CHAPTER 19

"I left you in charge of my daughter. What was so important that you had to leave her in the house alone?" Mrs. Smith asked as soon as I arrived at the hospital. I could understand her pain. It was not easy being a mum. Seeing your child in this situation as a mum is disheartening.
       Anna was battling with her life. Nanny Mai had returned home earlier only to find Anna lying on the floor.
       What caused her to fall? She was okay when I left the house. Maybe I shouldn't have left the house? I joined my hands together and said a word of prayer for her.
       "Aunt," I called out calmly. "I'm sorry. I just needed to........"
       "Needed to what? Was that thing more important than my child? The one time I trusted you, you broke my trust."
       "Aunt,"
       "If anything should happen to my baby, I won't forgive you."
       "Mrs. Smith," the doctor opened Anna's operation room and removed his nose mask, then walked up to Mrs. Smith. Mr. Smith stood at the side with Liam. Diana was nowhere to be seen.
       "Yes, doctor?" Mrs. Smith answered after a long silence. Her heart was beating loudly. Her eyes were already filled with tears.
       "I'm sorry."
       "No....please tell me that my daughter is alright. She will come home with me today, won't she?"
       "My dear," Mrs. Smith hugged her from behind. "Let the doctor speak."
       "No, Leo. He says he's sorry. Why is he sorry? My daughter is ok. There's no need to be sorry for that."
       "Mrs. Smith, we tried our best. She won't make it."
       "What do you mean, doctor?" Liam asked worriedly.
       "She's awake now. Liam, your sister wasn't taking her medicine."
       "How's that possible? Diana's been giving her medicine." I panicked.
       "Anna,"
       "I want to see my daughter." Mrs. Smith pushed the doctor to the side and stormed into Anna's room. Anna was lying on the bed with her favorite teddy close to her. She was smiling and singing one of Hillsong's songs. Mrs. Smith ran up to her and kissed her on the cheek.
       "What's wrong, momma?" Anna asked innocently. She winked at me and smiled.
       "It's nothing, dear. We are going home together. You wanted to get a gift for Grandma on her birthday. We'll go shopping together."
       "Hannah will go shopping with you. She's very good at selecting beautiful things." Anna held her brother's hand. She was the bravest little girl ever. She didn't want her family to see her fear. She carried her Teddy and gave it to Liam. "Give it to my future niece."
       "Niece? When did you grow so big? I wasn't much of a good brother to you. I'm sorry."
       "You're the best brother ever. If I ever return, I'll ask God to make you my brother again."
       "Silly kid." They chatted for a long while. Mr. Smith signaled to me to come outside. I tiptoed outside so Mrs. Smith won't notice me.
       When I got out, I closed the door and faced him. "Mr. Smith, you called for me." I shrieked. I was feeling scared. Was he upset with me? Why has he called me? I shouldn't have been so focused on Diana. My relationship was suffering and it was because of me. All this while I blamed Diana but I also had a part to play.
       When I should have spent time with my husband, I was trying to prove Diana guilty. I gulped the glass of water dropped on the receptionist's table. "This is the end," I murmured.
       "Hannah,"
       "Sir, I'm very sorry. I made a very big mistake by leaving Anna at home alone. Mr. Smith,"
       "Your husband needs you more now."
       "Huh?" Not what I was expecting to hear from him. I looked up again to be sure was talking to the right person. "Mr. Smith, it's about Diana."
       "Liam's ex-girlfriend?"
       "I've been so busy trying to find out the truth about her that, I forgot Anna."
       "It's okay. I don't care what kind of beef you have with Diana, but when you are left in charge of someone, make sure to take care of that person as your child."
       "Yes, sir."
       We paced around the hospital, it had been 2hrs since Mrs. Smith went in to see her daughter. She had not come out since then.
       I badly wanted to hug Liam and tell him everything will be alright, but how could I? I was the one who caused all this. If I hadn't left her alone for a second, maybe this won't have happened. Why was everything happening so fast as if someone was watching my every move like a movie? Everything including the clues seemed like a perfect plan. What was their motive? To ruin my marriage or destroy The Smith Family? I paced around the corridor, trying to figure out who the mastermind could be. I will face whatever punishment Mrs. Smith gives to me no matter what.
       Anna's room door opened. Mrs. Smith and Anna walked out of the room holding hands. They smiled at each other and walked past us. Mr. Smith called the doctor and whispered something into his ears.
       "Let's go." Liam grabbed my arm.
       "Leave me! It hurts." I sobbed.
       "Does it? This is exactly how I feel whenever I see my sister in pain. You are the most foolish and irresponsible person I've ever met. How could you leave a small child whom you knew wasn't doing too well, at home by herself? If you knew you wouldn't be able to take care of her, why did you agree to it?"
       "It's nothing like that. I'm very sorry."
       "Get in the car."
       "Brother, Hannah didn't do anything." Anna defended me when we entered the car. "I told her to leave so that I could take care of myself."
       "Anna, why do you always think everyone is as innocent as you?" Mrs. Smith asked. Even if she knew I was innocent, she still wouldn't have taken my side.
       We drove around for 4 hours. Mrs. Smith and her children went shopping. She had specifically asked Liam to not bring me along. I waited in the car while they went shopping and to the movie theater.
       Liam drove Anna to the museum and his office. It was a fun-filled day for them. I watched Anna and Liam play arm wrestling through the window of the car. Anna was going tonight. Yes. I overheard the conversation that transpired between Mr. Smith and the doctor. Anna's heart was already too weak. There was no cure for her. Tears rolled down my eyes as I admired the bond they shared.
       At 9 pm, they all entered the car and we drove home peacefully. Anna slept in the back seat. She had her head on my lap. Mrs. Smith fumed from where she sat. She couldn't say anything because she prioritized her daughter's happiness over her hatred for me.
       When we got home, no one said anything. We walked into our separate rooms. I carried Anna and tucked her into bed. Before I could leave, Anna held my hand and smiled slowly. Her eyes were filled with tears. I sat by her left and hugged her. She was trying to be brave in front of her family but in reality, she feared death. I mean, who wants to die? Even a person at the point of suicide changes his mind at the last moment.
       "I love you, Hannah." She confessed.
       "I love you more, baby. Don't cry or Aunt Hannah will also cry."
       "I'm scared." My heart sank deep at that statement. How was I going to sympathize with her when I couldn't even stop my tears from flowing?
       "No, you ain't. You are the bravest little princess I've ever met. You know, I envy you at times."
       "Why?"
       "You have everything. You have a beautiful family. You have loving parents, a caring brother, beautiful friends, wonderful toys, and more."
       "You can have everything now."
       "Hey, do you want Liam to get rid of me? That I'm still in this house is because of his dad."
       "Liam didn't rape Rosie, my dad did."
       "What? Anna, how do you know this?" I asked, my heartbeat was already out of the usual. That's why Liam and his dad never got along.
       "Dad loved Rosie a lot. She was his secretary and they were having a secret relationship. Rosie was only after fame and my dad's money. She knew she wouldn't be able to get my dad for herself because he was married or my brother so she set my dad up. That day she invited him over and spiked his drink. After my dad drank it, Rosie's plan came into action."
       "So how did Liam get involved?"
       "When Liam found out about her plan it was already too late. The only option was to sneak Dad out and lie on the bed with Rosie."
       "But I don't get it. The sex video on the internet has Liam's face."
       "Liam changed Dad's face in the video to his. If dad didn't cheat on mum, Rosie wouldn't have done that and you and Liam might have never crossed parts."
       "I can't believe I was friends with Rosie the whole time and I didn't know this."
       "Han... Hannah." Anna called out while holding her chest.
       "Baby, what's wrong? I'll go call someone." I panicked.
       "No. Please don't leave me."
       "I'll be right back."
       "I don't want to die." She cried profusely while holding her chest. "I don't want to leave now. I deserve to grow up, don't I?"
       "Yes. Nothing will happen to you." I hugged her tightly not knowing what else to do.
       "I love you, Hannah. Tell brother I love him."
       "You'll tell him yourself. We'll go downstairs together and tell him that. We'll be together always." I wiped off the tears in my eyes with the back of my palm. "Anna...Anna baby." She wasn't breathing again. Her body had suddenly gotten cold. I pulled her back a little and she fell. I got up from the bed still staring at her lifeless body. Is this what death was like? Her eyes were open but she wasn't blinking, her mouth was closed and it would remain that way forever. That smile, the one everyone admired was gone forever. Why did it have to be a little child? Couldn't it have been an adult who had already achieved a lot?
       I staggered out of the room in tears. Mrs. Smith was sitting downstairs with Liam. They were discussing about Anna. They seemed pretty happy. I couldn't bring myself to tell her.
       I walked back into my room and lay on the bed with my face down and my pillow over my ears. I could still hear her sweet innocent voice in my ears. I shut my eyes. After 1hour of a sleepless night, I finally slept.