Chapter 1 In debts

LAYLA

Fear gripped my heart the moment I opened my eyes in a hospital bed. The nurse began checking everything while I tried to remember what might have happened. It took me a few long minutes to remember why I was at the hospital bed, waking up like I was hit by a truck. I wasn't hit by the truck.

After an hour or so, I was sitting in Dr Sheryl clinic. She walked to me with a file on her hands and a container. “Are you sure about this, Layla? These are the healthiest eggs you have in your ovaries. And you are giving them up.” Dr Sheryl was my mother's friend. And she knew all about my problems.

“I need money. So it's okay.” I replied in a low tone. I didn't even have money for the procedure. It was my father who paid so I could get the procedure done. It was all for his precious princess.

“If you can just give me some time, I can get you someone who will pay you more. Your father isn't giving you enough for one egg, let alone, he's demanding 5.” Dr Sheryl was grinding her teeth as she talked about my father.

She had seen my mom suffer for years. Until her body could no longer take it and she just collapsed one day. She was the only family I had. So I had no choice but do everything I could to save my mom.

“I don't have time. It'll be enough for mom's treatments. I'll figure out the rest.” I replied, already feeling sad but I had no choice. Sabina, my step sister, had created fake credit cards under my name and she maxed them all out. Despite having all the luxuries in her feet, she had to do that. And of course, I couldn't report her because my mom would end up on the street. So I could only work extra to pay off. At least, she couldn't take the loan from the company I work with.

I had meds in one hand and the container in the other. I walked out of the hospital. A cab was already waiting for me. I gave instructions to the driver and we drove straight to my father's mansion.

They were having tea at the garden, with the family obgyn present at the scene. They were expecting this. They were expecting me. “I kept my promise. Now please, give me the money.” I spoke, handing the container to the obgyn, along with the proper file that had all the information she needed about my eggs.

The doctor read through the file thoroughly. Then she looked at my father and nodded her head once. My father stood up, cigar in between his lips and he walked toward me, holding a cheque in his hands. He gave me the check.

I took one look at it and my heart dropped. It wasn't the amount they had promised. “That's not what we agreed on. It's too less for 5 healthiest eggs. You can't do this to me. It will barely cover the expenses of one surgery.” I tried to argue.

“That's all you are gonna get. Don't forget, we are already paying for her hospital stay. You want more. This is all you are gonna get.” It was Alice who spoke up, my step mother.

“I am not talking to you. I am talking to my father. He promised me a bigger amount. I am selling you my eggs for the cheapest. You can't just lower the price even more.” I tried to fight them. But I was one woman against all those people. Alice even had guards over. As if I could hurt her in any way. Maybe, I could sit on her and wouldn't get up until she is dead. The thought always crossed my mind but well…

My father didn't even look at me. He threw me in front of that bitch. “Where is Sabina? She was the one who asked me to give her my eggs. She promised me a lump sum amount. She can't do this.” And with that, I was on my way to Sabina's bedroom. Dad and Alice were running after me for some reason. But I didn't stop.

I burst into Sabina's bedroom, mumbling something I couldn't even remember because of the scene I just saw with my own two eyes. My heartbeat literally slowed down and my body was suddenly cold.

Alice was the first one to grab me. I had found my step sister in bed with my fiance, naked. With wide eyes, I couldn't stop staring at the porn scene before me. “You fucking tick! How dare you roam around my home without begging for my approval?” Before Alice's words could make any sense, a sharp slap landed on my cheek.

I almost felt like one of my eyes was pushed out of my sockets. I turned around to look at my father, who had his head narrowed, his hands were on his pot belly and he was nervously playing with his fingers. It was the same as the day Alice threw me and my mother out of the house. That same house that my mother built with her own hands and turned it into a home. I looked at him back then as well and his reaction was exactly the same, nervous but unbothered.

With tears in my eyes, I could only glare at my father. Sabina had dressed up. Well, a gown was around her body. That didn't mean she was dressed up. And my fiance, correction. My ex fiance, Jake Romero, was lying on bed, naked, trying his level best to hide from my gaze.

“I never wanted to do something like that. But what can I do? I am so breathtakingly stunning that even he couldn't bear the brightness of my beauty.” It was Sabina who had dared to speak up before me.

At that moment, I couldn't control my anger. Although, deep down I knew, she was the only one who could help me, all I wanted was to gauge her eyes out and rip her heart out. I wanted her dead. But who was I kidding? I could do no harm to her.

Before I could do anything, the guards grabbed me by my arms and I was dragged out of my father's mansion. I was clutching my phone and the cheque tightly in my hands. They threw me out like a piece of garbage. Just like years ago.

I was about to call the police to complain about fraud. But instead, my screen lit up with a number I had memorized. It was from the hospital. It was my mother's doctor.

“Hello!”

“Where are you, Layla? Your mom is crashing. We need to perform the surgery now.” My heart dropped when I heard that.

“You start preparing for the surgery. I have money and I am on my way to the hospital. But doc, please don't let her die. She's my only family.” My voice cracked at the word family. Because I had just lost another member. Instead of fighting, I got into another cab and went straight to the hospital.