All Too Late

“Benjamin isn’t just anyone else. He’s the man who saved my life,” stated Kathleen as a look of utmost sorrow formed on her face. Samuel felt that this was a rather ridiculous line of reasoning. “I’ll leave since you don’t want to see me,” declared Samuel calmly as he shot a long and meaningful glance at her before he turned to leave. Kathleen felt utterly helpless at that moment. At the rate things were going, she felt like she had no choice but to donate her bone marrow to Nicolette, but at the same time, she couldn’t fathom how someone could turn out to be that greedy. To be fair, Kathleen knew that she was being greedy herself. She wanted the opportunity to stay by Samuel’s side and fervently hoped that he would notice her and fall in love with her. When it came down to it, she realized that she paled in comparison to even a moth that dove straight into a flame. This was because the flame that represented Samuel didn’t burn for her in the first place. Forget it… I’m exhausted. We should just finalize the divorce earlier. I can’t wait to leave this place. I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt because of me… With that, Kathleen took a moment and calmed herself down before she slipped her shoes on and padded out of the sick room. She wanted to drop by to check in on how Benjamin was doing. Just as she arrived at the entrance to his room, she saw Gemma seated diligently on a chair placed right outside. She walked over and asked, “Didn’t you go home, Gem?” Gemma’s eyes were swollen red as she turned to face Kathleen and shook her head vigorously. Kathleen was worried and asked, “How can you continue on like this? You need to take good care of yourself at a time like this. After staying up through the night, you should head home to get a good rest.” “Don’t bother persuading me, Kathleen. I won’t go. I’ll never leave Benjamin’s side,” declared Gemma in a raspy voice. Kathleen pursed her lips as she replied, “Even so, this isn’t the way to go. You haven’t been eating or resting sufficiently. How can your body continue to go through such torture?” “I’m afraid, Kathleen!” exclaimed Gemma as she wrapped her arms around herself to seek some measure of comfort. She added, “I’m afraid that he won’t be around anymore by the time I wake up, just like what happened with my mom and dad. They said that they were going on duty, but they ultimately never returned!” “That won’t happen, Gemma. Benjamin will be fine. I promise you that,” replied Kathleen soothingly as she sat down gently beside her and wrapped her in a warm embrace. “I’ve already lost both my parents, Kathleen. I can’t afford to lose my brother as well. What you don’t know is that my life was a living hell back then when I had just gotten adopted. I missed my parents, my brother, and you as well. I survived through that hell and finally got the chance to make contact with Benjamin. He’s the last remnant of a family that I have,” wailed Gemma in her raspy voice which was punctuated by the occasional sniffle. Kathleen didn’t know how to respond. Gemma blew her nose and continued, “Benjamin and I aren’t as fortunate as you. Old Mrs. Macari seems to like you so much! You’re basically living in paradise! Although Benjamin and I may not be living in a literal hell, we do look upon you sometimes with the occasional tinge of jealousy. If something were to happen to him, I would truly be left utterly alone in this world.” “Nothing will happen to Benjamin, Gemma! I’ll stay by your side and wait till he regains consciousness,” promised Kathleen as she gripped Gemma’s hands reassuringly. “Kathleen…” wailed Gemma as she dove right into Kathleen’s embrace and began sobbing earnestly. Despite her best efforts, Gemma ultimately couldn’t hold her emotions at bay anymore and let it all out. Kathleen patted her lightly on the back and consoled her. “I’ll stay by your side and wait with you until he wakes up. Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid.” Gemma grunted and nodded her head in acknowledgment. Just like that, the pair continued to sit on the chairs, and the silence continued for some time. Kathleen was about to offer to get some food for Gemma when she suddenly saw Wynnie making her way over hurriedly. “Mom,” greeted Kathleen awkwardly. Why is Wynnie here? “I went over to your place to look for you but saw that both you and Samuel weren’t around. Later on, Maria told me that you were hospitalized. What happened to you? Are you feeling discomfort anywhere?” asked Wynnie worriedly. “I’m fine, Mom,” replied Kathleen as she gently shook her head. She added, “Sorry for the wasted trip you made.” “What’s there to apologize for? You should have told us the second you got hospitalized! It’s such a huge matter! You’ll only make us more worried and hurt by hiding it from us like this,” admonished Wynnie with a frown. “Sorry…” repeated Kathleen as she lowered her head in shame to look at her feet. Although she acted that way, she knew that Wynnie truly was worried for her. At that point, Gemma suddenly interjected and asked in surprise, “Kathleen, is this your Mom?” Kathleen regained her senses and replied, “Let me introduce you. Gemma, this is my mother-in-law, Wynnie. Mom, this is my good friend, Gemma. Her brother is the one who saved my life.” Wynnie was taken aback by this revelation and repeated, “The one who saved your life?” Kathleen hesitated for a moment but eventually shared the details of the incident with Wynnie. She knew that there was no way she could keep such a huge and monumental incident under wraps for long. Once Wynnie had taken in the torrent of new information, her eyes were cold as she asked, “You’re saying that someone wanted to kill you?” Kathleen only nodded in agreement. “I know what to do now. Don’t worry, I’ll follow up on this matter,” replied Wynnie firmly. Not only was she a lawyer, but she also knew she had to take charge of this matter since Kathleen was her daughter-in-law, after all. Wynnie turned to face Gemma and decisively said, “Thank you, Gemma, for your brother’s efforts to save Kathleen. It’s not ideal for you to stay here all night to keep an eye on him as well. Why don’t you head home to rest for now? I’ll arrange for someone to come over to look after him in the meantime. I’ll let you know immediately if anything crops up.” However, Gemma was still unwilling to leave and tried to protest. “But…” “Don’t worry, Gemma,” repeated Wynnie. She had spoken firmly and was extremely persuasive in her tone. Finally, Gemma gave in and nodded as she replied, “All right then.” With that, she took her leave and headed back first. Wynnie eyed Kathleen for a moment before she asked, “Why are you here alone? Where’s Samuel?” Kathleen opened her mouth to speak but ultimately didn’t know what to say. Wynnie took this in and snorted derisively before she turned and headed straight for the elevator. “Mom!” yelled Kathleen as she chased after her. However, Wynnie had already gotten in the elevator and was headed up. Kathleen started to shake and had goosebumps at the thought of what was about to happen next. She knew that Wynnie would not speak too kindly to Nicolette the second she arrived at where Nicolette and Samuel were. Furthermore, Samuel would assume that Wynnie was able to find him because she had told on him. For her part, Wynnie had long known which room Nicolette was recuperating in. After all, she had a reputation to maintain in Jadeborough, and she had been around for long enough to have eyes and ears everywhere. She was about to barge in when she heard Nicolette speak. The latter said, “Samuel, tell me the truth! Is Kathleen the one you mentioned that has a matching bone marrow type with me?” “Yes, it’s her,” replied Samuel coldly. Nicolette sounded aggrieved as she asked, “So she’s not willing to donate her bone marrow to me?” “I’ll persuade her,” replied Samuel coldly. “How can she be this selfish, Samuel?” whined Nicolette as she burst pitifully into tears. She continued, “In the first place, we were separated from one another all because of her. The three full years that she has had with you were all stolen from me! Now that my life is dwindling to an end, all I want is for her to return me that period of stolen time! I want those three years back from her.” Samuel’s face was dark yet mysterious as he replied, “I’ll find a way to get her to agree.” Nicolette sobbed and continued, “She married you because she had designs on the Macari family’s wealth, Samuel! I can understand that since she doesn’t have parents at all. She would have felt more secure with a sizeable fortune by her side. We can always give her more money, or perhaps, I can even kneel and beg her if she’s still not satisfied!” “Why the hell would you have to kneel before her?” asked Samuel with a tinge of anger. Nicolette’s eyes darkened in response, but her voice remained unsteady as she countered, “Is she refusing to donate her bone marrow because she can’t bear to leave you, Samuel?” Samuel didn’t respond to her statement, and his face remained icy cold. “Samuel, if all else fails, why don’t you just go along with what she wants? Pretend not to divorce her so that she’ll willingly donate her bone marrow. After some time, you can try to find another way to get a divorce and get rid of her. What do you think? I’m sure you’ll find a way once you put your mind to it,” proposed Nicolette as she shot him a long and meaningful look. However, Samuel coolly declared, “We don’t have to go through all that trouble. Three days. I’ll make sure she willingly donates the marrow to you within three days.”