Chapter Five

Bethany's POV

I was hurrying, trying to get to the hospital quickly. After all, my sister's life was at stake, and I would do whatever I could to make sure I got enough money to pay for her medication. Hurrying to the hospital, I couldn’t help but remember Alpha Damien's reaction to my sudden announcement to become his wife.

He must have thought I was desperate, but honestly, I didn’t care. I had finally found a way to save my sister, and I’d do whatever it took. Therefore, after signing the contract and accepting Alpha Damien as my husband, I called my stepmother and told her about it. Not long after, I was credited with $3 million.

The money lay in my account, staring at me as I stared right back at it. This was the money I would use to save my sister’s life, and I had no intention of wasting any time. Therefore, a few seconds after I was credited, I gathered up my things and left without saying anything. Another reason I said nothing was because I wasn’t even spoken to in the first place.

Hence, I grabbed my phone and immediately headed off to the hospital. I was in a hurry and did not intend for anything to stop me. I ran into the hospital like a woman insane, attracting many strange looks from strangers around, but I did not care. As I ran into the hospital, the security guards didn’t even bother to stop me because they already knew I was usually running at the moment I had money.

I ran frantically to the doctor’s office, the one treating my sister. I just prayed that at that moment, he wasn’t in another surgery or busy.

What luck was on my side because when I went to his office and barged in, he was staring at me? Of course, the look on his face reflected extreme fury, which now made me understand that what I had just done was extremely wrong. Barging into a doctor's office like this without knocking was incredibly inappropriate, but at that moment, I could hardly care less.

"I have the money for my sister’s surgery. Please, I want you to carry it out immediately," I said, showing him my phone with my account balance plastered on the screen. He looked at me incredulously, wondering what I had done to make such an amount of money so fast. After all, I had just made a couple million dollars in a very short amount of time.

"I cannot begin surgery right now," he said to me.

This sent shivers down my spine as I wondered what the reason could be. I looked at him, terrified and begged, "Please, what is the reason? Is money not enough, or are you annoyed by the way I entered your office? I’ll list several things that could make you unwilling to operate on my sister."

But then he calmly said, "I cannot begin the operation yet because you have not properly checked in at the front desk."

His words made me nearly paralyzed. He had made me feel such fear and anxiety all because I had not yet checked in at the front desk. But a wave of relief still washed over me, and then I urged him, "Please, can you begin operating on her now? I will go and pay the money to the front desk immediately."

"I’ll make sure to organize everything for surgery, but I will not begin operating until you have paid your money to the hospital," he said to me with an emotionless gaze and tone.

I did not have time for this, so I rushed to the front desk and paid quickly.

As I stood in front of one of the receptionists, nearly breathless, I urged her to take the money, which was about to come from my account for my sister’s surgery. The process did not take too long, and after that, I headed back to the doctor's office to show him that I had paid.

But apparently, I didn’t need to because when I got there, he was no longer in the office. Perhaps the surgery on my sister had already begun.

I headed straight for the ward where they usually kept my sister at the hospital to see if she was still behind the glass wall. I headed there with quick paces and got there in no time. To my surprise and joy, she wasn’t there. The surgery on her must have begun.

The words of the nurse who walked over to me served to ease my tension even more. She said calmly, gently, "We are still with the sister of a young Miss Annabelle, currently receiving an operation. Are you she?"

I did not hesitate to reply as I answered her, "Yes, I am."

"Then we will need you in the waiting room, as this area is not meant for staring through glass windows."

I laughed faintly, slightly embarrassed, and then answered, "Of course, I will be in the waiting room."

I found my way to the waiting room and sat on one of the chairs outside. Annabelle wasn’t the only one having surgery that day because the number of people in the waiting room was surprisingly high. In correspondence with the number of people in the waiting room, there was an incredible number of operating rooms, and from the looks of it, a lot of them were currently functional. It seemed as though every one of the people here had just as much to lose if the doctors were to make slight mistakes or if the situation became worse.

But of all the people in those operating rooms, only one did I care for: my one and only sister. My heartbeat kept rising as I paced, and I found myself usually out of breath in anticipation of what would happen if a doctor made any mistake. Each time a doctor or a nurse would walk out of any operating room, I would be afraid that they would come up to me and tell me, "Sorry for your loss."

But they usually passed me by or had a private discussion with one of the people or groups of people in the waiting room.

Once again, a doctor asked permission to speak privately with a young couple. The look on his face was an ominous omen, and I was terrified for this couple. Not long after, they were escorted to a private area near the waiting room. A scream was heard. It was from the wife. She was completely devastated as the tears poured freely from her face, and her voice rose uncontrollably. Not a sound came from the husband, but the look on his face said it all. He was quiet and stiff, his eyes reddening. Before long, the tears began to pour as well. This made everyone in the waiting room anxious and scared, worried about whether the next person in this couple’s circumstances would be them.

I was not a very religious person. In the home I grew up in, those who raised us were hardly religious, nor did I even have time to worship any deity since I was constantly doing house chores.

At that very moment, I felt uncomfortable sitting there, just doing nothing but waiting. I could hardly breathe, and the fear in my mind was growing higher and higher. I began to say silent prayers, wishing and hoping with every ounce of my being that my sister would turn out alright and the operation would be successful.

I must have gotten lost in thought because I eventually fell asleep. A few moments later, a nurse came along to wake me up. She stood there, looked into my eyes, ready to give me the news that could change my life, and then she said, "The operation was successful, Miss Bethany."

I did not know what to say. I was completely speechless. I did not know what to do as tears of joy poured from my face. The other people in the waiting room looked at me with eyes of envy and expectation as they wanted what just happened to me to happen to them as well.

After the nurse gave me the news, she was about to leave, but then I asked, "Will it be okay if I see her?"

The nurse answered, "While she’s still very weak and unconscious, I guess it will be okay for you to see her and speak to her for a few minutes, but do not try to wake her up or touch her. She’s still in a very fragile state."

I nodded to the nurse, indicating that I understood what she was saying, and then I was escorted to the ward where my sister had just been moved. I looked at her with tears and such immense joy I could hardly explain as I said in a shaky voice, "Annabelle, Annabelle, it’s me, your big sister Bethany. I did all I could to save you, which turned out okay. You will be fine now. We can be together again and live a life as siblings."

I intended to heed the nurse's word as I did not want to wake Annabelle up causing any problems. Just as I was about to leave, I heard a faint voice call out my name, "Big sister Bethany, is that you?"