Strings Attached
The antiseptic scent of the hospital never got easier to bear.
Tessa sat beside her mother’s bed, gently adjusting the blanket around her frail frame. The machines were beeping rhythmically, a cruel reminder that time was running out.
Her mother’s eyes fluttered open. “You’re here again.”
Tessa forced a smile. “Where else would I be?”
“Work?”
Tessa sat down, brushing hair from her mother’s temple. “I’m managing both. Don’t worry about me, Mama.”
“But the surgery…”
Tessa’s smile faltered.
The funds Blake sent had covered temporary treatment, but the critical operation was still pending—caught in a web of hospital queues and additional costs she had to deal with .
And while she was now a “director,” the terms were still unclear.
Her life felt like it was held toge
