Chapter 14 Mom
1295 Words
Rose was stunned.
Yoseph regained his senses from the punch and stared down at her.
"So this is why you held me?" he asked bitterly. "You felt sorry for him and decided to stop me so he could hit me back?"
Rose shook her head frantically.
"You... you were going to kill him."
"So what if he died?" Yoseph roared. "Do you feel sorry for him?"
Rose shook her head again.
"No?" Yoseph laughed, but there was only sadness in it. "Then how do you explain this punch, Rose?"
He pointed at the bruise already forming on his face.
Rose broke down into another round of tears.
How had things ended up like this?
She had only been trying to help him.
Yoseph stared at her with disappointment and hurt in his eyes.
Then he turned and left.
If he stayed another minute, he wasn't sure what he would do.
Rose panicked.
Seeing the look in his eyes, she hurried after him, but by the time she got outside, he had already driven away.
She ran toward the road, intending to stop a taxi and follow him, but then she realized something.
She didn't know his address.
She thought about calling Akin, but in her haste, she had left her phone inside.
Rose stood there in a daze, staring at the traffic before finally walking back home.
It felt as though she had lost her soul.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Felix still standing there.
Her anger immediately flared.
"What are you still doing here?" she shouted. "Get out!"
"Look, I'm sorry—"
"GET OUT!" Rose roared. "I don't want to see your ugly face or hear your disgusting voice. Leave before I call the police for assault."
Felix sighed.
"Alright, I'll leave. Just hear me out first."
Rose folded her arms.
"Fine. Let me hear what other lies you have to tell."
"Rose, although—"
"Don't call me by my name. We're not familiar," she snapped.
Felix nodded.
"Okay. Although this started because I wanted revenge, I've genuinely fallen in love with you."
Rose burst out laughing.
"You must be delusional."
"I can give you everything he's given you. I'm not much worse than him."
"You're pathetic."
Her voice was cold.
"You think this is about money? About what someone can give me? And you talk about revenge. What exactly has Yoseph ever done to you?"
Felix remained silent.
"Even if you were the last man on earth, I still wouldn't choose you."
She pointed toward the door.
"Now leave my house."
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Wait."
Rose walked to the bathroom, grabbed his shirt, and threw it at him.
"Take your clothes and get out."
Without giving him another chance to speak, she pushed him outside and locked the door.
She didn't even bother cleaning the mess in the living room.
Instead, she went straight to her room.
Her mind was in complete chaos.
That night passed in a blur.
The next morning, she made a decision.
She would go to the office and find Yoseph.
She had to explain everything.
"Akin, please."
Rose's voice trembled.
"Just tell me where he is. I'm begging you."
For the past week, she had been trying to reach Yoseph.
He wouldn't answer her calls.
He wouldn't reply to her messages.
She felt helpless.
Worse, he hadn't shown up at the office either.
Neither had Akin.
Today, however, Akin had come in briefly to pick up some documents.
The moment Rose saw him, she rushed over.
To her, he looked like a lifeline.
Akin felt conflicted.
The boss had specifically instructed him not to reveal his whereabouts.
Although he didn't know exactly what had happened between them, seeing them both miserable was painful.
"Actually, Miss Rose..." he said hesitantly. "The boss had an accident last week."
Boom.
The world seemed to stop.
Rose felt as though her heart exploded.
"What?"
Tears instantly filled her eyes.
"Take me to him. Please."
She was already crying.
In her mind, Yoseph's accident was somehow her fault.
Yoseph was always such a careful driver.
Yoseph sat quietly on the hospital bed.
Thankfully, his injuries weren't serious.
Aside from a head injury and a few bruises, he was fine.
During the past week, he had done a lot of thinking.
Rose couldn't possibly have gotten involved with Felix during those three weeks.
Her reaction that night had made that obvious.
She had been just as shocked as he was.
The more he thought about it, the clearer everything became.
The exposure of his identity.
The setup.
The kiss.
It had all been Felix's plan.
Just like before, he had fallen into the trap.
But this time, he wasn't going to lose Rose.
Once he was discharged, he would explain everything.
She probably didn't even know Felix was his half-brother.
What still bothered him, however, was one thing.
Why had Felix been at her house?
Why had she allowed him inside?
Why had she allowed him to take off his shirt?
Even if nothing had happened between them, she had ignored every warning he had given her.
The thought still stung.
Just as he was lost in thought, the ward door opened.
The person who entered was the last person he wanted to see.
The woman he hadn't called "Mom" in ten years.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.
His voice contained no emotion.
His mother frowned.
"Why can't I be here?"
She folded her arms.
"So it's gotten to this? You won't even greet your mother?"
Yoseph almost laughed.
"Mother?"
His voice dripped with mockery.
"When was the last time you acted like one?"
"You ungrateful child!"
She pointed at him.
"You're just like your father—"
"Don't you dare compare me to my father!"
Yoseph roared.
"You're not worthy."
Miss Hassan flinched.
For a moment, she looked stunned.
Then she recovered.
"I've been trying to book an appointment with you for months, but I keep getting rejected. Did you order your employees to block me?"
Yoseph sneered.
"Why should I let you in? Who are you to me?"
His mother scoffed.
"Look at how you're treating your own mother. Aren't you afraid of karma?"
Yoseph didn't respond.
He simply stared at her.
His vision blurred with tears.
How could she say that?
She was the one who abandoned him.
Yet she stood there talking about karma.
"Lilian has been calling me," she said.
She paused, studying his reaction.
When he showed none, she continued.
"She still loves you. Why don't you just take her back? After all, you've never had another woman by your side all these years."
Yoseph laughed bitterly.
Was this really his mother?
How could she ask that?
"Take her back?" he repeated.
"After what she did with your precious son?"
"Oh, please."
His mother rolled her eyes.
"Don't even mention your brother. After beating him up like that, I should be the one angry with you."
She glared at him.
"How could you be so cruel? Did you want to kill him?"
Yoseph simply stared at her.
His already broken heart shattered even further.
"And besides," she continued, "what exactly did they do that you can't forgive?"
At that moment, the ward door burst open.
Rose rushed inside.
She didn't even notice anyone else in the room.
Her eyes were fixed entirely on Yoseph.
She ran straight to him and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry," she cried.
"I didn't know you were hurt."
Tears streamed down her face.
"I can explain everything."
When Yoseph didn't respond, she pulled back slightly.
Only then did she notice another person in the room.
His mother.
But Rose didn't move away.
Instead, she tightened her hold on Yoseph's hand.
- Writer
