Chapter 6

“There’s no answer, Dad. I’m scared... I’m afraid Alexa might do something reckless—”

Mr. Lucas froze. His mind instantly raced to the worst possible conclusion.

Something reckless? No... Alexa can't let anything happen to herself.

Without another word, the middle-aged man turned and hurried away. He didn't even respond when his wife called after him.

“Dad! Where are you going?”

He was terrified that his daughter might have done something irreversible. That was why he immediately went to retrieve the spare key to her bedroom. It didn't take long before he returned, clutching it tightly in his hand.

“Where did you go?” Mrs. Nancy asked, staring at him in confusion.

“I got this, honey.” He held up the spare key.

Nancy nodded and stepped aside, allowing him to unlock Alexa's bedroom door. A moment later, the lock clicked open.

“Alexa? Sweetheart, where are you?” Nancy called as her eyes swept across the room.

The room was empty.

“Dad... where's Alexa?” Panic began to show on her face.

Mr. Lucas searched every corner of the bedroom but found nothing except crumpled tissues scattered across the floor in front of the vanity.

“Check the bathroom,” he suggested.

Nancy immediately hurried to the bathroom door and knocked several times.

“Alexa... are you in there? Answer me, sweetheart...”

“Alexa? Please open the door!”

“Exa... Alexa!”

She knocked again and again, calling her daughter's name over and over, but only silence answered.

Her heart pounding, Nancy finally tried the doorknob.

Locked.

“What is it? Can you open it?” Mr. Lucas asked as he walked over.

He had already inspected every inch of the bedroom. There were no signs that Alexa had climbed out through the window or the balcony.

She had to be inside.

Nancy shook her head.

“No. It's locked from the inside.”

Mr. Lucas let out a long breath.

“Step back, honey. I'll break it down.”

Nancy quickly moved aside.

Mr. Lucas took a few steps back, braced himself, then slammed his shoulder into the bathroom door with all his strength.

Bang!

The door burst open.

Inside, Alexa lay motionless on the cold tile floor.

Her face was pale, and her long hair was spread across the floor in complete disarray.

Nancy let out a piercing scream.

“Oh my God! Alexa!”

Mr. Lucas rushed inside, panic gripping his chest. He called her name several times, but she gave no response. Without wasting another second, he carefully lifted her into his arms.

“Dad, let's take her to the hospital right now!” Nancy cried, her voice trembling. “I'm scared something's happened to Exa.”

Mr. Lucas shook his head.

“Call Lucia instead. She isn't on the night shift today.”

He had suddenly remembered that his younger sister was a doctor.

Nancy nodded, grabbed her phone, and hurriedly called her sister-in-law.

---

“How's Alexa, Lucia?”

Mr. Lucas approached his sister as soon as she finished examining Alexa.

Lucia released a quiet sigh.

“Just like I told you earlier, Lucas, she's running a fever because she's under too much stress. She needs plenty of rest. Let her sleep for now. Once she wakes up, have her eat something before giving her the medicine.”

Mr. Lucas sighed heavily and nodded.

“This all started because of what happened with her fiancé... and now she's ended up like this.”

“So... what happened?” Lucia asked. “The wedding with Dr. Robert is really off?”

Since she still didn't know the whole story, curiosity got the better of her.

Standing beside Alexa's bed, Nancy cleared her throat, silently signaling that they should continue the conversation outside.

The siblings exchanged glances, nodded, and quietly left the room.

Oh, Exa... you've suffered so much.

Nancy gazed at Alexa with tear-filled eyes, her heart aching beyond words.

You lost your birth mother when you were only a newborn. And now, just as you've grown up, you've lost the man you were going to marry.

I wonder what beautiful rainbow God has prepared for you after all this pain, Exa...

She gently stroked Alexa's hair before pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.

Her love for the young woman had never once faded—not for her niece, and not for the daughter she had raised as her own.

Because Alexa was, in fact, the biological daughter of Nancy's late older sister, Neoly.

Neoly had passed away from a severe illness just days after giving birth.

At that time, Mr. Lucas hadn't even known Alexa existed. By the time he divorced Neoly, he had been completely unaware that she was pregnant.

It wasn't until five years later that Nancy finally told him the truth, after little Alexa repeatedly asked about her father.

At first, Nancy had refused to marry her former brother-in-law.

But Lucas had continued pursuing her—not for himself, but because Alexa longed for a complete family.

Little by little, his sincerity broke through her resistance.

Eventually, Nancy accepted his proposal.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as memories of Alexa's life flooded back.

It hurt.

So deeply that all she could do was surrender to fate.

After all...

Wasn't everything that happened allowed by God's will?

Just then, she noticed Alexa's eyelids flutter ever so slightly.

Nancy quickly wiped away her tears before leaning closer.

“Sweetheart... Alexa... are you awake?”

She gently took Alexa's cold hand in hers, making sure her daughter had truly regained consciousness.

Alexa didn't answer immediately.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.

“Where... am I?” she whispered, her voice weak and hoarse.

Nancy's eyes lit up with relief.

“You're in your room, sweetheart. Your dad and I found you unconscious in the bathroom.”

Alexa fell silent.

Little by little, the memories came rushing back.

The moment she remembered what had happened with her fiancé, tears spilled from her eyes once again.

“Oh, God... why is this happening to me?”

“Be patient, sweetheart.” Nancy gently wiped away her tears while fighting back her own. “I'm sure God has a beautiful plan waiting for you.”

She was lying if she claimed this didn't break her heart.

Alexa might not have been the child she gave birth to...

But she was the one who had made Nancy a mother for the very first time.

“Please let it go, sweetheart,” she whispered softly. “I truly believe Chandra can be a good husband for you.”

“I don't want to marry Chandra, Mom...” Alexa sobbed, shaking her head over and over. “I don't want to...”

Nancy slowly shook her head.

“But you still have to get married, Exa. We can't change your father's decision. This concerns our family's future.”

“But, Mom...” Alexa cried through her tears. “I've never loved Chandra. The only person I've ever loved is Robert.”

Nancy looked into her daughter's tear-filled eyes with quiet desperation.

“Sweetheart... trust me, okay? We've known Chandra since he was a little boy. We know the kind of person he is, and we know his family well. I truly believe this is the best path for both of you.”

Seeing the pleading look in her mother's eyes, Alexa could no longer argue.

She simply lowered her head in silence.

But her tears continued to fall—

Relentless...

Just like the unbearable pain drowning her heart.

---

The next morning…