now."
"What do you mean, Aunt?"
"Here, look. Your father went to someone else's company and begged for help, then got into a fight." Elena showed her a video of Arshaka fighting Delano, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Emeli was stunned. Her eyes widened, and her muscles suddenly went limp. Her illness had flared up. After staring blankly for several minutes, her eyes suddenly closed, and her body slammed backward against the wheelchair's backrest.
"Emeli, are you okay?" Kayla looked panicked. She felt Emeli's body, and the child was completely limp.
"Help!" Kayla cried, growing even more frantic when Emeli didn't move. The child had fainted.
People came rushing over and checked Emeli's pulse.
"Calm down, miss. She only fainted. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital." A man immediately scooped Emeli up and carried her to his car.
"You'd better watch yourself! If anything happens to Emeli, I'll kill you!" Kayla screamed, pointing at Elena's face in fury.
"Hmph, it's not that simple. A sewer rat like you is the one who's easy to get rid of. Besides, it would be better if she died than kept troubling everyone else," Elena said casually.
Kayla grew even angrier and shoved Elena backward, nearly making her hit the floor. Elena truly had no feelings. To Kayla, she was a devil in human form.
"You ungrateful servant!" Elena shouted.
Kayla wanted nothing more than to beat Elena, but she remembered Emeli's condition. She quickly pushed the wheelchair after the man carrying Emeli.
Fortunately, the man had a car, so Kayla didn't need to call a rideshare or contact Arshaka first, which would have taken too long. Kayla was terrified that something might happen to Emeli.
Emeli was immediately treated by a doctor. Kayla stood outside the door, anxious. She was terrified that Emeli's condition was serious. What would she tell Arshaka? Kayla clasped her own hands, trying to calm the fear in her heart. Several times, she drew a deep breath.
"How is she, Doctor?" Kayla asked, her face marked by a mixture of sorrow and fear, when the doctor opened the examination-room door and walked toward her as she paced frantically.
"Who are you to Emeli?"
"I'm her caregiver, Doctor."
"Where is her father?"
"Oh, right, Doctor. I haven't called him yet." Kayla had completely forgotten to call Arshaka because of her overwhelming fear and worry.
"You'd better call her father. Emeli is having a severe episode right now. She can no longer sit in her wheelchair. She needs to remain lying in bed because her muscles can no longer support her body weight. She'll also have trouble swallowing food."
"Can Emeli get better, Doctor?"
"It's possible, but the chances are very small."
To be continued.