Faith stared at him long and hard. Then she turned her face back to the window and said nothing.
Leo couldn’t rest after rushing Faith to the hospital. He made sure she was admitted into a private suite, paid for everything in advance, and arranged the best doctors to look after her.
But as he sat in the hospital hallway, one thought kept tugging at his heart—Daisy.
She would be worried. She’d come home from school and find the house empty. Worse, there would be no one to care for her.
The thought unsettled him deeply. He stood up, grabbed his car keys, and headed straight to Silverline. When he arrived at the little compound, everything was still and quiet. He waited a while, standing at the wooden doorway like a man unsure of what to expect.
A few minutes later, Daisy walked in from school, holding her small backpack and humming a tune. The moment she saw him, she stopped in her tracks.
“You again?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “What are you doing here? Are you following me now?”
Leo sighed, then crouched down to her level. “Daisy, your mom… she collapsed and she’s in the hospital right now.”
“I can take you to her,” Leo said softly, kneeling to Daisy’s level.
Daisy’s face changed instantly. “What have you done to my mommy? Why did she collapse? Did you say anything to her? I told you I didn’t need your help. Why did you come? Why did you come to our house?” she shouted—and then her voice broke as tears filled her eyes. She burst into tears.
Leo’s heart shattered. This was his daughter in that fragile, broken state, and it was all his fault. Every bad decision he’d made, every time he had ignored that one message from Faith, it all came flooding back. He thought of that moment years ago when Faith had told him she was pregnant, and he—chasing investors for his engine prototype—told her to get rid of the baby.
Now, here was the child he had rejected, crying, angry, confused.
He tried to hold it together, but the guilt was too heavy. Tears escaped his eyes.
Daisy paused when she saw him crying. She sniffed and tilted her head. “Mister, why are you crying? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you in pain?”
Leo quickly wiped his face and shook his head. “I’m fine. Something got into my eyes.”
Daisy frowned. “Really? What got into your eyes? Is it Yoruba pepper?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Leo burst into laughter. Through the pain, that little joke from his daughter made him chuckle.
“Come on,” he said, reaching out his hand. “Let me take you to your mother.”
That evening, Leo took Daisy to the hospital. Faith was still unconscious. The doctors had already started treatment on her and scheduled her surgery. Leo had paid everything up front.
He stood outside the ward while Daisy rushed in, holding her mother’s hand and crying quietly. “Mommy, please don’t leave me. I promise I will be a good girl. I will listen to everything you say and obey even if I don’t agree with your method sometimes. Please, Mommy.”
When Faith woke up and found out Leo had paid for everything, her anger returned. She didn’t want to be indebted to him. She tried to sit up, insisting she’d leave the hospital.
The nurse gently held her back. “Please, ma, relax. You’re still sedated. You need rest.”
Daisy stood beside her. “Please, Mommy,” Daisy begged, crying. “Let them take care of you. You’re really sick. I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’re all I have.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Faith looked at her daughter. For her daughter’s sake, she would stay. She would fight to survive. Not for Leo, but for her.
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