Chapter three

"There were burn marks on her face and arms. We can do a simple graft to heal her skin but that can take years." The doctor uttered explaining the situation to the man in front of him. 

"So, what will be your recommendation doc?" He asked, his tone was devoid of emotion.

"You know your wife, Mr. Ramirez. As her guardian, do you consent that we do plastic surgery with her?" the physician asked.

Luke sighed. "Kung iyan ang magpapakalma kay Ruby once she wakes up then I think that would be the best choice." He replied. His wife regards beauty as the only precious thing in the world, she is selfish and borderline narcissistic, kung makikita ni Ruby ang damages ng aksidente sa kanyang katawan Luke can already anticipate how this would impact her permanently. Her fragile state of mind would be intolerable, so he better anticipate it ahead of time. He has no patience to listen to her complaints and self-loathing.

His mind was set on what options to take after that conversation with the surgeon, surely that’s the best option to keep his peace. Luke clasped his hands as he trailed a path heading to another room. He stared at his friend and business partner Martin Lopez.

"Why are you together with my wife Martin? Ano ang ginagawa ninyo ni Ruby behind my back?" He whispered as he watched his friend's chest go up and down with the aid of the mechanical ventilator.

For a split second, he thought of messing up his mechanical vent and making him suffer for the betrayal he was doing with his family. He exhaled, as he tried to maintain a rational mind. He turned around and stepped away from the man whom he trusted. He needs to calm down and settle his thoughts.

"They are not worth staining my hands with their blood," he whispered. 

He went back to his wife's hospital bed and stared at Ruby for some time. Her face was covered with bandages. 

If he was being honest, he could have wanted his wife to die from that accident, to give him peace once and for all. He tried, he did try to make her happy, but he can't give happiness to someone who can't find it themselves or does not know what happiness means.  

"Your will to survive is admirable Ruby, you are clinging too tightly. After all, you have put me through, you dare to come back alive" he whispered as his knuckles tightened.  

Luke breathed. "I will never forgive you, Ruby, if you want to put my life in a living hell, I will do the same for you!" He uttered once again. "You and I together, wife" he added sarcastically.

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

Chloe opened her eyes one morning and realized she was feeling a little better, but her entire body was massively swelling. Her whole face was full of bandages while her extremities were contained. She has a cast on her right leg while another cast was placed on her left arm. She has not uttered a word ever since the incident happened, speaking seems to be very difficult for her. 

She survived.  The realization hit her hard.

She roamed her eyes around and noticed the white-painted ceilings and walls, and she quickly realized she was in the hospital. Kung ilang araw na siyang nandun is something she couldn’t confirm, she was in and out of consciousness and it was hard to keep track. She wondered kung alam na nang ama niya ang nangyari, she had not seen him in the hospital so far. 

Chloe recalled the tragedy that fell on her, the images flashed in her mind of the ordeal that she went through recently and the hair at the back of her neck started to tingle. Hot tears stream down her face nang hindi na niya mapigilan ang sarili, how can people be so cruel? How can her stepmother be wicked? 

A nurse went in and checked her vitals when she noticed that Chloe was awake and crying.

"Oh, my dear, it must have been difficult for you. I'm sorry. You are okay now. Don't worry about anything. We are here to take care of you." The nurse assured her. 

Chloe attempted to respond but tanging ungol ang lumabas sa kanyang bibig. 

"Take it easy with your voice, the vocal cords are temporarily damaged because of the toxic smoke you inhaled but you will be fine. I promise." The nurse uttered again soothing her mental state.

The kind nurse gently wiped her tears away and smiled warmly at her.

Hindi mapigilan ni Chloe na magtaka kung bakit foreigner ang nag aalaga sa kanya sa ospital na iyon and it didn't take long for that confusion to be cleared, her thoughts were confirmed when the resident doctor went in and made the daily rounds.

Wala siya sa Pilipinas! “How did I get here?” She thought to herself. Is she being kidnapped again?

Fear kicked in and it made her heart rate increase, prompting a warning sound on her monitor. The doctor was quick to aid her and induced a calming med. Soon enough, she felt her eyelids become heavy. Muli na namang nagparaya si Chloe as sleep came over her completely. 

"Is she okay?" Luke asked when he was summoned by the physician attending to Ruby’s needs.

"Yes, we just have to put her to sleep," she was agitated earlier. Something must have triggered her. The surgery on her skin and face is successful, though the recovery period can take months to fully heal. Her broken legs and arms showed good signs of recuperation as well. We are monitoring her progress all the time and we’ll keep you posted for anything” He explained.

Luke nodded, looking bored as ever, he was not fully interested in the development of his wife. He groaned inwardly. He missed his daughter so much, Zoie. She's only three years old but his daughter already acts like a fine young lady. He could have wanted to bring her to America with them, but she might have questions about what happened to her mom, and he has no heart to lie to Zoie, much more about how Ruby would react when she sees their daughter. He scoffed, at ngayon, dahil sa sitwasyong ito mukhang matatagalan pa na makabalik sila ng bansa. He breathed a sigh of irritation, why does he have to attend to Ruby's needs throughout her recovery? He wanted to just leave her. He exhaled again wanting to put some space between him and his cheating wife.

After informing him of her medical treatment, he finally bid goodbye to the physician and went out of the hospital to get some air. Good thing his business deals in America are keeping him company. He probably needs to spend more time securing their US branch before he can go back sa Pilipinas. He needed a diversion, he could not just be on standby and wait for Ruby to gain consciousness, her therapy would start soon, and depending on her physical strength they could stay here for as long as 6 months. He wanted to roll his eyes. It's been a month now since the accident and he's already on the verge of packing his stuff and going home.

"You gave nothing but trouble Ruby." He whispered in the wind. 

Chloe started her early ambulatory just to stretch her stiffened muscles. Her legs are slowly healing ngunit malaki din ang naitutulong ng therapy niya. She has no idea still who's financing her treatment or maybe it's her dad, it was just odd that she had not heard from him. Chloe can now slowly produce some sounds and say one-word responses but it's still painful for her to articulate her words in full sentences. Cleaning and adding new bandages to her face has been part of her daily routine. She knows the burn on her face must have been serious. She inhaled. She must find a way to restore it in the future, but that's not her priority right now. 

She wondered if reports had been made about the attempted murder that Lucille committed against her and of course the couple that was with her during that night. Her mind went on kung anong nangyari sa magkasintahan na iyon. There was a part of her that felt guilty that she dragged them to her problems and ended up in that heartbreaking accident.

"I hope both are okay..." she silently said.

She wanted to hear some news back home, to gain updates she can't deny that she feels isolated here, she can't speak yet and she doesn't know anyone. Her frustration is piling na para bang she's operating blindly, who is helping her in the background and where's his father in all this? 

In one of her therapy sessions, she gained knowledge that it's been running for more than two months since her hospitalization. Chloe felt much stronger, that's for sure, as her strength slowly came back, her motivation increased. She is also very religious in adhering to her physical therapy schedule. She must; there's still a pending battle she needs to win against Lucille.

Medyo nawawala na rin ang pamamaga ng kanyang mukha. She's no longer feeling the tightening of her skin around her cheek. The pain has slowly subsided too.

What she's hoping to fully recover next is her voice. But even that she's allowing time to do its work and just patiently waits for it to be better.