A Price Too High
676 Words
The taxi ride to Lakeside Medical Centre felt endless.
Every red light.
Every traffic jam.
Every passing second tightened the knot in Aria’s chest.
She clutched her phone so tightly her fingers ached.
“Please, Mom… just hold on.”
When the taxi finally stopped, she threw a few notes at the driver and ran through the hospital’s sliding doors.
The smell of disinfectant hit her immediately.
“Miss Bello!”
A nurse hurried toward her.
“This way.”
Aria followed without a word.
Her heart pounded louder with every step.
She reached her mother’s room just as Dr. Adebayo walked out.
His expression told her everything.
“Doctor…” He sighed.
“She’s stable for now.”
Aria’s knees nearly gave way in relief.
“But…”
Her relief vanished.
“The medication is no longer enough.”
He handed her a folder.
“The surgery has become urgent.”
“I know.”
“No, Aria.” The doctor spoke gently.
“I don’t think you understand.”
He opened the folder to a page filled with test results.
“If we don’t perform the operation within the next two weeks, the risks increase significantly.”
“Two weeks?” she whispered.
“Yesterday you said thirty days.”
“Her condition changed overnight.”
The hallway suddenly felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too cold.
“How much?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.
“The estimate remains the same.”
$8,750,000 A number that might as well have been eighty-seven million.
It was equally impossible.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Adebayo said softly. “I wish I had better news.”
He walked away, leaving Aria alone with the folder in her trembling hands.
Inside the room, her mother was asleep.
Machines beeped steadily beside the bed.
Aria walked over and gently held her mother’s hand.
It felt colder than usual.
“I’m trying, Mom,” she whispered.
“I’m trying so hard.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“I just don’t know if I’m enough.”
For the first time in years…
She cried.
Not because she was weak.
But because she had run out of strength.
Hours later, the hospital cafeteria was nearly empty.
Aria sat alone, stirring a cup of tea that had long gone cold.
“Mind if I sit?”
She looked up.
Maya.
Without waiting for an answer, her best friend pulled out the chair opposite her.
“I came as soon as you called.”
Aria managed a faint smile.
“The doctor changed the timeline.”
Maya’s face fell.
“How bad?”
“Two weeks.”
Silence settled between them.
Then Maya reached across the table.
“Have you thought about the proposal?”
Aria stared at the untouched tea.
“I told him no.”
“And now?”
“I don’t know.”
Maya hesitated before speaking.
“If your mother found out you turned down the only person offering to help…”
“She’d tell me not to sacrifice my future.”
“Would she?”
Aria didn’t answer.
Because she wasn’t sure anymore.
Meanwhile…
On the top floor of Blackwood Tower, Kael stood in his office, staring out at the glittering city below.
Daniel knocked once before entering.
“Sir.” Kael didn’t turn.
“She refused.”
“Yes.”
“And yet…” Daniel continued carefully, “…she’s at Lakeside Medical Centre tonight.”
Kael finally faced him.
“Her mother’s condition has worsened.”
A flicker of concern crossed Kael’s face.
“So soon?”
Daniel nodded.
“The doctors have shortened the timeline.”
Kael remained silent for a long moment.
Then he picked up his phone.
“Prepare the documents.”
Daniel frowned.
“You still think she’ll accept?”
Kael looked out over the city again.
“No.”
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
“I think she’ll choose her mother.”
And somehow that thought didn’t make him feel victorious.
It made him feel guilty.
- Writer
