"E-Erik, how is Mia?"
Those were Rosanna's words as she approached him, accompanied by Dahlia. He was sitting in the lobby chair, waiting for the doctor who is now attending to Mia inside the Emergency Room. He turned to look at the two women sitting beside him.
"I'm still waiting for the doctor," he swallowed. "I-I'm scared," he finally admitted.
The two women seemed frail and discouraged, bowing their heads as Erik pressed his forehead. He had wanted to cry since earlier, but he was holding back. And the truth is, it felt like fear was slowly engulfing all the hope in his heart.
"M-Mia loves you so much, Erik," he heard Rosanna say, her words resounding. This prompted him to turn and straighten his posture.
"I know, and I love her just as much. And that's why I'm scared now," he confessed, wiping away his tears.
Rosanna shook her head in succession, seemingly indicating that he didn't grasp what she meant. Erik chose to remain silent and wait for her to further explain.
"What I mean is, she loves you so much that I'm certain she'll fight to live and survive from certain death, for you," she explained.
Warm emotions immediately surged in Erik's heart upon hearing that. She was right. Because if he were in his girlfriend's position or situation now, he would do the same. He would strive to stay alive to be with her.
At that point, Erik found a newfound strength within himself. He glanced at Rosanna and her companion Dahlia, intending to speak with them. But all his plans were halted when a doctor emerged from the Emergency Room.
Erik's feet automatically moved toward the doctor, who immediately approached him. "The patient has lost a significant amount of blood and requires an immediate blood transfusion," the doctor informed him.
"Then do it, Doc. What are you waiting for?" he said, fear consuming not only his chest but his entire being.
The doctor nodded. "Yes, but the patient's blood type is AB, and currently, we don't have that in the hospital's blood bank, so—"
"I-I'm AB, Doc. I'm type AB," Erik replied, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
In those moments, Erik kept his gaze fixed on the face of the elderly doctor. And with a simple smile forming on the doctor's lips, hope revived in Erik's heart.
"Come with me," the doctor said to him.
He simply nodded and briefly glanced at Rosanna and Dahlia, who smiled and nodded back at him.
That evening, after the blood transfusion and a few hours of observation, Mia was transferred to a private room.
The bullet from the gun hit Mia's arm, resulting in massive bleeding, which required a blood transfusion. Aside from that, Mia's condition was stable and improving. Although she remained peacefully asleep.
"I'll just go out for a moment to get her personal belongings. Please look after her while I’m gone," Erik instructed Dahlia, who was advised by Rosanna to stay there in the meantime.
"All right, I'll take care of her," she replied briefly.
With that, Erik approached Mia, who was still soundly asleep. He gently leaned over and kissed her forehead.
*****
Erik was on his way back home when he received a call from Aurora. He thought that maybe she had already learned about what had happened. Erik took a deep breath and decided to answer the call on loudspeaker.
"Ma," he greeted her.
"Where are you? Your father and I have been worried sick about you. We've been trying to reach you for a while now. Why did you only answer now?" she bombarded him with questions.
At that moment, it seemed like his old mother had returned, always starting her inquiries with those concerned questions. Erik couldn't help but smile at the thought.
"Enrique! What about Mia? Where is she?" Aurora asked in rapid succession.
Erik wasn't sure if he was just hearing things or if his mother's voice was genuinely mixed with real concern. But he couldn't be mistaken about the worry in her tone. And he couldn't afford to be wrong about that.
"Mia's condition is stable, Ma. She has been transferred to a private room. I'm just going home for a moment to get some things. Then I'll go back there to watch over her," he explained while driving slowly.
"Why do you keep going to all these places when you know you're getting married tomorrow?" she scolded him, followed by a heavy sigh.
Erik smiled again at what he heard. He knew that tone from his mother. And if he were to base things on that, it seemed that they didn't have anything to worry about regarding his fiancée.
"I was actually thinking of postponing the wedding for now, Ma. Mia still needs time to recover," he said to his mother.
A few moments of silence passed before Erik heard Aurora speak again from the other end of the line.
"Come by here. I cooked Tinolang Manok. So she can have a sip of hot soup when she wakes up. And so that you can eat too," Aurora said.
"Alright, Ma. Thank you," he replied.
Erik couldn't determine how happy he was in those moments. Despite all the unfortunate events that happened today, at least it ended with such a development. And it was enough to make him smile, knowing that Mia was now far away from any imminent danger.
*****
"I know you're up to something again, Aurora. And I don't like whatever it is," Fidel, her husband, said after she spoke to Erik on the cellphone.
Annoyed, Aurora turned to her spouse. "You know what? I can't understand and I can't tell whose side you're on. Mine or your son's fiancée's?"
She saw Fidel's chest rise and fall as he let out a deep sigh that reached her ears. "I'm concerned about our son here, Aurora. Look at what you're doing. You're deceiving him."
At Fidel's last remark, Aurora's temper quickly flared. "What deception are you talking about?" she asked angrily.
"Why not? You're pretending to like Mia, aren't you?"
"What pretense? Don't judge me!"
Fidel released a disbelieving laugh, then stood up and proceeded to the kitchen to make coffee.
"What are you talking about, saying that I'm pretending?" Aurora followed her husband.
"Don't tell me that in such a short amount of time, you've already accepted that woman for our son? Just because of what you heard?" Fidel said.
"I don't like her for our son! And I will never like her. I'm doing all of this for our son!" she said truthfully.
Fidel gave her a deep, piercing look. It was the kind of gaze that implied she wouldn't be able to convince him no matter what she did or said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, maintaining her stance.
Fidel simply shrugged in response and then left her. Annoyed, she continued to watch her husband as he walked out of the kitchen. Once he was out, she went back to preparing the food Erik would bring later to the hospital.
As she remembered everything Dolores had told her, Aurora's heart raced.
"It was Erik that the suspect really wanted to shoot, bff. Mia just blocked the bullet and got hit instead."
She didn't know how to feel. Because if it hadn't been Mia who got hit by that bullet, what would be the condition of her son now?
*****
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
"Mia, aren't you getting bitten by mosquitoes here, dear? It's dark now, come inside," Nanny Ising called out while Mia was on the terrace, enjoying the night’s cool breeze.
"I’m okay here, Nanny Ising," she replied and smiled reassuringly at the old woman.
Nanny Ising observed her for a moment and then approached her, taking a seat on the vacant part of the bamboo chair she was occupying.
"Are you thinking about him again?" she asked in her usual gentle tone.
Mia's eyes quickly welled up with emotion at that question. She lovingly caressed her belly, which is now noticeable as she is four months pregnant.
"I-I always think about him, Nanny Ising," she confessed, shifting her gaze into the distance.
As she stared into the dark surroundings, she allowed her tears to flow freely.
"Why don't you call him? I'm sure he's still looking for you," the old woman suggested.
With teary eyes, Mia shook her head in succession and then caressed her belly again. "I-I can't do that, Nanny Ising. His mother was right, I'm not the right woman for him. I've only brought problems and danger into his life. So, it's better this way. Maybe with time, I'll get used to it. He can't see me," she said while sniffing.
"But he has rights to that child. That's his baby," the old woman insisted.
Mia nodded. "This was supposed to be my gift to him if our wedding had pushed through. But...," she trailed off, unable to continue her thought as she broke down completely.
"I understand your situation, Mia. But it's important for Erik to know about his child," Nanny Ising said.
Mia shook her head while wiping her tears.
"I'll endure this, no matter how difficult it is. I just want him to stay safe and alive. That's how much I love Erik, Nanny Ising," she said, strengthening her voice.
After that statement, Nanny Ising remained silent. She bid Mia that she will be going to sleep already and advised her to rest before heading inside.
"E-Erik, I miss you so much. We both miss you. Me, and your child," she whispered those words softly, her tears flowing once again as she gazed at the dark sky.