THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 319: We Are Family

"But that can only happen if you let him go."

A conflicted look flickered across Benita’s eyes as she pondered on her mother’s words.

Can she really let him go?

"We could be happy together, mom."

"But unfortunately his happiness is not with you but with someone else, can’t you see?" Rhoda felt it was time to finally tell her daughter the harsh truth.

"When you truly love someone you should be able to sacrifice for the happiness of that person."

Benita loked aggrieved and unreconciled. "Why do I have to be the one to sacrifice my own happiness?"

"Because you are the one in love, dear. Steffan doesn’t love you, he never did, so you don’t expect him to make the sacrifice."

"No mom, don’t say that. Steffan and I grew up together, doing the same things together, and on several occasions, he had protected me from others. How can you say he doesn’t love you? You must be mistaken," Benita protested.

"You are right, he might have cared for you, but not loved you. At least not in the sense of the love between a man and a woman. If he loved you that way, why would he chose someone else to marry when it was time to get a wife?"

"We all thought Steffan would come to love you with time and did all we could to make it work between you and Steffan, including Sarah, his mother, if you cast your mind back, but it didn’t work out."

"And that was why I didn’t really blame his mother, my good friend when she accepted the other girl."

"But you had an open confrontation with her that even ended your friendship of several years."

"That’s because I was trying to push her into a corner to change her stance about the other girl. But there was nothing she could do again. Steffan’s mind was made up and as a grown man no one could force him, not even his own mother."

"I guess when she saw that Steffan was serious about that girl and saw how happy he was with her, she had to step back."

"As a mother, I would also be selfish and go for what brings happiness to my child, so I couldn’t really blame her," Rhoda said sadly.

"But if we had gotten married, he would have fallen in love with me eventually," Benita still argued. Up till now she didn’t believe Steffan had no love for her.

"If you were not able to cultivate it for over twenty years, what makes you think you will now. Let him go my child. I’m sure he hates you now and wouldn’t want to have anything to do with you."

"But I didn’t mean to shoot him," Linda cried again.

"That’s why you need to focus on healing first, and cooperate with the police to help you find out who plotted against you. That’s the only way you can prove your innocence to Steffan and you two can still be friends," Rhoda pointed out.

"Do you think he will forgive me?" Benita’s eyes glimmered with a new surge of hope.

"Of course my dear, Steffan has a kind heart and I’m sure he will forgive you when he finds out the truth."

"Come here, my child, you will get over him with time," Rhoda coaxed as she gathered Benita in a comforting embrace and gently smothered her hair.

Not long after Ivan hurried into the ward and saw mother and daughter hugging each other in a tight embrace.

With a forlorn look, he shook his head and turned to stare out through the windows.

*************

The serene atmosphere in Benita’s ward was a sharp contrast to the lively one in a special ward at Medstar hospital.

"Kid brother, the doctor said you are free to go home any time," Stanley said while

Steffan had a bright smile on his face. "That’s good news. I’m tired of being confined to this bed all day."

"Look at who is complaining, when you doctors force other people to stay in bed for God knows how long, you never think it is also inconvenient but you’ve barely spent two weeks and you are already tired of the place."

"You won’t understand, brother," Steffan said. How are my nephew and niece?"

"They’re fine and can’t wait to have you back, especially Danny who has missed your jokes and back rides."

"I don’t remember doing all those things Stanley," Steffan said regrettably.

Stanley patted Steffan’s shoulder. "Not to worry, it will come back with time."

"I hope so. Sometimes I feel like a significant part of my life is trapped in those forgotten years and it makes me so uncomfortable."

"Don’t stress yourself too much on those. If you feel they’re really important, you will get them back. As a doctor, I shouldn’t be the one telling you all these. But I still have to encourage you as a brother."

"I know and I’m grateful for that. You all have stood by me so strongly these few days and I don’t know what to say."

"You don’t need to say anything. We are family after all," Stanley laughed dismissively.

"Brother, I’ve been meaning to ask this question and I hope you will give me the answers I seek."

Seeing how serious Steffan suddenly turned, Stanley had a foreboding about what steffan wanted to ask about but still said,

"Go on, I’ll try to give you the best answer."

"The person that shot me, have you been able to find out his identity and why he tried to kill Lauren?"

"Lauren? You remember her?" Stanley asked excitedly.

"Of course I do, she was by my bed when I regained consciousness and has been dropping by occasionally."

"Oh," the light died down from Stanley’s eyes. For a moment he had thought that Steffan remembered his relationship with Lauren. The Lauren he remembered was the one after he lost his memory.

He dared not mention Benita as that would open up another barrage of questions and he would want to know why Benita had a gun and wanted to kill Lauren. With his current memory, he might not know that he was the bone of contention between two women, so he just said.

"The police are still working on it and will inform us as soon as they get the culprit.

"But why would I take a bullet for someone I didn’t know?"

"Maybe you thought you were a superhero, who knows?" Stanley tried to make a joke out of it.

"I’m not that stupid, brother, to risk my life for someone I don’t know. Or is there something you are not telling me?"

"What do you think I’m hiding from you? Lauren should be in the best position to tell you why you took the bullet for her but she is also a stranger according to you and since she is not in your heart, how will she know why you chose to take the bullet for her? Or is there something you are not telling us.

Steffan: "...."

He was quite surprised at the way his brother could flip the table around to look as if he was the one hiding something.

But that was not his problem, what really confused him was why they all seemed to be covering up when it came to Lauren.

What’s actually going on? And who actually is Lauren to them?