Chapter 2 In A Vegetative State

Although an unkind attitude should no be used towards elders, Leila couldn't be kind to Sophia for Leila had been holding resentment in her heart long enough, and if Sophia kept talking, Leila couldn't promise that she would not lose her temper.

"It's just... Just now, when your mother was watching the news, she saw that you slept with a man in a room. Then she accidentally fell down the stairs and now she's in the hospital."

"What do you say ?" Leila suddenly widened her eyes and looked at Sophia in disbelief. There seemed to a string broken in her head, which was humming now.

"Yeah. Go to the hospital quickly. Maybe, you can see her..." Sophia was saying and then she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, looking at Melissa apologetically.

Leila tried to pull back her thoughts. She shot Sophia a furious glare before heading downstairs.

They arrived at the hospital together. At the hospital gate, there were a lot of reporters. They were able to squeeze into the hospital with the security guard's assistance.

Leila hurried to the door of the operating room. Seeing that the light was still on, she uneasily paced back and forth the corridor.

"Leila, is it true? Did you sleep with that man?" Sophia asked tentatively.

"Sister, is Auntie okay?"

Suddenly, Daisy Song, a beautiful woman, rushed in. Something came to Leila at once. Melissa looked at Sophia and Daisy angrily as she spoke, "My mother never watches the news. Why would she be reading the news on her phone? It was you, wasn't it? I knew it!"

"Sister, how could you say something like that to my mother? She's also worried about Auntie," Daisy said in a gentle voice. Leila, however, wasn't buying any of it. She could see the evil gleam in Daisy's eyes.

Before Leila could say anything, Sophia suddenly drew nearer toward Melissa and whispered to her ear, "Actually, it was I who pushed your mother downstairs."

"You!" Leila was so furious that she slapped Sophia square in the face and this made Sophia be on the ground. Then Sophia let out a wail.

'What a jerk!' Leila was about to go in for another slap when someone grabbed her wrist to stop her and there was a loud slap hit her in the face.

"You're embarrassing me! You slept with a man at a hotel and you just hit your elder! How dare you!"

Johnson Song, Leila's father was visibly furious. He had raised his hand, ready to slap Leila on the face again when Daisy Song stopped him. "Father, she didn't mean to do it. She was just worried about Auntie."

Seeing his younger daughter being so considerate, Johnson Song calmed down a bit but he was still obviously angry with Leila.

"My elder? Huh... I only have one mother and her name's Lillian Lin! Who is this woman anyway? She's not my mother and she'll never be my mother no matter what you say or do!"

Leila yelled. Blood was dripping from her mouth as she'd been slapped. She looked at them mockingly, her face daunting. "Wow! What a good show! You trapped me! That was an amazing show you put on, Sophia."

If she still didn't know what was going on, she'd be made into a fool. Yet Astrid... Are you with them? Did you trick me into going to that room so my image and reputation would be ruined?'

"Leila, what are you talking about? I know you're just worried about your mother. I'm not mad at you for losing your temper and slapping me," Sophia said in a gentle tone. This only made Leila feel sick to her stomach.

At that moment, the door of the operation room flew open. Leila rushed forward to catch the doctor and asked anxiously, "How's my mother doing?"

The doctor took off his mask, sighing. "The patient's brain is seriously injured. I'm so sorry to say this but she's in a coma. And I'm afraid she would be in a vegetative state."

A vegetative state...

Sophia and Daisy looked at each other with a flicker of disappointment in their eyes. 'She didn't die!'

Leila was shocked. She wanted to go in but the nurses stopped her. They said they couldn't visit the patient until 24 hours had passed.

"Well, in this case, you'd better stay here to keep an eye on your mother!"

Johnson snort and left without any hesitation.

"Then...I guess this means... we're leaving. Leila, don't worry about it. At least your mother is still alive, right?"

After saying this, Sophia couldn't help but give two chuckles. Then Sophia and Daisy left the hospital, leaving Leila staring blankly at the door alone.

In just a night, she'd lost two of the most precious things in her life. What was called heaven and hell was nothing more than this...

In the following days, Leila was taking care of her mother in the hospital. She didn't care what rumors were saying about her. After all, she was not the only daughter of the Song family. That man perhaps wished that she and her mother would never show up!

She'd called Astrid and was really disappointed at the fact that her best friend stabbed her in the back like that. Leila had nothing to lose now.

"Did you hear that? The daughter of the Song family is engaged to the son of the Lian family!"

"The daughter of the Song family? Is that the one who's inside?"

"Of course not. That's the Leila Song. I'm talking about Daisy Song. Daisy's the one who's engaged. After all, she's much easier to get along with than Leila."

"Oh, I remember her. Daisy was here the other day. Yeah, Daisy's lovely, not like Leila, who just seems aloof. Does someone owe her money?"

Leila had heard the nurses gossiping about her. She was pale and her hands were clenched into fists. Was she going to lose her lover too?

No! She needed to figure it out!

Meanwhile, at the hotel, Daisy was admiring herself as she stood in front of the mirror. She was wearing a lovely pair of earrings matched with a pink, strapless dress. Her hair was pinned up in a crown at the top of her head. She looked like a princess in a fairy tale.

"Do you think that little bitch will really come?"

Standing behind Daisy, Sophia seemed to be a little worried. She too was all dressed up this day.

"Of course she will. She has been in love with Veron for years. How could she not come?"

Daisy said slowly and calmly, with a sneer on the corner of her mouth. "I want to see what she's going to do to turn it around."

Femme fatale, nothing more than this...

The JH hotel was filled with celebrities since the marriage between the Lian family and the Song family was big news in B City. While they all knew that this marriage wasn't completely planned, it was still something to be celebrated. They'd substituted Daisy for Leila probably because of the incident at the hotel. The Lian family had requested for the exchange and the Song family was going to comply no matter what. After all, it was going to benefit both of them. It didn't matter if it was Leila or Daisy as long as it was the daughter of the Song family.

When the time came, the host warmed up the audience. A man in a black tuxedo appeared with Daisy who just looked gorgeous in her princess-like attire.

The audience clapped and whistled in appreciation. The man was extraordinarily handsome. He was smiling faintly while looking at Daisy, who looked demure by his side.

Who wouldn't call them the golden couple on seeing them? Now they'd completely forgotten about Leila who was just known for being a troublemaker of the Song family, though they had praised her before.

"Oh my God! Mr. Lian and Miss Song is so good together! They're the best couple I've seen. I'm so jealous!"

The host was still marveling at the engagement. Upon noticing that Daisy had lowered her head in shyness, he cleared his throat and said to Veron, "Mr. Lian, would you mind telling us a bit about your love with Miss Song?"

Lowering her head, Daisy thought, 'Leila, you've lost. Now what? Everything you have is now mine. Oh how the mighty have fallen!'

Veron then lovingly gazed at Daisy and held her hands tightly. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "I still remember when I met Daisy for the first time. She was still little then and was so timid. She often kept to herself. Wow! Isn't that sweet ? I thought she was unique and someone to be treasured. No one can compare to her..."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Flash! The voice came from out of nowhere. Everyone turned to look where the voice had come from.

Daisy grinned at this, then her eyes brimmed with tears. After that, Daisy looked up to see Leila walking toward them.

"Veron, do you really love her?"

Leila was dressed plainly and she looked quite tired as she'd been taking care of her mother in the hospital for the past few days. She looked nowhere near as beautiful as Daisy did. Everyone knew then that she was here to stop the engagement.

"Look! Isn't that Leila Song? Is she here to cause trouble again?"

"She slept with another man which was so embarrassing for the Song family! I heard that her mother was hospitalized because of her. Yet she's here now about to ruin her own sister's engagement. How disgusting!"

"I can't stand her! Why doesn't the Song family just kick her out?"

The guests were now whispering among each other. The crowd was buzzing and they were all glaring at Leila with disgust.

"Leila, can we talk about this later?" Leila had always been a lovely and cheerful girl. But now, she looked nowhere near the girl she used to be. Something gleamed in Veron's eyes. He couldn't say a word after all.

"No need. You just need to tell me if you really love her or not. Once I have your answer, I'll leave immediately and you can have your engagement ceremony continue." Leila raised her voice. Her eyes were filled with tears and there was a hint of desperation in it.

"Sister, I know you have feelings for Veron too. If you really love him, I can... I can just step back. You can have him," Daisy said, her voice choking. This effectively gained the people's empathy. These people thought Daisy was the perfect girl with the purest heart.