49
Arianna was confused at being separated from Stelina. The little girl kept calling her mama's name.
"Mama... where are you? Why did you leave Arianna here alone? Arianna is scared, Mama."
With an upset face Arianna continued to look for Stellina among the hospital visitors. One by one, she searched the faces that passed by, but all of them were not Stellina.
The little girl was already in the lobby at the same time as someone pushed open the hospital's glass doors. Arianna's face was instantly filled with anxiety.
"Mama... where are you?" she whispered softly. The girl looked at the people who were visiting the hospital.
While Arianna was confused about finding Stellina, the little girl walked from one corridor to another, until she accidentally collided with a girl.
"Ouch." Arianna groaned as she fell on the floor.
"Hey, are you sick?" greeted the girl who turned out to be Patrizia. It was a girl who came with Pedro.
"My knee is a little sore, ouch!"
Arianna cried not only because she fell after colliding with Patricia, but also because she was afraid of not seeing Stellina.
"Hey sweetie, are you okay?"
Patrizia felt guilty. She herself also did not know that there was a child who suddenly cut her off running from the end of the hospital corridor. Patrizia felt uncomfortable being seen by many people.
"Sweet child where is your mama?" asked Patrizia while helping Arianna to stand up again. Arianna rubbed her knees which were a little sore.
"You're okay, right? Does this hurt?" asked Patrizia when she saw the slight scratch on Arianna's knee. The little girl shook her head.
"That's good, but if you feel pain I can treat it."
"No need, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Honey where's your mama?" Patrizia was still asking where Arianna's mom was.
"I don't know because mom suddenly disappeared," regretted Arianna with a sad face.
Patrizia and Pedro looked at each other hearing Arianna's answer. Patricia couldn't stop thinking that Arianna was lost and separated from her mother.
"Pedro, try to take care of this child, I have no experience taking care of missing children," whispered Patrizia with a stern face. She gave orders to Pedro. But just the same, the scary-faced Pedro became a bad sight for Arianna who immediately shrank her nerves when Pedro looked at her.
"Patty, you see for yourself, right, this kid gets scared when he sees my face. So, how can I take care of him?"
Pedro gave up returning the missing child business to Patrizia.
"Well, then we should just take him to Camilla. Let Camilla take care of it or we can report it to the hospital to be announced on the loudspeaker." Pedro made a suggestion.
"I don't think that's a bad idea, but I want to go to mom right away. Let Camilla take care of the missing child." Finally, they found an agreement.
"Hey little girl, what's your name?"
"My name is Arianna."
"Okay, Arianna, you lost your mama, I will help you to find her girl. But you have to come with me first, how?"
Having no other choice, Arianna finally agreed to Patty's words. The girl obeyed when Patty took her hand to come to Enrico's room.
Arriving at her father's room, Patrizia was both surprised and happy because she saw Stellina there. Before her shock was gone, she suddenly heard Arianna speak up.
"Mama!"
Arianna screamed when she saw Stellina in the room.
"Mama, why did you leave me?"
Stellina couldn't help but be surprised. The woman became awkward. She was happy to see Arianna, but also awkward for calling her Mama in front of her family. Of course it left people confused. Stellina was also nervous but she was more concerned about Ariana's feelings.
Honey, why did you catch up with mom?" asked Stelina while hugging Arianna who also welcomed her hug tightly.
The girl finally cried with joy because she found her mama. For a moment, the girl felt sad because she had been separated from Stellina.
"Calm down, honey we're together. You have found mama, see you are a very smart child. Come wipe your tears, you've made mama proud, dear." Stellina wiped away the tears that fell down Arianna's cheeks. It was a sight that touched everyone's heart.
"Where's Papa, dear. How did you get here?" Stellina asked. "Weren't you with Uncle Fabian earlier?"
Arianna nodded her head.
"Yes Mama, I was asking papa for some cotton candy and Uncle Febrian was buying me some, but suddenly I saw mama going into the hospital, so I chose to go with her."
Ariana's answer surprised Stellina to no end.
"So you left Papa and Uncle Fabian in the garden?"
Arianna nodded her head again innocently.
"Yes, Mama. I left Papa and Uncle Fabian at the park, because I prefer to come with Mama."
Stelina stroked Arianna's hair.
"Oh, dear, you can't do that again. Your father must be very worried right now."
She could imagine Diego and Fabian frantically searching for Arianna.
"Whose child is she?" asked Patrizia directly without waiting for the situation to subside. The young girl sometimes did like to slip up. Stellina gave a code with eye movements so that everyone would be quiet and not ask any questions first.
Stellina repeatedly shook her head at Patrizia, hoping that her younger sister would not ask about Arianna's whereabouts. To her mom and dad, Stellina also gave a code with her hands. Because she was currently holding Arianna so Ariana was facing backwards and did not see Stellina's family.
After everyone recognized the code given by Stellina, they nodded their heads.
Finally having calmed down enough Arianna looked around the room.
"Who is their, mama?" The little girl asked innocently.
"They're my friends and we're on business. Pedro can you call Diego and tell him that Arianna is here with me?"
Pedro nodded his head.
At the same time, Camilla who had just come out of the restroom looked shocked to see Stellina and Arianna suddenly in the hospital room.
Unexpectedly, it turns out that Arianna already knows Camilla well because Camilla used to be a waitress at their mansion along with Gina.
"Camilla, are you here too? I missed you!" Ariana slid down from Stellina's arms and hugged Camilla tightly. Camilla also returned Arianna's warm embrace. A moment later, Camilla who could read the situation finally spoke softly to Arianna.
"Miss Arianna, would you like to take a walk with me around here?"
"Of course. I want to, we'll find some food and buy some candy, right?" asked Arianna with her round eyes.
Cammila nodded with a smile. "Mama, I'm going to look for food with Camilla first."
"Alright honey you and Camilla can go now, I'll finish my business."
Camilla quickly led Arianna away. Stellina took a deep breath as if she had just been released from the tiger's mouth.
Enrico, who realized what had happened, burst into tears. He felt guilty because his poor health condition made Stellina have to sacrifice many things, perhaps even sacrificing her own future.
The man who was now lying weakly saw how Stellina had to play the role of a mother. Even she was an unmarried woman. But the scene that unfolded before him was one that Enrico had never even considered. Stellina played the role of a mother perfectly.
"Why did you keep something important like this from us, dear?" Laura, Stellina's mother, was also angry. She hadn't expected Stellina to make such an important decision without telling her family.
"I'm sorry mom, but the situation really leaves no choice and now I have to go through with everything. I hope mom and dad understand my decision."
"How can we not worry about you Stellina? Now tell us, did that man treat you well?"
Laura was very worried about Stellina. "Of course Mama, don't worry about that. Diego treats me very well. I don't lack anything. Papa and Mama don't need to worry." Stellina tried to calm her parents' hearts.
"Wow, amazing, you've managed to make me always envious of your life."
Patrizia hugged her older sister.
"Why should you be envious, Patty?"
"My life has always been ordinary, while yours has always been full of adventure." Stellina laughed at Patrizia's words. She knew her sister loved adventure but because of the overprotective attitude of her papa and mama, Patricia had to settle for the student life she was living now.
"Never mind just focus on being yourself and live your life well. There will definitely be a time when you will also experience small surprises in your life." Stellina replied while stroking her younger sister's hair.
"Don't mess with my hair, I've been fixing my hair for two hours before coming here," replied Patrizia angrily.
Of course, it was to hide the joy of meeting Stellina. Her older sister always gave Patrizia new energy. In Patrizia's eyes, her older sister was a very beautiful, sociable and caring woman. A perfect sister in Patrizia's eyes, a spoiled girl and a little stubborn.
When they were releasing their longing for each other because they had not seen each other for a long time, Diego suddenly appeared with a sweaty face.
"I looked everywhere for her, but she came with you. Why didn't you tell me she was a girl coming after you?" Diego spoke a little loudly because he was really worried when he looked for Arianna in the park and never found her.
'I'm sorry Diego, I didn't know she was a girl following me either. We got separated, luckily Patrizia found her." Stellina explained so Diego wouldn't get the wrong idea.
"Huh, this is really giving me a heart attack. Where is she now?"
"She's out for a walk with Camilla, don't worry Ariana's fine."
Diego ruffled his hair as he wanted to scold Stellina, but when he looked behind him, Enrico, Laura, Patrizia were sending sharp, questioning glances in his direction.
"Hello Mr. Enrico, how are you now?" Diego asked at once. He didn't know how else to greet him. The man cared deeply about Enrico's health. Diego warmly embraced Enrico in turn with Laura and Patrizia.
"As you can see, I'm doing much better now. Thank you for the great help you have given to our family, but I think it is time for you to let Stellina go. There is no reason to keep her any longer. She's a girl who only has to serve half of her contract, isn't that right Diego?"
Enrico's sudden question left Diego with no time to think of an answer. Even he, a man, still hoped that the contract would run long. He had forgotten how many months were left before Enrico reminded him.
"Mr. Enrico, six months is not a short time. It's still a long time, so you'd better be patient and let's get this over with."
"That's how it should be Diego. Because if anything happens to my daughter I will curse you to death!"
Enrico's piercing gaze pierced Diego's heart. The words of a father who wants to protect his daughter.
Diego, on the other hand, wasn't sure he could let Stelelina go back to her family that easily.
Even thinking about it now made Diego lazy. He just wanted to live day by day with Stellina, who had now conquered Arianna's heart.
Stellina's success was enough to make Diego happy.
"Of course I will pay attention to what you say, Mr. Enrico. All we need now is for both of us to be patient with this situation."
"Well if it's over I'll take Stellina away from here as we still have an appointment elsewhere."
Diego wanted to get Stellina out of this predicament as soon as possible.
"Wait Diego, she's a girl we just met. As her mother, I'm not willing to have my daughter taken away like this." Laura said.
"Never mind, Ma, don't worry. I'll go with Stellina," said Patrizia.
"What do you mean, Patty?" Stellina asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"It's okay, I just want to go out together. We haven't had lunch yet, so how about we go out for lunch together? Of course you don't mind, right?" Patrizia asked Diego with a slightly confused face.
This time Diego had no other choice.
"Are you sure you want to go with us?" Diego asked to make sure.
"Do you mind Mr. Diego?"
This time it was Pedro who spoke up. He didn't want Diego to treat Stellina badly either. He had to see with his own eyes and believe Diego as he had been asked by Stellina.
"There's no problem if you want to go with us, it's just that I think we have our own business. But if it's just for lunch, we can do it now. Alright Mr. Enrico and Mrs. Laura, we're leaving now."
"Diego, you know that Stellina is the light in our house. Never turn off that light."
Enrico was still being stern as a father, warning Diego. For a grown man like Diego, he understood what Enrico was saying.
"Diego, don't forget you have a daughter too, you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your daughter, would you?"
Laura gave Diego a pleading look. Once again Diego felt like a criminal on trial.
"Come on Mama and Papa, it's not what you think. We're just going for a walk because Arianna happened to ask for a walk in Rome. It's that simple. What's not simple is that I miss you guys a lot, but I'm glad to see that papa is now healthy, mama too, don't forget to rest."
Stellina hugged Enrico and Laura in turn.While hugging her mother, Stellina whispered.
"Mama I'll be fine, don't worry."
The words were enough to calm Laura down, especially when Patricia waved her hand from a distance and then winked as a signal for her mother to calm down.
"Take it easy, Ma, because I'll keep an eye on them." That was the message sent through Patricia's eyes.
Enrico and Laura could only look at the back of the daughter they loved so much.
"Do you really trust Diego?" Laura asked hoarsely.
Enrico shook his head and replied, "If he dares to misbehave with Stellina, I swear I will kill him."