The Mafia King's Virgin Healer

Her dream

Like Pedro had predicted, Maya had gone straight to the hospital after escaping. The day was already getting dark, and she was looking so tired after the day's unexpected ordeal.

As she stepped into the room, she groaned loudly upon seeing her mother slumped in the vinyl armchair beside the bed, head tilted at an uncomfortable angle.

Maya approached quietly and placed a gentle hand on her mother's shoulder. "Mom," she whispered.

Sarah startled awake, blinking rapidly as her eyes focused on Maya's face. "Maya?" she murmured, brows furrowing in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Maya forced a smile, trying to ignore the pang of guilt at her mother's disheveled appearance. "It's me, Mom. Why do you look so surprised to see me?"

"I thought you were working," Sarah said, straightening in her chair and wincing as she worked the stiffness from her neck.

"I'm off tonight," Maya lied smoothly, maintaining her smile while silently praying her mother wouldn't ask for details. "You should go home and get some rest."

Sarah shook her head, her gaze drifting back to Mara's sleeping form. "I'm fine right here."

Maya sighed in frustration as she took in her mother's condition. Her hair hung in limp strands around her face, and dark circles smeared her eyes like bruises. It was obvious that Sarah hadn't been able to get good sleep in a while.

"No, Mom, just go home, please," Maya insisted, her voice softening. "You have to take care of yourself too."

"I'm not complaining," Sarah replied stubbornly. "Mara needs me here."

Maya knelt beside her mother's chair, taking Sarah's hands in her own as she peppered them with kisses. "I know you're not complaining. You never do." She squeezed gently. "But I want to spend tonight with Mara. I want some time alone with my sister. Don't say no, please."

"Fine, you won," a smile finally made it onto Sarah's face as she decided to give in. "Make sure to call if anything happens."

"Nothing will happen, Mom," Maya assured her, helping her mother to her feet. "I've got this tonight. You go home and sleep in a real bed for once."

Sarah kissed Maya on her cheek, and then reluctantly headed for the door with Maya marching behind her. Maya didn't relax until she'd personally hailed a cab, settled her mother inside, and watched the taillights disappear around the corner. Only then did she allow her shoulders to slump, the facade of confident cheerfulness falling away as she trudged back to Mara's room.

Maya settled into the still-warm chair her mother had vacated, taking her sister's limp hand in hers. Mara's skin felt paper-thin, the blue veins visible beneath the surface like rivers on a delicate map.

As if sensing Maya's presence, Mara's eyelids fluttered open. Recognition dawned slowly in her eyes, followed by a smile that transformed her pale face.

"Maya?" she whispered, her voice raspy from disuse.

"Hey, kiddo," Maya replied, gently brushing a strand of hair from her sister's forehead. "Did I wake you?"

Mara shook her head slightly. "I was just napping." Her gaze traveled past Maya to the empty doorway. "Where's Mom?"

"I sent her home to get some real sleep," Maya explained. "It's just you and me tonight."

"And Dad?" Mara asked, though her expression suggested she already knew the answer.

Maya hesitated. "Dad's busy at the shop. You know how it is, someone always needs their car fixed."

Mara nodded, accepting the familiar explanation. "I'm glad you're here," she said, giving Maya's hand a weak squeeze. "I missed you."

"Aww... I missed you too," Maya cooed.

"I had a long dream," Mara said, her eyes suddenly brightening despite her fatigue.

"What did you dream about?" Maya asked curiously, leaning closer to her sister.

Mara's face lit up as she spoke. "I dreamed that I was back home with everyone. And I wasn't sick at all." Her voice grew animated despite its weakness. "I could run up and down the stairs without getting tired. I was playing tag with you in the backyard, and we were laughing so much that my stomach hurt—but a good kind of hurt, you know?"

Maya smiled, picturing the scene.

"And then," Mara continued, "we were all sitting around the dinner table—you, me, Mom, and Dad. Dad wasn't too tired from work, and Mom was telling jokes. I could eat whatever I wanted without feeling sick. I even got to go to school and made some really good friends."

Mara's description painted a vivid picture of the normal life she'd been denied by her illness—simple moments that healthy children took for granted but that had become impossible dreams for her.

"It felt so real," Mara whispered. "Being home, being normal." She paused, and the brightness in her eyes dimmed slightly. "Maya?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I'll ever get better?" Mara asked suddenly, her voice small. "Will I ever get to go home and live like a normal person? Like in my dream?"

Maya blinked rapidly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. She squeezed her sister's arm soothingly, carefully composing her expression into one of reassurance.

"Of course," she said with forced conviction. "The doctor will discharge you soon, and you can come home."

"Promise?" Mara's eyes searched Maya's face, desperate for certainty.

"Mhmm, promise," Maya nodded, brushing her sister's hair back from her forehead.

A small, contented smile spread across Mara's pale face. She yawned widely, her eyelids already drooping—likely from the effects of her medication.

"You should get some sleep," Maya said gently, tucking the thin hospital blanket more securely around her sister.

"Please stay with me," Mara pleaded, her fingers tightening weakly around Maya's hand.

"I'm not going anywhere," Maya nodded. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

As Mara drifted off to sleep, silent tears began to stream down Maya's face as she watched her sister's chest rise and fall beneath the hospital blanket. How many more nights would Mara spend in places like this? How many more procedures and medications would she need? And how would their family possibly continue to afford it all?

In that moment, Pedro's offer of employment—even under false pretenses—took on a different light. Maya realized she was willing to cross that hell for Mara. The money could make all the difference for her sister's treatment. For a chance at the normal life Mara dreamed about. For her family's survival.

With that resolve hardening in her heart, exhaustion finally caught up with Maya. Her eyelids grew heavy as she rested her head on the edge of Mara's bed, falling asleep while still holding her sister's hand.

***************

Pedro moved through the hospital corridors like a shadow, his expensive suit and commanding presence drawing curious glances from the nursing staff, though no one dared to question him. It wasn't long before he tracked Maya down to this hospital.

A cold smile crept up his face as he paused in front of the room Maya must be in, peering through the small window in the door. He saw Maya fast asleep with her head resting on the edge of the hospital bed, one hand clasping her sister's.

Pedro entered silently, closing the door behind him with barely a click. He stood watching Maya for a long moment, noting the worry lines that remained etched on her face even as she slept. Her sunset-colored hair spilled across the white hospital sheets like a flame.

'Such a stubborn lady,' he whispered, as he approached her sleeping form.

And in the next moment, his powerful hands were lifting her from the uncomfortable position with an unexpected gentleness as he slipped one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her shoulders. She murmured something unintelligible but didn't wake as he carried her to a small couch against the opposite wall. He laid her down carefully, then shrugged off his expensive black suit jacket and draped it over her like a blanket.

"Not that I care about you, but you belong to me now, so..." Pedro found himself explaining out loud, probably to justify his out-of-the-ordinary action.

He crouched beside the couch, his hands moving of their own accord as he reached out to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek. The simple action afforded him a clearer view of her features, and he found himself momentarily transfixed.

'She's quite a beauty,' he thought, surprised at his reflections.

Maya stirred suddenly, shifting beneath his jacket. Her eyelids fluttered, then opened drowsily. Pedro gasped in surprise, losing his balance and tumbling backward from his crouched position.

"Dad?" Maya mumbled, squinting in the low light. "Hmmm... You're finally here to visit Mara after weeks? Make sure to watch her closely while I get some sleep," she instructed before turning onto her side, her back now facing him as she settled more comfortably into the couch.

Pedro remained on the floor for a moment, stunned by the mistaken identity and the casual way she'd ordered him about. He found it amusing.

"I can see you're tired," he said softly, rising to his feet and adjusting the jacket more securely around her shoulders. "Just sleep. This... Dad will watch your sister... closely." He couldn't suppress a low chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.

Assured that Maya had drifted back to sleep, Pedro approached the hospital bed. He regarded the young girl lying there, taking in her delicate and fragile features. Her complexion was pallid, with a bluish tinge to her lips that spoke volumes about her condition. The various machines surrounding her beeped and hummed, monitoring every aspect of her faltering health.

After a long moment, he turned away and moved to stand by the window, his tall silhouette outlined against the city lights beyond.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, his thumb hovering over the screen before he made a decision and pressed a contact. "It's me," he said quietly when the call connected. "I need everything you can find on heart conditions—specifically congenital defects affecting teenagers." He listened for a moment, his gaze darting back to the sleeping sisters. "And find me the best cardiac specialist in the country. Money is no object."

He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket, his expression unreadable as he kept his vigilant watch over both girls through the long night hours, true to his borrowed role as protector.