CHAPTER 77: – WHO IS HE? –

Averting her gaze to the bed, she picked up the documents that had been mailed to her early morning yesterday. It was the divorce papers she’d filed for her mother, to see that she broke free from the man who was holding her back.

But she was worried.

Would her mother be willing to leave? She was unsure. But then, why wouldn’t she? Her father made her miserable. Why wouldn’t she want to leave a man who did nothing but hurt her over and over again?

Drawing a soft breath, Viviana left the house. She shut the door and proceeded over to her car. Getting in, she drove around before speeding off into the road.

Throughout the ride, she was quietly glancing at her phone every few minutes. Maybe he hadn’t left. Maybe something had gone wrong, and that was why she couldn’t reach him.

Nikolas... he wasn’t that kind of a man. Even if her mind said something utterly different, her heart felt otherwise. He wasn’t the kind of man that would just disappear on her.

But... could you really know a person? Even at this moment, she didn’t know who Nikolas really was. He was hiding things from her...

Parking the car at the lot built next to the hospital, Viviana got out and slammed the door shut. She made her way over to the building, walking up the stairs to step through the glass door that automatically pushed apart.

Seeing her approach, a nurse was quick to attend to her. "Ms. Di-grassi."

"My mother. I’d like to see her," Viviana said.

"Give me a second, let me mark some records down." The nurse spilled over to the desk. She wrote quickly in a book before returning back with a visitation tag. "Please come with me."

They walked through the hall towards the ward her mother was admitted in, however, upon arriving near the ward, both the nurse and Viviana came to their feet.

Standing outside was a man she’d never seen before, black hair with a little gray in it, matching the gray of his eyes too. He was tall, broad even, and he stood with his hands behind his back, watching her mother through the large wall window.

But that wasn’t what had Viviana’s attention. It was... the look in this man’s eyes. They were incredibly sad, as if he was watching something he loved fading before his eyes, under his fingertips.

"Who is he?" She asked.

"Oh." The nurse blinked. "I’m not really sure. I think it was a different nurse that checked him in. Although, he comes here often. A few times a week."

"Why?" Viviana furrowed her brows.

The nurse shook her head. "I’m not really sure. But I know that he always came here for your mother. He doesn’t really talk to her, but he visits her and sits, just staring at her. Then eventually he leaves. Oh, sometimes he even comes with things she likes and asks us to give them to her. He bought books sometimes..."

Viviana’s eyes flickered. She was confused.

Who was this man?

The only ones who knew her mother enjoyed books were she and her father, Amadeo. No one else. If this man knew, was he someone close to her mother?

She moved on her feet, about to approach him. But then she saw him sigh, turning to leave. He paused on his step, having now crossed gazes with her.

They stared at each other.

The man glanced at Rosalia inside the ward one last time before he looked away and began toward her. He didn’t stop, not even when he arrived near her. He walked past her, but Viviana grabbed his hand, at the material of his suit, stopping him.

He looked at her.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Why do you come here for my mother?"

The man stared at her. His gaze shifted to the documents she held, at the papers peeking out, and he cocked a brow.

Divorce papers? For whom?

"Just a friend of your mother," he responded and pulled off to continue out of the hospital.

A friend?

Viviana intently stared at him, but she eventually turned away. She walked over and pushed the door open, stepping into her mother’s ward.

Closing the door, she glanced over at the bed. Rosalia was seated with a smile on her face, head buried in the book she was reading.

"Ma." Viviana walked up to her.

Rosalia quickly lifted her head. Her hazel eyes shone, and her face lit up with smiles. "My girl."

Viviana froze.

"You... remember me today?"

Rosalia tilted her head with a bigger smile. "I do. I’ve been trying not to forget you." She reached over at the bedside table, picking up something. She said, "A nurse here, her name is Chelly. She printed your photo for me, so I can always have it with me. I can’t see you every day, so I look at it a lot and try not to forget you even for a day or a moment."

Viviana quivered at her words. "H-how long?" she asked.

"About a week and a half." Rosalia responded cheerfully, glancing at the words on her pages.

Viviana slowly moved closer. She sat down on the bed and reached out her arms, pulling her into a warm hug. "I’ve missed you."

Rosalia buried her face in her shoulder for a few seconds before sighing. "I’m always here. You don’t have to miss me, but you can always see me whenever you’d like. Like I said, I’ve been trying not to let my head forget."

She met her eyes. "You look tired."

Viviana blinked. "What?"

"You’re sad. Tired. What’s going on with you?" she asked. "Is something wrong? Is it your father? Savannah? Or is it the man you’re married to? Why don’t you tell me?"

Viviana shook her head at her. "It’s nothing. I’m just stressed from work. Nothing more."

"Viviana," Rosalia pressed. "You are not lying to me are you? You’re not hiding things from me, right?"

She shook her head at her. "I’m really fine."

"Then why did you come?"

"To see you."

"I don’t think that is the only reason you’re here." While she forgot her a lot of times, one thing Rosalia did too well was easily reading her like a book.

Glancing at the hardback she held, Viviana asked, "That man, who is he?"