Naomi slowly opened her eyes. It feels like the hospital room is spinning but she still tried to get up. She felt a stinging pain in her belly and a throbbing feeling in her hip. She felt a soft thing in her hand. JL held her hand in his sleep. She carefully turned to him to see his tired sleeping face. Naomi chuckled, “Look at those dark circles. Is it that tiring to be a first - time dad of two?” she asked. JL felt Naomi moving and it woke him up.
She was greeted by his worried face. “Are you feeling alright now?” he asked while placing a pillow for Naomi to lean on. She slowly nodded and asked back, “Where are our kids? I want to see them right now”. With a smile she asked JL but he kept on looking away. She touched his hand and asked again, “Why? Is there something wrong?”.
He sat down in her hospital bed and hugged her tight. “Joachim is in the NICU while Luna…” he answered incompletely. Tears fell from JL’s eyes while still hugging her wife. “What about my daughter? Is she home now? Did you make her wear the dresses I bought?” she asked continuously with excitement. She got annoyed and tried to push away JL but he tightened his hug more.
“I can’t face you while I answer so, please, let us stay like this for a while” he replied. “Just answer me!” Naomi said with nervousness. JL breathed heavily as he pronounces their daughter’s death, “Love… Luna is now our little angel” he weakly said with a bitter smile. Naomi loosened her hug on him and asked, “W-what do you mean?”. Her heart started beating fast after hearing what JL said.
“I mean what I have said, love. Luna passed away right after you gave birth to her” he answered while letting his tears flow. Naomi gasped and her eyes started to water up now. She got off JL’s hug and with rage, she forcedly threw punches in her husband’s chest. “T-tell me you are just making this up! I still heard her cries before I passed out yesterday!” she replied.
“I know it is hard to accept at first” he said and tried to hug her again. Naomi shove away his arms that shook him. “Didn’t you say that you will protect us no matter what?” she coldly asked while looking straight. JL stood up and kept his guard down; “I know. That’s why I can’t forgive myself” he weakly said. Naomi cried as she screamed, “Then why did you let your daughter die?!”.
JL looked at her directly on her eyes. “If only you know how things went before you saw it ending” he replied and went outside while barging the room’s door. Naomi continued crying in agony and in anger; she feels like JL failed her and their kids. It is also the first time in a while that he talked coldly like that.
All of a sudden, her parents and Luke’s parents entered her room. Therese and his husband went near her with a worried face while the other two came with disappointment. “How are you feeling now, Naomi?” Therese asked while holding her hand. “I can’t say that I am fine” she answered while looking down. She can’t afford to look directly at Luke’s parents’ eyes.
“We already knew what happened to your babies. JL also told us how hard he revived you and your daughter in the operating room yesterday” Therese shared. Naomi’s eyebrows furrowed, “What do you mean?” she asked unbelievably. Therese held her hand and storied, “Yesterday, it was JL who answered our call in your phone. We got your number after hiring a private investigator”.
Her father added, “We noticed that Luke seldomly updated us about his searching for you so we did the effort. We knew just last week how things worked for you. We know that you got married using JL’s efforts but it took us time to leave work and book a flight going here”.
Her mother continued, “When we got here, you already gave birth. JL talked to us with knees bent down. He detailed how things went to that result. When you gave birth of your daughter, he was notified that it took most of the damage and that her organs failed to develop due to her premature birth. You are accidentally attacked by Luke and that caused your premature delivery and your hip fracture”.
Luke’s parents just stood still while hearing the whole story. “I heard how you blurted your blame on JL earlier. Try to put yourself in his place before, during, and after you gave birth. Do you know how hard he tried to save you both? He tried to revive your daughter but the baby gave up on her own. You almost died while giving birth to your son but he also gave you his air to bring you back” her dad said.
Now she felt conscience devouring her. Suddenly, the room’s door opened showing Fonsi and Lorenzia outside. “Mr. and Mrs. Fuerte, we need you to attend to your son’s case in the police station. You can bring your lawyer. Mr. Tiueco is pushing this case with his lawyer, Atty. Lorenzia Tiueco” Fonsi invited Luke’s parents.
His mother just nodded and followed the two in the police station. Naomi is currently absorbing what her parents storied. “I-I’m sorry” she started apologizing to them. “What are you apologizing for?” Therese asked. She answered, “I am sorry that I failed what you want me to do. I am sorry that I ran away and now my life turned around while contradicting your plans”. Her dad shook its head and replied, “If only you told us about what Luke did to you, then we would have cut the wedding off before you ran away”.
Naomi chuckled, “Here I can prove that all these years, it is JL whom I really love. I knew it after seeing him in the homecoming party” she said while wiping her tears off. “I saw how manly JL is. His attitude is perfect for you and we are in favor of your relationship” his dad replied while patting her back.
Therese advised, “You have to apologize to JL later. He has a lot in his mind right now that he hasn’t had a proper sleep last night. After he settled your kids’ hospital details, he quickly drove to the airport to pick us up. Realize how JL loves you, Naomi. He didn’t mean to let your child die; it is his own also”.
Naomi slowly nodded, “I will. I will take things from here now” she replied and started to dial JL’s phone. She tried a few more times but he did not pick up a single call. “I think he is still mad at me” she said while putting down her phone. “Maybe he is just fixing your case. I think he is with his lawyer now while settling his complain with Luke” her mother said that made her relieved.
JL drove fast to the jail where Luke is placed. He saw his parents but he did not say any word to them. He walked past Luke’s family confidently and it made them think that he is rude for not saying a word to them. He sat down in front of the handcuffed Luke who is centered by his parents. “Whatever case you push against our son, we will pull all of our connections just to set him free” Luke’s mother initiated.
JL looked at them coldly, “Alright, so I will start pushing a case from what he did ten years ago. Luke, can you tell your parents how you intentionally hit me with your car just to stop me from chasing you and Naomi? I let that slip off my hands and never thought of pushing any charge against you. Fast forward on what you did yesterday. You pushed my wife and it fractured her hip; that is pregnancy abuse”.
“That is too much, you don’t even have a proof!” Luke screamed in annoyance. JL talked back and said, “Don’t you dare interrupt me while I am talking”. It silenced Luke and his parents; JL really looked scary while talking like that. He added, “Moreover, your abuse in Naomi caused the death of our daughter. That case is feticide”.
“Can you drop down your proofs, Doctor Tiueco?” Luke’s dad asked. JL scoffed and signaled Fonsi to release the witnesses. Luke stood up in disbelief, “How could you play this way, JL?” he asked. JL laughed and told him his inside plan.
“At first, I was angry with these three because they teamed up with you. But I played with a little devil. I am still not contented with revenging and so I turned things around. Blake and Yilmaz got down on their knees to ask for an apology. Who am I to not accept those angel words from them? Amber begged me to hold back her case to live up her passion. I saw her determination at work and I know her family wants her to be a surgeon. I bailed them out and I erased my complains” he expounded.
Luke angrily punched the officer’s desk with his handcuffed wrists. “You are such a demon, JL Tiueco” he said while glaring at him badly. “I guess we are on the same field of evil, Luke. But I am not finished yet” he replied. Luke leaned back while holding a grudge.
“The main reason why I bailed them out is that I want them to be witnesses and proof holders to push your case. Blake and Yilmaz got screenshots of your conversations while Amber managed to get the CCTV footages from the hotel you booked while you are planning the dispatch. Also, the people who witnessed what you did in the condominium are holding video clips and are ready to be posted online” he ended.
Luke stood up and pointed at the three, “You traitors! Go to hell with Fonsi!” he screamed. His parents are speechless, and all that they have to do is to calm their son down. Fonsi crossed his arm and looked at him with a poker face as if he is bored, “Can you hear a dog barking?” he asked teasingly. As a police chief, he ordered the jail guards to place back Luke in his cell.
His parents are left sitting in front of JL. Suddenly, Luke’s mom’s vibe turned into a calm one. She carefully held JL’s hand with tears flowing from her eyes. “Doc JL, can you spare a slack for our son? He is just having a hard time controlling his moods and wants. I am begging you, please forgive our son” she said while sobbing.
Luke’s dad added, “We are willing to pay. Name your price; just cancel the criminal charges of Luke”. Fonsi chuckled, “Sorry Mr. Fuerte but the surgeon you are talking to is a millionaire” he said that made Luke’s parents amused. JL removed Luke’s mom’s hand from holding his’ and uttered, “I am sorry if you are disappointed. I bet you already understand the surprising effect of being humble”.
JL walked but he stopped before the jail’s exit. He said out his final words for them, “Your apology and my forgiveness will not bring back our daughter’s life”. He immediately went back to the hospital to check on his son. He went inside the NICU with a protective suit and a mask in his face.
He watched how his son slowly move with IV drips and an oxygen mask. Joachim is laying inside a baby incubator wearing only his diaper and the mittens, socks, and the cap JL personally chose. He peeped to the incubator’s hole and talked to him with a low tone, “Hey, my little fighter. Is it cold there? Sorry, you can’t still wear the onesie I bought. Hang in there for a little longer, okay?”.
Naomi saw with her own eyes how JL checked their son’s health report in the hospital charts. From the glass he saw her husband sitting in a wheelchair with her eyes focused on the incubator where their son is located.
He went near the glass surface and tapped on it; he wrote something at the back of the chart sheet and showed it to her. “Are you okay now?” he asked while looking at her. She just nodded and waited for JL to write another message again. “Are you still mad at me?” he asked with puppy eyes; she looked away and refused to answer it but JL tapped the glass again to get her attention.
Therese whispered, “Aren’t you going to answer your husband’s question? He is waiting, see?” she asked her daughter. She glanced at JL who is now making her heart flutter with his charms. She nodded once again and asked her mom to take her back to the room. JL smiled and followed her to the recovery room where she is admitted.