Mrs. Astrid's urgent gesture caught the attention of the physician, who responded swiftly, gently disconnecting Mara's nanny from the oxygen tube. As the tube slipped away, the elderly woman stirred from her deep sleep, her eyelids fluttering open, revealing cloudy eyes filled with confusion.
"Nanny," Mara pleaded, her voice trembling with fear and desperation as she reached out to grasp the frail hand lying on the bed. "Please, stay with me. Don't leave me alone."
The machines surrounding the bed began to emit a shrill, incessant noise, the urgency of which mirrored Mara's rising panic. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she watched helplessly, tears streaming down her cheeks, knowing that time was slipping away.
With trembling hands, Mara attempted to push open the automated door, her efforts becoming increasingly frantic as the realization set in that it was firmly locked from the inside. "Please," she begged, her voice breaking with emotion. "Somebody help us! Nanny needs help, please!"
Still grappling with the stubborn door, Mara's heart sank as she heard the approaching footsteps of her stepmother and stepsister. Their faces twisted with malice, radiating an aura of wrath that seemed to engulf the room like a demonic presence unleashed from the depths of hell.
Hastily rising to her feet, Mara bowed before them, her voice trembling with desperation. "Stepmother, the doctor removed the oxygen tube. Please, I beg of you, save my nanny. She's innocent, she's all I have left after my mother. Please, save her," she pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clasped her hands together in supplication.
Maya, her stepsister, observed Mara with a cold smirk, her words dripping with venom. "Who would have thought the sharp-tongued Mara could display such vulnerability in the face of her nanny's suffering?"
Normally, Mara would have retorted or rebuked her sister, but with the lives of her dear nanny hanging in the balance, she dared not make a misstep.
"Please, Mrs. Astrid, I implore you," Mara continued, her voice cracking with emotion. "Help me arrange for her to receive the care she needs abroad. I am at your mercy. Please, help us," she pleaded once more, her heart heavy with fear and uncertainty.
With a gentle smile, Mrs. Astrid signaled to the doctor, who promptly reconnected the oxygen line, bringing a sense of calmness to the elderly woman as she resumed her composed demeanor.
"Your nanny is now in the recovery stages," Mrs. Astrid, the current director of JYK Hospital, explained gravely. "Depriving her of oxygen again could result in irreversible brain damage or worse, leaving her in a state neither alive nor dead."
Maya interjected sharply, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Will you beg for it never to happen again?"
Panic surged through Mara as she clutched Mrs. Astrid's leg, pleading desperately. "Please, I beg of you, don't remove it again."
Her stepmother's words cut through the air like poisoned daggers. "You've returned to being the humble Mara Lopez, but now you must do something to save your nanny's life."
Mara tightened her grip on Mrs. Astrid's leg, her voice choked with tears. "I'll do anything you ask, just please save her."
Mrs. Astrid's decisive tone rang out. "Very well. Go home and prepare yourself; you're marrying into the Lewis family this evening."
Mara's eyes widened in disbelief. "Marriage? Just like that?"
Mrs. Astrid strutted away with an air of triumph. "You heard correctly. Ask your father for the details."
Stunned, Mara called after her. "You can't decide my marriage like this, Mrs. Astrid!"
Turning back with a chilling glare, Mrs. Astrid delivered her ultimatum. "Marry into the Lewis family or your granny's life hangs in the balance. The choice is yours."
Feeling lost and overwhelmed by the impossible choices laid before her, Mara returned home from the hospital, her mind swirling with confusion
