Chapter 6: Monsters

Arissa looked at the contact, bewildered. There is no identity concerning her husband, so what if it’s some old hag she has to get married to? No information!? But still, "A pen." Arissa demanded as she outstretched her hand, nd still looking at the contract, "I sign this contract the moment you let my doctor walk into this door," Arissa said sternly, looking at the monsters before her. "Sure," Mr. Lincoln said dryly as he stared at the door. Arissa moved to her sister’s side and knelt at her side. Adhashave opened her eyes already, but she said nothing and only looked at Arissa like she hadn’t seen her before. "What happened to her?" she asked, stroking her sister’s hair. How her sister looks at her right now is strange, as if she does not know her. "I said, what happened to her?!" she screamed at her parents when they said nothing, acting as if they had heard her. Her father breathed out while her mother stepped back a bit. Arissa’s eyes immediately snapped to the syringes and the liquids on the table. "Are those the cause?" Arissa asked her parents calmly as she felt her sister’s body tremble when she screamed earlier. She looked at her sister with tears. Her cheerful and energetic sister is just on the floor looking at her as if she were unrecognizable. "We only wanted her not to do anything stupid," Mr. Lincoln said rightfully, and moved to the syringes on the table and picked up one of them. "Alfred, that’s enough. Arissa already agreed to save the company," Laura told her husband when she understood what he was about to do. Mr. Lincoln chuckled grimly before keeping the syringe back on the table, "If I inject her today, she would have only two days left to live," he said, directly looking at Arissa. "Now sign the contract..." he ordered Arissa sternly as he crooked to her position. He is seriously tired of waiting for whatever doctor is about to come, and he is losing his patience already. Arissa looked at her father as her hand itched to slap him, and before she could reptohtohimm, Mr. Adams walked in with her doctor beside him. "Mr. Lincoln," her doctor said respectfully with a slight bow to her parents as she just stood behind them because of how stiff the atmosphere was. "Arissa," he said as he walked to her side, but before she could, Father stretched his hand, stopping him from moving further. "Help me, Adams," Arissa said to Mr. Adams as she tried to lift Adele from the floor. "Not so fast, Arissa, " her father said with a face red from anger. Arissa’s gaze lowered back to her sister’s face,e that is pale white, before speaking up, "Give me the contract, Mother," she screamed at her mother with a crimson-to-red face filled with anger. Her mother slowly brought the contract and kept it before her with a pen. Her doctor was the only confused person around because even Mr. Adams knows what is happening there. She picked up the pen a, nd with shaking fingers, looked up at her parents from the contract before looking back at the contract and placing her signature on the space below. She took the yield of the paper and threw it away from her. "Can I go with her now?" she asked her father after he picked up the documents from the floor. "Yes, Arissa," Her father said excitedly and turned to his wife, "Let’s go home." Without shame, they walked out of the basement, not caring if anyone died. "Help me, please," Arissa said with a broken voice back to Mr. Adams as he just stood there looking at her on the floor, crying. Mr. Adams walked to her and scooped Adele in his arms while her doctor held her up before they walked out of the basement and into the car as Mr. Adams drove away to the hospital. Arissa watched her face in the bathroom before walking out of it with confidence again as she masked her face with her cold look. She went back to the window of her sister’s ward and watched the doctors examine her. She can’t go inside, for she just has to act strong and neglect her choice. She hugged herself, having no one beside her, even. Adams had left back to his employees. Hours later... Her doctor came out of the operating room with the other doctors behind him. Arissa walked up to him, expectations filled in just her look alone. "She is out of danger for now," her doctor said to Arissa in a drained voice as he nodded at his other colleagues to leave while he gave her the not-so-good news. Nurses moved Adele over to the room opposite the operating room, as that would be her new ward. "Why is it 'or now ', Collins?" Arissa asked, taking her eyes off her sister and the nurse, when she saw the look he gave her and how he walked closer to her. Collins swallowed. Arissa might not be able to take this news because he watched how dazed she was while crying in the car. He placed his hand on Arissa’s shoulder and gave her a calming smile."Her baby has to die for us to fully operate on her. The drugs are fully out, but we hope the flushing out process would not disturb her," her doctor explained softly. Arissa felt her legs heavy as she tried persuading herself to stand still and not fall limply on the floor just as her body wanted. "That is all you could do for her?" Arissa asked as she turned to the window and looked at her sister from where she was standing. "Keeping the baby is ours, Arissa. She would surely die alongside the baby if we had kept it. But for now, we just need to pray for her to survive till tomorrow morning. After that, she is out of danger," Mr. Collins said with a heavy breath at the end before taking Arissa’s hand in his. He rubbed both hands soothingly. "You can go in now," he made it easier for her, seeing how she was still looking at the window. Arissa nodded and held his hand casually, "Do you want me to go in with you?" Collins asked, looking at their hand, and he, for the first time, felt another emotion from her other than aloofness. She is disappointed, more at herself. "Yes," Arissa said to him as she forced a smile to her lips.