“They won't attack you. They have a personal vendetta against me and not you. Just stay away from me.” Celine's tone was icy, and Erickson knew that there was no room for argument.
He glanced as she walked away, her hips swaying in her gown. It was hard not to follow her, but he knew that she needed her space.
Erickson looked around and realized that they were in an abandoned alleyway. He knew that it was not safe to be there, especially after the attack they had just faced.
He quickly jogged after Celine and caught up with her. “Let me take you home. It's not safe for you to be alone.”
Celine stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. “I'm not alone. I have my father.”
Erickson raised an eyebrow. “Your father? I thought you were raised by a single mother. I would like to meet the man that raised a tough girl.” he teased expecting a smile or blush but she pulled him off.
Celine's expression turned cold. “Don't mock me.”
Erickson scoffed. “Are you sure you would be alright? Those men might attack again. How about we file a case?”
Celine sighed. “Look, I don't have time for this. I need to go check on my mother.”
Erickson nodded. “I'll go with you. Those men might attack again.”
Celine looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Fine, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about whatever you saw here”
Erickson hesitated for a moment before nodding. He knew that Celine had her reasons for not wanting the men in black to be arrested, but he couldn't help but feel angry at those men for hurting poor Celine.
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Celine finally spoke up. “Thank you for helping me back there.”
Erickson shrugged. “It's no problem. I just don't want to see anyone get hurt.”
Celine nodded. “I know, but you could have been hurt too.”
Erickson grinned. “I can handle myself. I'm not some damsel in distress.”
Celine rolled her eyes. “I never said you were.”
They finally arrived at the hospital, and Celine led the way to her mother's room. She opened the door and walked in, and Erickson followed her.
Celine took a deep breath and sat down on the chair beside her mother's hospital bed. Her mother had been in a coma for some days now, and she had been visiting her every day, hoping for a sign that she was getting better.
"Mom, I have to tell you something," she said, taking her mother's hand in hers. "I found my biological father."
She paused, waiting for a response, but her mother remained motionless. Celine sighed and continued.
"I always knew something was missing in my life. I always felt like a part of me was missing, and I never knew what it was. But when I found my father, everything started to make sense. When I found my biological father, it was like a piece of the puzzle fell into place. I now understand the reason we were on an island. But I won't live my life as you did, I would fight till the very end."
Erickson, who was standing behind her, put his hand on her shoulder, offering her support. She leaned into him, feeling his warmth.
"I know you're not going to wake up, Mom, but I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know that I found him, and I'm going to live in his house. I don't know what's going to happen, but I just wanted to tell you."
Celine's voice broke as she spoke, and tears filled her eyes. She believes her mother would wake up one day and she might get to hear her voice again.
Erickson pulled her into a hug, and she sobbed into his chest. She knew that he was the only one who truly understood what she was going through. “My brother,” Celine said inwardly accepting the fact.
Unknown to Erickson, he was also her step-brother. After Celine found out that he was her stepbrother, she couldn't stop herself from loving him even more. He was her rock, her support, and her best friend.
As Celine sobbed, she couldn't help but feel grateful to him. A sentiment of guilt made her pause, Erickson deserves to know the truth but she was damn scared.
Eventually, Celine pulled away from him and wiped away her tears. She stood up and looked at her mother, Bianca one last time before leaving the room.
"I love you, Mom," she whispered before walking out of the room with Erickson by her side.
Celine and Erickson were about to leave the hospital room when something caught their attention. It was a slight movement from Celine's mother, who had been in a coma.
At first, Celine thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but when she looked back at her mother, she saw that her mother's finger had twitched. A tear of joy fell.
"Wait," Celine whispered to Erickson, and they both moved closer to the bed.
Celine held her breath as she watched her mother's hand, waiting for another movement. But there was nothing.
"C'mon, let's go," Erickson said, putting his arm around her shoulders.
Celine couldn't leave. She felt like her mother was trying to tell her something, and she couldn't just walk away.
She leaned in closer to her mother and whispered, "Mom, can you hear me? Can you move your finger again?"
For a moment, there was nothing. Celine's mouth widened, and her mother's finger twitched once more.
Celine's heart raced as she looked at her mother, “She moved her finger. Erickson…” Celine screamed jumping with her finger pointed at Bianca's finger. Bianca remained still as if nothing had happened.
Erickson looked at her with his head tilted, "Celine, we should go now. She'll be okay."
Celine couldn't shake the feeling that her mother was trying to communicate with her. She knew that it was probably just a reflex, but she couldn't help feeling hopeful.
"Okay, let's go," she said, finally giving in. As she walked towards the door, she looked back at her mother and whispered, "I love you, Mom."
As they left the room, Celine couldn't stop thinking about her mother's finger twitching. It gave her a glimmer of hope that her mother might wake up from the coma soon.