<.Avalocare Private Hospital.>
What had gone wrong?
The thought crossed Lariette's mind as she lay weakly on a hospital bed with her phone pressed on her left ear, receiving an earful of complaints from her mother, Samantha.
"Why must you add to our stress, Lariette? Don't you know we're already so busy with Phanie's wedding? Your mom here only asks for one thing. Get married to Damien before Phanie's nuptials. Is it that hard to do it?"
Lariette, a formal name.
Phanie, a nickname uttered with endearment for Stephanie.
Ironically, the biological daughter received no nickname nor was spoken to affectionately. The tenderness was reserved only for the adopted daughter.
Or, to be exact, to the fake daughter that had been occupying the seat of the biological one due to an unfortunate switch at birth.
"M-mom..." Lariette's shaky voice helplessly called Samantha, "Don't you hear me? Damien... he cheated on me. You still want me to marry him?"
This was freaking ridiculous!
How could her mother insist on that?!
Samantha's soft yet strained voice echoed again from the end of the line. None of her words soothed Lariette's troubled feelings.
"Have you done something to make him cheat? Did you neglect him nowadays? Damien is the best man for you, Lariette. Didn't you guys click after Phanie introduced him to you?"
"But..."
Samantha quickly cut Lariette off. She deliberately softened her voice more, trying to get the young lady—her birth daughter—to concede.
"Apologize to Damien and get your marriage registered by next week. Lariette, you won't disappoint your mom, right? You're always a good daughter, aren't you?"
Robbing from her speech, Lariette quietly bit her lower lip, unintentionally biting a strand of her chocolate brown hair. She didn't want Samantha to hear even a sob from her.
Tears pooled in her sapphire blue eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks.
There was a cut on the right corner of Lariette's lips, one of the physical evidence of the injuries she was suffering now.
Her mother's misdirected disappointment numbed her heart with frost before the cold traveled to her entire body, dulling the throbbing pain caused by the accident she got herself into mere hours ago.
The misfortune was bad enough for her to receive a blood transfusion. Her head suffered from bleeding. Thankfully, she didn't have any broken limbs.
Lariette didn't know what had gone wrong today.
First, she discovered her boyfriend of two years cheated on her, catching him in the act.
Second, she was caught in an accident on her way to her friend's cafe, hoping to escape the heartbreaking betrayal.
Third... her mother continued to push her to marry the cheating scumbag just to appease her beloved fake daughter!
Taking a deep breath, Lariette forced herself to speak despite her head dizzying "Mom... I'm in the hospital. Aren't you aware of it?"
Lariette's best friend, Madeline was the only one by her side when she woke up two hours ago. The latter had informed the Elsher family about her being hospitalized but, no one came.
If Lariette hadn't called Samantha, she believed she wouldn't ever get to talk to her mother today.
After all... her return to the Elsher family was not welcomed. They viewed her as a threat to their cherished Stephanie.
"Oh... Madeline said you're fine. You're awake now, aren't you?"
Samantha quickly regained her composure. She was tongue-tied for a moment after Lariette questioned her knowledge of the young lady's hospitalization.
"I am awake, but..."
Once again Samantha cut Lariette off, not giving the latter a chance to speak.
"Lariette, my daughter, stay there for a night. Well, take some time to calm down before you apologize to Damien. Bring him for our family dinner next week. We need to finalize your marriage quickly."
"...you still want me to marry him?"
"Y-yes! Your dad and I will throw an extravagant wedding for you later. Just get married to Damien first, okay? People will talk if you're still unmarried at Phanie's wedding. They'll think you want to steal Matthias from her."
Such a bullshit excuse!
Lariette felt her head throbbing more than before. She knew how ridiculous everything was from the beginning but, her voice was drowned by Samantha's pleas and Stephanie's cries.
The Elsher family had a marriage agreement with the Silvera family. If not for the baby switching right after Lariette's birth, she would be the one marrying Matthias.
Lariette's return almost ten years ago threatened Stephanie's spot as Matthias' betrothed.
But, no change occurred because the Elsher family favored the child they had been raising for decades more than their recently discovered biological child.
Exhaling a sigh, Lariette still tried to reason with Samantha, "Mom... I won't ever take Matthias from Phanie. You know that. This is..."
Samantha's sobbing traveled from the end of the line, signaling trouble to Lariette.
"Lariette, you really want your mom to die from stress, huh? You know how important Phanie's wedding is. You can't only think of yourself. It's unfair for Phanie."
Lariette closed her eyes, her remaining strength depleting. Droplets of tears finally streamed down her cheeks. Her body shivered in suppressed anger and disappointment.
"...what about me? This is unfair for me too, Mom."
Lariette's reply silenced Samantha but, it didn't last long. The older lady was already fixated on her beliefs.
"Get more rest at the hospital. Find someone else if you don't want Damien. Just make sure you're married before the wedding."
"MOM!"
"Don't bother me. I'm busy."
Tut!
Frozen in surprise, the lights inside the private ward were reflected in Lariette's glossy eyes. The frostiness in Samantha's voice before she abruptly hung up snapped the remaining string of hope in her heart.
"Why... WHY?!"
Tossing the phone away, Lariette crouched pitifully on the hospital bed. Her cries swallowed the silence of the room. More tears dropped from her eyes, soaking into the plain bedsheet.
"I'm your daughter too! Just... why?"
Lariette repeatedly smacked her chest hard, eager to grab her wounded heart and throw it away just so she could forget all these feelings.
"L-Lari!"
A hurried footsteps followed the exclamation. Lariette froze when a familiar warm embrace enveloped her.
Instead of her mother or any of her family members, the warmth came from her dear friend – someone with no blood relation.
Choking on her sob, Lariette whispered, "Maddie... I've had enough..."
"Yes, Lari... Hush, I'm here. I'm here, Lari."
Pursing her lips, Lariette buried her heart into the crook of Madeline's neck. She quietly sought her friend's comforting warmth, hoping to mend her battered heart.
Lariette remained in Madeline's embrace as she explained her heartbreaking conversation with Samantha earlier.
"WHAT? Marry that dirtbag or find another man?!"
Exasperated by Lariette's story, Madeline yelled in anger. She didn't expect Samantha could be that freaking delusional.
"Maddie... I've had enough... Really..."
Pulling herself away from Madeline, Lariette wiped her teary face. Her bloodshot eyes flared with a fiery determination, a contrast to her pale face.
"What do you wanna do, Lari? I'll help you!" Madeline nodded a few times, eagerly showing her solid support.
"I'm done playing nice. Screw them! I'll rebel..." Lariette gritted her teeth, her entire body still quivering in anger, "Maddie, find me a husband. By this week!"
"...huh? A... husband?"
"Yes. They want me to bring home a husband, right? Fine! I'll show them!"
Madeline was surprised by Lariette's uncanny request while the latter was preoccupied with the new plan flashing in her mind.
None of the ladies noticed someone was quietly watching their interaction outside the private ward.
A pair of emerald green eyes peeked inside the ward through the tiny gap between the door and the panel. Madeline didn't close it properly as she was surprised to see Lariette crying earlier.
'Should I appear now?'
Pursing his lips, the man tore his eyes away from the gap before looking at his left arm. His gaze fell on the small gauze taped on the inside part of his elbow – the place where his blood was drawn earlier.
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A/N:
Welcome to my seventh book! I hope you'll enjoy this story as well :)
Check the comment to see the characters! I'll upload them once I get the image feature after being contracted.