Substitute Bride of The Masked Alpha

Anna’s POV “Young lady, you need to leave here, please,” a young nurse with long, blond hair calmly urged me, pointing at the door. “There's nothing else we can do to help.” But I couldn't leave. Not when my sister was still very ill. I knelt in front of the nurse and held onto her right leg not minding the presence of the other patients whose eyes were fixed on me. “Please, don't do this to us,” I begged, hoping she'd listen and take pity on us. Yes, it wasn't her who had the final decision but if she put in a word to the doctor, I was quite certain he'd listen to her. “Please, don't turn us away. I promise I'll pay. I'll pay everything I owe. I just need to work for a few more months, I'll pay up. I swear!” She forcefully shook my hands off her leg and glared at me with disgust. “Haven't we done enough for you?” She asked disdainfully. “For how long would we continue giving treatment to you and your sister without pay? We have been so gracious to you and we still are. Leave here before I call security.” “No. I will not leave. My sister cannot die. She’s all I have,” I shook my head, refusing to leave as tears streamed down my cheeks. “I need to see the doctor. Let me talk to him one more time. Perhaps, he'll help me this time.” I turned to my sister who lay on one of the long chairs by the left of the hospital and forced a smile out of my face. “Don't worry, sweethearts, everything is under control,” I assured them, trying to get them to keep calm as their hands were trembling, scared that they might lose their lives. The look on her face broke my heart. She literally couldn’t hurt a fly. She didn't deserve to pay for the poverty that had so ensnared me. Why couldn't the nurse see that? “The doctor and his nurses will take good care of you,” I assured her. “Just relax.” “What are you still doing here?” The doctor asked. His face contorted with rage as he walked into the waiting room in his white regalia. “I thought I told you guys to leave here. Rose, why are they still here?” “I asked her to leave but she wouldn't…” “Please, doctor. Look at my sister,” I interrupted, pointing at her. “Please, I'll pay for everything. I swear.” “Come back when you have,” he bellowed at me, rubbing his hand on his bald head before calling for security. “I don't ever want to see you in this hospital until you have my money. Take them away.” Tears flowed down my cheeks as the security led us out of the hospital. “What is going to happen to us?” My twin sister, Summer asked, tears in her voice. “You'll be fine. You will have your surgeries, okay?” I reassured her even though it felt like I was telling a lie because I wasn’t sure of how that was going to happen. I took her to another hospital where my stepmother often went for treatment. As we stepped inside, I headed straight to the young lady on low cut who stood behind the counter. “My name is Anna and I'm here to get help for my sister,” I said to her, pointing to Summer. “Did you say, Anna? Give me a minute,” she took out a book from the counter and scoured through the pages until she found what she was looking for. “Aha!” She exclaimed, turning to look at me. “You're not allowed in here. The Browns hospital called us earlier to inform us that we should not accept you or anyone in your family until you have cleared your debts.” After a brief pause, she continued, “Just in case you're thinking about going somewhere else, they've also reached all other hospitals. No one would take you in because you have no money. Please, leave now.” Without saying another word, I turned and walked out of the hospital. She didn't have to be that mean. She could have said all she wanted without sounding so condescending. But what could I do? I was at her mercy. The journey back home was a long one and it wasn't helped by my lack of funds for a cab. Despite the fatigue my sister felt, we had to head back home on foot and when we did, I quickly helped her to my room and got her to lie in our little bed. Then I just sat beside her and watched her breathe shallowly. Why was life so cruel to my sister? Why did she have to bear the burden of a sickness that just wouldn't leave no matter how hard we tried? I searched my brain to find anyone that I could go to but I couldn't. I had nowhere to go, no one to lend money from and I barely had some change in my bank account. All alone in this world, my twin were all that I had left. My mom died seven years ago. My twin and I had only been fourteen at the time. My father? He left us when we needed him the most. He turned his back on his own children and didn't look back, just to be with someone else but that was before he passed on too. So I became a parent because my sister was always sick. I swore to give her the life that she should have gotten from our parents. Truly, I wanted to and I tried but my efforts were just not enough. Yet, she remained content. She didn't look at my shortcomings. She didn't mind that I couldn't send her to school or afford to pay her medical bills. She was happy that I didn't leave her, like I’d ever; that I stayed and fought to see her live. We were all we had and we were more than enough… until now. My phone beeped and I took it out of my purse to see what it was. “A mail? From who?” I asked as I opened it. ‘Anna, I hope this meets you well. You've been relieved of your duties with immediate effect. Thank you for your contributions to this firm in the past. We wish you good luck in your future endeavours. I was fired. Even the little funds that I planned to save from my salary were gone. Ever since my sibling fell sick, I got completely disoriented. I'd miss work a bunch of times, just so I'd take her to the hospital and see if I could get her help, just like today. Other times, I'd just remain home to keep her company because I felt she needed it and I wasn't in the right frame of mind to work. Sometimes, at work, my boss would call me out to berate me because of the numerous mistakes that I made but was it my fault? Who wouldn't be distracted when faced with the problems I had? Well, no one cared. I wasn't employed to be pitied but to be productive. I wasn't and my boss had reached his limit. I wasn't surprised to see that I had been fired. It was always bound to happen. Nicole! It dawned on me that there was one more person that I needed to meet. We hadn't spoken for a while but she was my friend and I thought that maybe, she'd be able to help me out. So, I leaned in and kissed my twin on their foreheads. “I'll be back, sweetheart. You just hang in there,” I said to her and she nodded. Grabbing my purse, I walked away from the room and left the house to go see Nicole. I was already exhausted and her house wasn't quite as close to mine as I'd had liked but I had no choice but to trek. As I walked, I wondered if she'd even listen to me. The last time we spoke, it didn't end with her yelling at my face as she blamed me for her failure to nail a contract. I was mad. I couldn't understand why she'd say that. I didn't know the people who were to give her the contract nor had I ever spoken to them. How then was it my fault that they deemed her unqualified for it? Finally, I got to her house and sighed in relief as I stood in front of her huge black door. Knock! Knock! I waited anxiously for her to show up but she didn't so I began to wonder if she was around. Just as I picked up my phone to call her, I heard footsteps approaching and tossed it back into my purse. “Oh. Anna, what are you doing here?” She asked, stroking her hair as soon as she opened her door. “Good day, Nicole,” I managed to greet. “I… I need your help.” “I knew it!” She said out loud with a nod. “You only come to see me whenever you need something from me.” “No. It's not like that. It's just…” “Save it,” she voiced, putting out her right hand. “Whatever it is that you want from me, I cannot give it to you.” I drew closer to her, my face as pitiful as I could make it. “Please, it's my sister. She’s critically ill and in need of surgery,” I revealed to her. “I just need some money for it. I'll pay you back, I promise. Just give me a few months. All I want is for her to be alive. She’s all that I have.” She snorted. “I can't help you, Anna. You're cursed with bad luck,” she claimed. “You know what happened the last time. Each time I get involved with anything that concerns you, it doesn't end well. I won't do that this time. I'm sorry, but you need to leave now before you rub your ill luck on me. You've overstayed your welcome.” I walked towards her hoping to change her mind but before I could get to her, she slammed the door shut on my face. Distraught, I stood there for about a minute wondering why life was so unfair to me. Everything seemed to happen all at once and I could do nothing about it. My heart was shattered into pieces but I couldn't let it hold me down. I had to put it together not for my sake, but for my twin. I had to be her strength and I couldn't do that by being weak. To the supermarket just a few blocks away from Nicole's house, I went. I needed to get some groceries for the weekend and Summer is probably already hungry. I ignored all the faces that stared at me as I walked in. They were probably making fun of me for wearing a worn out yellow dress but I didn't care. I walked past different sections of the supermarket, straight to the counter and handed my card over to the cashier. “How much for these?” I asked, pointing to a basket full of vegetables, beverages and a few snacks. “I'd love to have them.” “A thousand.” I nodded. “Ma'am, you don't have enough funds to buy these,” she revealed with a squint on her face. “You don't have enough money to buy anything at all. Why come here if you can't afford anything?” The other customers mocked me, pointing fingers at me as they laughed. “I knew it. I knew she was up to no good,” one of them remarked. “Please, take her away from here,” the cashier said to the security who had arrived immediately she began to yell. “Don't ever let her come into this place.”