Chapter 8 The Hospital Bill

• Three weeks before Adrian drove to Queens, Mia had been sitting beside her mother’s hospital bed.
• The room was quiet except for the steady beeping of the monitor beside Rosa Harper. Outside the window, New York moved as if nothing in the world had changed. Cars crawled along the street, people hurried beneath umbrellas, and somewhere below, a siren wailed before fading into the distance.
• Mia sat with both hands wrapped around her mother’s. Rosa looked smaller than Mia remembered. Her dark hair, once thick and full, was streaked with silver now. Her face looked tired, but she still managed a smile whenever Mia looked at her.
• “You look worried,” Rosa whispered.
• “I’m not.”
• Rosa raised an eyebrow.
• “You've been a terrible liar since you were six.”
• Mia laughed softly.
• “Maybe I learned from the best.”
• Her mother smiled.
• For a few seconds, everything felt normal. Then Rosa's expression changed. Her fingers tightened around Mia's hand.
• “Mia?”
• “Yes?”
• “I’m tired.”
• Mia immediately stood.
• “Mom?”
• Rosa tried to answer, but her breathing became uneven.
• The monitor beside her began beeping faster.
• “Mama?”
• A nurse rushed into the room.
• “Step back, please.”
• Mia froze.
• “What’s happening?”
• “Please wait outside.”
• “But she’s my mother!”
• “Miss, we need room.”
• Mia was guided into the hallway. The doors closed. She stood there, staring through the small glass window.
• Doctors and nurses moved around the bed. Mia couldn't hear what they were saying. She could only see her mother's face.
• Pale and still. Mia pressed both hands against her mouth.
• “Please.”
• She didn't know who she was begging.
• God, the doctors, the universe, anyone.
• After what felt like an hour, a doctor finally came out. Mia rushed toward him.
• “How is she?”
• “She’s stable.”
• Mia nearly collapsed with relief.
• “Thank God.”
• “But she had another episode.”
• Her relief disappeared.
• “What does that mean?”
• The doctor sighed.
• “It means we can't keep waiting.”
• Mia stared at him.
• “The surgery?”
• “Yes.”
• “You said we had time.”
• “We did. We don't anymore.”
• Her throat tightened.
• “When?”
• “As soon as possible.”
• Mia swallowed.
• “How much?”
• The doctor hesitated.
• “The hospital requires fifty thousand dollars upfront before we can schedule the procedure.”
• Mia stared at him.
• “Fifty thousand?”
• “Yes.”
• “I don't have that.”
• “I understand.”
• “No, you don't.”
• Her voice cracked.
• “I don't have fifty thousand dollars.”
• The doctor softened.
• “We can discuss financial assistance.”
• “I've already asked.”
• “I know.”
• “I've applied for everything.”
• “I understand.”
• “No, you don't.”
• Tears filled Mia's eyes.
• “You can't stop treating her.”
• “We aren't stopping treatment right now.”
• “But you said... ”
• “I said the surgery requires payment.”
• Mia looked through the glass again. Her mother was lying quietly beneath the white sheets.
• Fifty thousand dollars.
• The number seemed impossible. She had barely enough money for groceries. Her apartment rent was already overdue. Her mother's medication bills had swallowed everything else. And now the hospital wanted fifty thousand dollars before they would operate.
• Thirty days.
• That was what the doctor had told her. Thirty days to find a miracle.
• Mia returned to her mother's room. Rosa was awake.
• “You heard them,” she said.
• Mia tried to smile. “I'll figure it out.”
• Rosa shook her head.
• “No.”
• “I will.”
• “Mia.”
• “I said I'll figure it out.”
• Her mother looked at her.
• “You've done enough.”
• “I'm your daughter.”
• “And that's why I don't want you destroying your life for me.”
• Mia sat beside her.
• “You raised me.”
• Rosa's eyes filled with tears.
• “I raised you so you could live.”
• “Then let me help you live.”
• Rosa looked away and Mia squeezed her hand.
• “I'm going to get the money.”
• “How?”
• Mia didn't answer, because she didn't know. She spent the next week trying everything.
• She called relatives, nothing. She sold the few pieces of jewelry she owned, but it barely made a dent. She picked up extra shifts. She applied for loans, but all were rejected.
• Every night, she returned to the hospital exhausted.
• Then she found the Black Tower job advertisement.
• One hundred thousand dollars a month.
• Mia stared at the screen for almost ten minutes. She knew it was ridiculous. She knew she wasn't qualified.
• But fifty thousand dollars wasn't ridiculous anymore. It was her mother's life.
• So she lied. She created a resume, invented references, and then applied.
• And somehow, Adrian Black called her for an interview, which brought her to the Black Tower, to Lily, and which brought her back home.
• And now, sitting in the laundry room of Black Mansion, Mia was staring at the same hospital bill.
• She had been holding herself together all day. She couldn't anymore. Her hands trembled. The paper blurred as tears filled her eyes.
• “Fifty thousand.”
• She whispered the number.
• “Where am I supposed to get fifty thousand dollars?”
• She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes.
• Her shoulders shook.
• She tried to breathe quietly.
• She didn't want anyone to hear.
• She especially didn't want Adrian to hear.
• He had already called her a desperate liar.
• She couldn't let him see just how desperate she really was.
• Mia slid down the wall until she was sitting on the laundry room floor.
• The machines hummed around her.
• She cried silently.
• For her mother.
• For the lies.
• For the job she almost lost.
• For the possibility that she might fail.
• She didn't hear the door open.
• “Mia?”
• She froze.
• Her heart dropped.
• Adrian stood in the doorway.
• He looked from her tear-streaked face to the hospital bill clutched in her hand.
• Neither spoke.
• Mia quickly wiped her cheeks.
• “What are you doing here?”
• Adrian's expression changed.
• “I could ask you the same thing.”
• “I’m doing laundry.”
• He glanced at the empty machines.
• “Without clothes?”
• Mia looked down.
• “Right.”
• Adrian stepped inside.
• “What's wrong?”
• “Nothing.”
• His eyes narrowed.
• “You're crying.”
• “I’m fine.”
• “You're obviously not.”
• Mia stood too quickly.
• “I said I'm fine.”
• The bill slipped from her fingers.
• It landed on the floor between them.
• Adrian looked down, then back at her. Mia moved to pick it up, but he was faster. He bent and picked up the paper.
• “Mia.”
• She reached for it.
• “Give it back.”
• His eyes moved across the page.
• Hospital, surgery, fifty thousand dollars. His expression became serious.
• “Is this your mother's bill?”
• Mia stopped.
• She didn't answer.
• Adrian looked at her.
• “How much time do you have?”
• “Please.”
• “How much?”
• “Thirty days.”
• He looked at the bill again.
• “And you need fifty thousand dollars?”
• Mia's eyes filled again.
• “Yes.”
• The word barely came out.
• Adrian was silent and Mia wrapped her arms around herself.
• “I wasn't trying to deceive you.”
• “You lied on your resume.”
• “I know.”
• “You lied about your experience.”
• “I know.”
• “Why?”
• Mia looked at him.
• “Because my mother is sick.”
• Adrian's expression shifted.
• Mia shook her head.
• “I didn't know what else to do.”
• He said nothing.
• “I applied everywhere. Nobody would hire me. Nobody would lend me enough money. Then I saw your job advertisement.”
• Her voice broke.
• “I thought if I could get the job, I could save her.”
• Adrian looked at the hospital bill again.
• For the first time, he understood the desperation behind the lie.
• Mia wiped another tear away.
• “You can fire me if you want.”
• Adrian looked up.
• “What?”
• “You heard me.”
• “I don't want your pity.”
• “You don't have it.”
• She stared at him.
• “Then what do you want?”
• Adrian didn't answer immediately.
• His eyes remained on her.
• Then he folded the hospital bill carefully and handed it back.
• “I want you to stop carrying everything alone.”
• Mia stared at him. It was the last thing she expected him to say.
• And somehow, that made the tears come harder.
• For the first time, she didn't see a grumpy billionaire standing before her, only someone who finally understood.