SOME THINGS ARE MEANT TO BE

CHAPTER 79

“You shouldn’t do this no matter how urgently you need the money.

“You should know what blood means to a human. Money is not life.”

The doctor tried to persuade this pale-faced woman before him, disagreeing with her over selling her blood. She was so skinny and pathetically frail.

Julianna’s arm stood on the table. She looked up into her eyes; those eyes had seen too much. She smiled powerlessly. “I understand what you are trying to say. Maybe, for a lot of people, money is not life. For me, my daughter needs me, and I need money. She is still a newborn baby, barely a month old. She is waiting for me to save her because she is sick now.

“Please, can you help me? I can’t survive, not without my daughter.”

She tightened her weak left hand as tears streamed down her face, forming a straight line before sliding to her chin. If she had a choice, she wouldn’t have to do that. She had no way out, no relatives to depend on, and no money—that’s why she had to resort to doing this. She did not even dare to return to the city where she was born, moreover, to approach the people she knew for help. She was afraid, very afraid, that that man would harm her child if he knew.

“Is it painful?” A pleasant male voice sounded with some pity, and Julianna’s heart ached. It had been a long time since anyone had asked about her.

Was she in pain? Hungry? Suffering?

Julianna opened her eyes and shook her head. “You lied.” He found that her eyes were exceptionally beautiful, like the purest spring water in the mountains. It was always able to wash away anything for him, for another, and many others.

“When did I lie to you?” The doctor’s brow rose slightly, and his finger stayed on her arm, pressing on the site where the syringe had been. He looked curiously at her left arm.

“It’s not painful. You said it would.” Julianna's lips touched lightly. The pain was still tingling.

The doctor simply smiled. At times, he did not feel like a doctor... more like a shrewd businessman.

“Ah, some feel the pain here.” His finger pointed at the position of her heart. “The pain is not in your hand but your heart. Right?”

Julianna was stunned because it truly did not hurt, nowhere hurt. As long as she could save her baby, she was happy. Why would that hurt?

“Let me have a look at your left hand.” He gently pressed Julianna’s arm and swiftly raised it.

Something about this arm did not seem right.

Julianna did not understand why he wanted to examine her left hand. Did he want to draw blood from her left as well? She pursed her lips and stretched out her left arm.

The male doctor put his hand on her wrist and moved up to her elbow. He pressed hard. Julianna bit on her lip from the piercing pain.

He was right. Her hand was weak from a bone injury. There was no proper treatment, and the bone had healed in the wrong places. It would hurt at the slightest touch.

“There is still a chance if you receive treatment now,” he said meaningfully, while Julianna looked down at her arm. Could she?

It seemed impossible. She stood up and bowed deeply at the doctor. “Thank you.” Her pale face revealed a hint of sadness which unconsciously invoked one’s sympathy. A small smile appeared on her lips; her willpower made one ache for her.

She picked up the chit for the sale of her blood. Her body wavered slightly, and she left without seeing the doctor’s thoughtful eyes on her.

His eyes did not leave her until she vanished.

“What a stubborn woman,” he mumbled before taking off the doctor’s robe and leaving.

This was just an encounter for him, like the one among the many he had. He thought he would never have the chance to see her a second time.

The doctor’s robe remained hanging. People come here all the time for money.

Julianna sat by the hospital bed, her hand caressing the child’s face. The color on her face was a nice red, which was a sign that her fever had broken. She is fine now.

After she paid the hospitalization fee, there was still some money left. Julianna thought she could buy some milk powder for her daughter. If it wasn’t enough, she could sell more blood. It was a way to make some fast cash.

As long as Raya grows up healthy, it doesn’t matter.

She grabbed onto Julianna’s blouse and bit on it, treating it like a milk bottle.

Julianna smiled helplessly. Who would say her child was well-behaved? In fact, she had a temper. Take now, for example.

Her fingers touched Raya’s tiny face tenderly while the little one continued to munch on her blouse, not bothering about her. She stopped smiling. Look, she’s angry and throwing a tantrum.

She picked up the milk bottle quickly and placed it in Raya’s mouth. The little girl finally released her hand and held the bottle.

What a temper for her age. She pulled the blanket, covered her daughter’s legs, and rested her hand on the girl’s hair. She had a head of beautiful hair; it was black and thick, like her mother’s.

She sketched her daughter’s face carefully. It had been a month, and she had grown and looked more like her. In a way, his black pupils resembled him. She was very fortunate that the child resembled her. She could not see a hint of the other man on her baby.

She was her daughter and nobody else’s.

“Raya, did you know that? Mommy loves you very, very much.” She held her sleeping daughter in her arms carefully, with her face touching the little girl’s tender face.

“Raya, you can be discharged tomorrow. We can go home. Even though our home is very old and Mommy is very poor, you must believe that Mommy will love you with everything.

“Everything that Mommy can achieve.”

The check-up showed that Raya was indeed fine. Her fever was gone, and she was a healthy baby again. Julianna carried her daughter out of the hospital together with what little clothing she had. It had been a few days since she went out. The sunlight made her eyes sting.

She looked at Raya, who was evidently happy. She looked around frequently, and Julianna wondered what she was excited about.

Her small hands grabbed Julianna’s hair. She wasn’t strong, so Julianna did not feel any pain.

When they were back at the small warehouse, Julianna put her daughter to bed before going out to collect the laundry from the various households. She was penniless now. If she didn’t find work soon, both she and Raya would starve.

She went from one house to another. Soon, she had a huge bundle of laundry in her arms, and she made her way back to the warehouse. In her hand was some money given by everyone when they heard that her child was sick. They said she received more for their laundry because the material was thicker and harder to wash. Her eyes were red the whole time. At her most helpless and troubled time, the ones who lent her a helping hand were the strangers. Not her relatives, mother, or husband.

She opened the door and saw that the little one had woken. She did not know how long she had been awake, but she reached out with her hands and kept mumbling.

Julianna hurriedly put the clothes down and ran over. She carried her daughter and touched the nappy. It was wet. She put her daughter in her coat to warm her little cold body up with her own body temperature.

As she looked down, she put her hand on the child’s face.

She seemed to love the warmth this way as she fell into a deep sleep. There were countless nights when she was cold, and Julianna would always use her own body temperature to warm her insensible daughter.