Chapter 6

Nicole immediately went in front of the car after the man had commanded her. Though she wanted to shout at him because of the kind of treatment that he was giving her, she just silently obeyed his words. She didn’t want him to really throw her out of his car. She had nowhere to go, and she didn’t want Ashley to see her.

Nicole felt like she had no strength yet to face that man who she had thought that already had changed her life for the better but eventually she found out that Ashley just made her life worst than ever. How she wished she could turn back the time and she could choose not to have her path cross Ashley’s path. How she wished that she had not met him at all because of everything that she had learned about him. Ashley used her because of his own selfish reasons.

No matter what he was going to say when they faced each other, it didn’t really matter at all to her. There was no acceptable reason for cheating. There was no excuse for making her a mistress. And that is what she hated the most of what Ashley had done to her.

He just didn’t cheat but he made her a mistress. Someone who was about to wreck his family. How could he be so selfish to do that to her and to his wife? What were they? Just a toy?

There was a deafening silence between the two of them until they reached the hospital.

She wanted to ask but she was afraid that the man would just ignore her again.

“Do you really want to keep your words that you said to me earlier?” Suddenly, the man said as he broke the silence that was between the two of them.

She didn’t know what this man was thinking but she nodded her head. She didn’t know if it was supposed to be the answer, she had to give to the stranger who happened to help her to get out of Ashley’s sight.

“Yes,” she replied without having any second thoughts. She was already there, and she had already told him. So, there was no way for her to turn back. What else could be the worst thing that could happen to her other than Ashley’s betrayal? She couldn’t help but smile at herself as she remembered a line of a song which she didn’t remember the title.

She was just looking at the man and she saw when he smirked at her. After that he called someone.

Nicole couldn’t help but raise one of her eyebrows when she heard his conversation. It seemed that the man was a businessman. He was asking the person on the other line to follow them to the hospital. Suddenly, fear overwhelmed her as her heart was beating so fast.

She couldn’t help but wonder what the man was going to do to her. Suddenly, she wanted to regret the answer she uttered earlier. It was as if she didn’t learn her lesson after what happened to her and Ashley. She was still willing to take risks with this man after everything that happened to her.

Maybe, if she just ran away earlier when they were still in front of his house, she wouldn’t be thinking of what was going to happen to her. How unlucky day could it be for her. After the heartbreak that she had experienced from Ashley, now, she was in a situation that she never imagined she would be put into. She had no idea of what the man was going to do with her. His voice could make every nerve inside her tremble in fear. His voice commanded her to get off the car as he also got off.

Nicole almost ran as she was trying to catch up with the man. He was walking so fast with big steps. It looked like he wanted to be inside the hospital as soon as he could.

She felt like was crazy as she was trying to follow him after looking behind where the car was.

The parking lot didn’t have many cars inside it. There were only three ambulance vans.

Her attention was suddenly caught by the police officer who suddenly spoke as soon as they entered the place. She looked at the man who was standing next to her.

She could see the confusion in his face while staring at her. His eyes were as if asking her if she knew what the police officer was talking about.

Nicole shook her head as she replied. “No.”

Then while looking intently at the police officer, she suddenly remembered what happened earlier before the encounter she had with the man. She recognized the police officer was the one who talked to her when she asked for help.

“Oh, yes,” she quickly replied and then nodded her head again while looking at the man in front of her.

The police then explained that it was her who called the emergency number and asked for their help in regard to the accident that she had witnessed.

Nicole was surprised when the woman to whom the police officer was talking suddenly hugged her. And the worst thing was the woman had mistaken her as Andrew’s girlfriend. She found out that the man’s name who helped her to escape from Ashley was Andrew.

She couldn’t understand but all of a sudden, the name sounded so masculine for her though it was just an ordinary name. She could meet every day a man whose name was Andrew.

At first she hesitated to answer the old woman when she asked for her name. But before she could even answer the woman, Andrew moved towards the door and then she felt his mother was pressing her hand. It was as if she was waiting for her to answer her question.

“Uh--- I am Nicole, Auntie,” she said while looking at the woman. She was beautiful. Her eyes were very expressive. Nicole could tell that they were from a prominent family because of the way she looked.

“Oh,dear. Please don’t call me Auntie. Call me “Mommy” instead. Andrew and Andy call me that way. Or maybe you can call me “Mommy Liz”,” she continued which almost made her cough. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How on earth did this woman think that she was her son’s girlfriend? She felt like she was not even half of the ideal woman of this man. She could see that the man even had no interest in her. He didn’t even last a second on looking at her. Andrew was so different from Ashley. He never showed her any emotions except from losing patience because of her sudden appearance in front of him.

If it was not because of the conversation of the doctor and Andrew, she was sure that their mom would not leave her. She would keep on asking questions that she didn’t even know how to answer.

Andrew’s mother’s attention averted to the men’s conversation as they turned towards them.

Mommy Liz was still holding her hand. It was as if she didn’t want to let her go. Suddenly, she felt the presence of her mother who had passed away three years ago. Nicole suddenly missed her. And she felt the feeling of being alone. She could still remember the emotions she had when she lost the most important person in her life.

She was shocked when Mommy Liz started to pull her hand as they headed inside the room. And that brought her back to her senses. She turned her head while looking at Andrew as she bit her lower lip.

Just like earlier, she saw his face which was void of emotions. She couldn’t tell what exactly was running inside his head. All she wanted was just to tell him that she didn’t know what to do or it was right to say that she didn’t know what he wanted to do.

“I am very happy that mom is fine. I didn’t know what to think earlier when I received the news. We are very grateful to you, my dear. If it’s not because of you, I don’t know what already happened to my mother. You have a very kind heart,” the woman said after that she let her hand go.

“Thank you, Auntie but like what I have said earlier,” before she could even finish her words the old woman spoke again.

“Nicole, my dear, didn’t I tell you to call me Mommy Liz?” She said while looking at her. “And whatever you say, it will not change the fact that we are grateful to your kindness. You save a life. That is something that not anyone can do. I am telling you this,” Andrew’s mother added. She was touched.

And at the same time she couldn’t help but feel like if she was kind, why did all of these things need to happen to her? Why was there a betrayal? Why did Ashley have to cheat on her when she did nothing but to love him and please him in their entire relationship? It was a bitter and hurtful truth that she had to face. She was kind and yet the kindness she had was never enough for her to experience real happiness.

The happiness that she had with Ashley was just for a short period of time and she felt that everything was just pretension. Like it was never real in the first place because of the way it all had begun.

She just smiled in response to what the woman said. It seemed like she wouldn’t listen to her. Her reasons would not make any sense at all.

“Did you know that Andrew is so close to his grandmother? Didn’t he tell you that? He grew up on his grandparent’s side. He loves them so much. He chose to stay with my parents rather than to be with us,” Mommy Liz said in a cracked voice. She could see that the old woman was starting to get emotional and yet she couldn’t find the words to say.

Nicole didn’t know how to react. She didn’t know why she felt that there was something behind Mommy Liz’s revelation. Why did she even open this up to her?

Probably because she was thinking that she was Andrew’s girlfriend.

There was a part of her heart that had something to ask the woman. She wanted to ask her the reason why Andrew loved his grandparents so much to the point that he chose to stay with them rather than his own parents. But she chose to zip her mouth. It was none of her business. She had her own problem to deal with to get involved with these people.

She was there because Andrew helped her earlier and she would be keeping her words.

Nicole looked at the old woman who was lying down on the hospital bed. Her face was wrinkled due to her age, and this was the only chance that she had seen her face so clear. Earlier, because of nervousness, she couldn’t even look at her directly.

She never thought that the woman that she had seen in the accident was old and what worse was that, of all people, why this woman had to be Andrew’s grandmother? Why on earth did fate have been so playful and she was redirected to this man? This man, who had helped her not to be caught by Ashley. How ironic could this situation be in a short period of time?

Suddenly, she believed that what comes around goes around. She felt that because she had saved the old woman and she had encountered this man. What a small world it could be!

“I am sure that Andrew is very worried after he heard his grandmother had an accident.”

The door suddenly opened where the woman came inside along with Andrew and Andy from behind.