Hidden Passion
Chapter 35

The surgery had just gone six hours out of its twelve hours. Lillian had kept praying and crying nonstop. Her phone started ringing and she excused herself from the waiting area to pick up the call from her personal assistant. "Hi, Jones. Yes, I am fine, thank you. My mum told you? No problem, then. I bet you'll be fine with the work. Alright, thanks. No, everything is alright. Okay, bye." She hung up and looked up at the sky. It was past midnight, and she was tired. She needed to sleep, but she wasn't even drowsy.

Not when Nathaniel was in there, fighting for his life.

She turned around and started walking back to the waiting area in front of the theater. She got there and noticed an older woman crying while Nester talked to her. Could she be Nathaniel's mother? But how was she able to come at that time of the night? Who called her?

The question was not necessary. It was obvious that it was Nester who did. She would have been grateful to her for that if she had decided to call her the following day and not at night.

"Will he be fine? Will my son be alright?" His mother asked amidst tears.

Nester shook her head before saying. "We're not sure of "

Lillian got there and held the woman's hands and caressed them. "He will be fine. He is a fighter, remember? Nothing will happen to him. Let's have faith and keep praying. He will make it through," she assured, and the woman hugged her and cried. "Stop crying. He'll be fine."

Moments later, Nester and Linda were out of sight and it was just Lillian and Nathaniel's mother who was resting her head on Lillian's shoulder. "You should have held on till tomorrow before coming here. It's so late. Nath won't like it if he finds out about this."

His mother smiled. "That's exactly what my son would have said. I have been giving him excuses on why I couldn't come to this town to live with him, but here I am. When that woman called me, saying she was his assistant, I couldn't stay any longer. She had suggested for someone to pick me up, but I was against it. I just hope he'll be fine."

"He will be fine. I believe that." Lillian smiled.

"I have been wondering, your face looks very familiar. It's as if I have seen you before."

Lillian narrowed her eyes. Could it be possible that the woman recognized her? She had seen her a couple of times before when she would visit Nathaniel. She opened his mouth to say something, but she was cut in before a word could escape her mouth.

"Wait... Aren't you Lillian? Nathaniel's friend?" She asked in pure surprise. She looked at her in the eyes and saw her smile and nodded. "Oh, dear! You have become more beautiful. I barely recognized you," she cupped her face and hugged her once again.

Tears fell from Lillian's eyes as she leaned into the woman's embrace. "Uhm.. How come he's still looking for you when you know him?"

Lillian swallowed. "He doesn't recognize me."

"I know right, but that's understandable because of his illness. But you should have told him. He looked everywhere for you. Just yesterday, when I saw your father, I begged him to give me your number so Nathaniel could call you." Lillian looked down at her hands as she eased away from the embrace. "I didn't tell him anything." A tear fell from her eye.

"Why? He has struggled a lot-" She halted as she saw her tears. She tilted her chin upward to meet her eyes and smiled. "It's fine, my dear. You must have had your reasons," she concluded and hugged her again, patting her back. Lillian cried her eyes out as she held onto his mother. She would forever be grateful for her understanding and for not pestering her to tell the story.

"Tears make you look ugly, my dear. So, stop crying," she joked, and Lillian laughed.

She sat back and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "Thank you very much, ma. I really appreciate this. You consoled me when I should be the one doing that."

His mother waved her hand before her. "Come on, it's fine. And about Nathaniel's girlfriend, I don't really like her. When do they meet?"

Lillian became confused. "His girlfriend?"

"She's also Lillian. Nester introduced her to me as my son's girlfriend." His mother frowned as she talked and that made Lillian smile.

"Uhm... I don't think I can say anything about their relationship for now. Here is not the perfect place and now is not the perfect time," she said.

"Is there any problem with their relationship that I should know about?" Nathaniel's mother asked.

"I think I will have to talk to you about that later. I think you need to take some rest before the doctors come out of the operating room.

"How long are they going to take in there?"

"Twelve hours. They have four more hours to spend in there before they are out," she explained, and the woman sighed.

"I just pray he will survive this. I am not ready to lose him, too. Losing his father was enough." His mother looked up before making a deep sigh.

Lillian met her eyes and forced a smile. "You won't lose him. He will be fine. I believe that."

Hours later, Nester and Linda approached them and sat on the seat beside Lillian leaving enough space between them. Neither of them said anything to the other, but gently awaited the arrival of the doctors. They should be out anytime soon. After some minutes, the door to the theater opened and a doctor emerged and lowered his nose mask as everyone on the seat approached him. He sighed and took a deep breath.

"What is wrong, doctor? Talk to me, please. I'm his mother."

Lillian entwined her fingers as she awaited the doctor's words with a silent plea to God.

"I am really sorry to announce this to you but... He didn't make it."