Her Best Friend’s Alpha Father

Chapter 58 Waking up

Room 412, 6:17 AM.

The first thing is wrong. Her mouth tasted like pennies and anesthesia. Metallic. Cramped. Like she's been wrung out and left to dry.

Her tongue finds the oxygen tube first. Plastic. Then the beep. Beep...beep... Slower than she expects. Like her heart forget the tempo and the machine is reminding her.

Eyes won't open all the way. Glue. Light stabs through anyway --- fluorescent, hospital white, no mercy. She squints. The IV pole was there. The drip, one bag feeding into her arm. That's the new marrow. The donor. Months of "no match, no match, no match" ended in that bag.

Selene could hear the loud thumping of her own breath, her hazy eyes finding difficulty in adjusting to the activities of the room. She closed her eyes and opened slowly for a few minutes before she could see clearly.

The room was empty with nothing but gifts spilled from her bedside to the window side. Everywhere was filled except for the entrance. A narrow one at that. Her eyes sting at the kind gestures of everyone that might have wished for her recovery.

She tilted her head to the left side. Her appearance caught off guard. There's no denying that the reflection in the long mirror was her. She almost denied herself. She looked far from being human. She was practically out of her element.

Her eyes beamed with smiles that her mouth couldn't form. This life of hers was indeed a gift. A gift the goddess has given her in place of death. This kindness weighs heavily on her heart. It revived her spirit, seeping energy into her body. Her green eyes shone with delight as her eyes lingered on her bald head.

She almost caught herself laughing but she couldn't. The journey wasn't like anything she had imagined. It was a miracle that she was still on her feet. Her nightmare kept reoccurring, afraid that they might not find a match despite all the money they had. Or that it might be too late by then.

She had watched herself for months fade into a shadow of herself she hardly recognized. The sadness and disappointment in Mira's eyes each time they spent time together in the ward was a hard pill for her to swallow. Mira looked at her with such helplessness that made it seem like she had failed to protect her as a mother.

Nothing was as heart-wrenching as the feeling of letting go of her family even though she had succumbed to this cruelsome fate of hers. Oftentimes she was saddled with the thought of how different it would be if Elora was by her side during this trying time. She held back the tears swelling in her eyes.

This was a chance to make things right for her family.

The creaky iron door drowned out her thoughts and pulled her back to the present.

"Hey girl, you are awake. Oh my goodness, look at you" Mira voice was laced with heavy concern mingled with happiness as she printed towards the bedside, almost stumbling on the gift box in her way.

Selene chuckled at her mom's lively voice; it filled the void of sadness that had washed over her soul moments ago.

Selene managed to nod gently in response, the slightest movement caused her limb to crack.

"your hair is growing rapidly. I couldn't wait till dawn to see you. I had to sneak out of the mansion without your father knowing. I bet he knew but knew better than to stop me. Too bad I wasn't here when you opened your eyes" Mira continued, holding her daughter's hand tightly.

Selene's eyes grew bigger at her words even though she was finding it difficult to keep up with the words tumbling out of Mira's mouth.

Her mother would never cease to do the unexpected. Who sneaks out of the house in the wee hours of the morning? Nobody but her mom. The bond between them was so strong that they understood each other without spoken words.

"Thank you for being strong for us. I can't imagine doing life without you baby. I've decorated your room with everything that you wanted as a child" Mira said, kissing the back of her hand.

Selene managed to raise her hand to her mother's cheek, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

She couldn't speak because of the oxygen. She can't muster enough strength to do the things she had in mind. The doctor in charge must not see her in this condition with Mira crying over her. It is not healthy for her recovery.

Mira sobs quieted for some minutes, so she decided to open the gifts that the pack members and her school mates had brought for her. Gifts started coming in after the announcement of a successful and healthy donor.

She would show Selene the best of the gifts and tossed aside inferior ones. She was so busy with the unboxing that she didn't notice that Selene had drifted off to sleep.

Finally she raised her head, sighing heavily when she saw Selene eyes closed with the monitor still beeping.

She cleared the dirt that had covered the ground from the packages.

She was determined to file for a divorce and take her daughter with her so he could have all the time he wanted for himself.

She discarded the thought of losing her own husband to her daughter's friend. Such irony. The situation made her powerless. She wondered how things might have turned out if all this never happened in the first place.

Selene would have gotten the best recovery party she deserves with a heart full of love and positivity.

Mira tucked her daughter in the bed, watching her round face for the last time before walking out of the ward. She needed to start packing her things.

She was less concerned about what her actions might cause Ronan. He was always after his own interests. She doubted if he would flinch at her decision.