Christine looked worried, her brows drawing closer with concern.
"Ma, this is what I've been trying to say. She even has health complications. What if we can't handle it anymore?" Maria said.
Christine didn't flinch. "Who are Star's parents? Do you have their contacts? Have you spoken to them?"
"Yes, we reached out to her mother. She's up north. I believe Star has her number saved," Maria replied.
"Then we'll call her. And Maria, what exactly is the issue with Star staying here? It's barely been a month, and you're already making noise. What if I hadn't shown up—who would you be complaining to then?"
Maria was stunned into silence.
"Mom, I'm just saying… we can't carry a yoke that's not ours."
"A yoke, right?" Christine narrowed her eyes. "I came here because of my son, not to start chasing people out." She turned and walked off to her room.
Maria muttered under her breath, "Well then, I guess the ball's in my court now," and followed suit into her own room.
From the kitchen, Bonita noticed a familiar car pulling into the driveway—Kefas. Her heart skipped. She quickly dropped the glass of juice on the living room table and dashed outside.
Kefas stepped out of the car, arms already open at the sight of his daughter running toward him.
"Oh, my sweet girl," he smiled.
"Kefas, please," Bonita said, stopping short. "You have to come back later—or maybe not at all. My grandmother's here, and she won't take it lightly seeing you around."
Kefas's expression dropped. That wasn't the welcome he expected.
"Oh… sure. I'll leave," he said, his voice tinged with sadness.
"I'm really sorry. I just can't handle any more drama today," Bonita sighed.
"It's okay, love. I—brought you something. Remember I promised?" He reached back into the car and pulled out a plastic bag of fast food.
"It's okay…" she began, but then remembered Star would likely be hungry when she woke up.
"You don't want it anymore?" Kefas asked, hurt flashing in his eyes.
"No—thank you so much," Bonita said quickly, taking the package.
"Alright… take care, and be a good girl," Kefas said, climbing back into the car.
"Bye," Bonita waved, exhaling in relief as he drove off.
Meanwhile, in Star's room, Mandume was still seated at her bedside, holding her hand.
"Until you come back to me, I'm not going anywhere, Star," he whispered.
"Even now… you're beautiful," he smiled gently. "I love you. And I'll stand by you—no matter what."
Bonita entered with the plastic bag and juice.
"Did you go shopping?" Mandume asked, raising a brow.
"No, um… here, your juice. Actually, I ordered food earlier while you guys were out. Let me just give it to Star. She'll probably be hungry when she wakes up."
Mandume raised an eyebrow at her sudden generosity.
"You're just handing her your food? You're not hungry anymore?"
"She needs it more than I do… I'm just taking the juice," she said, pulling it out and placing the food neatly on Star's table.
Mandume studied her, suspicion creeping in.
"I won't let you harm Star," he muttered silently to himself.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Bonita asked, catching his expression.
"Oh, nothing," Mandume stammered.
"Wait… are you checking me out in front of your girlfriend?" Bonita teased, and they both laughed.
"Ew, no! You're my sister—why would I do that?" Mandume said, grinning. "But hey, I'm starving. What's in here?"
"I don't know. I just asked someone to get me food," she said quickly.
"Your boyfriend? When are you finally going to tell me who's been spoiling you?" he grinned while unwrapping the food.
"I don't have a boyfriend—just guy-friends, crushes, and flirts," she said, shrugging.
"So… which one is this? A flirt?"
"Kinda."
"Yoh!" Mandume shouted.
"What? What happened?" Bonita asked, startled.
"N$300?! A whole three hundred dollars' worth of KFC?!" he held up the receipt in disbelief.
"Is that why you freaked out?" Bonita said, rolling her eyes.
"No, it's because you said some guy bought it. What if he asks you out and you say no—what's he gonna expect in return?"
"He won't. Relax…" Bonita said dismissively, knowing full well it was from her father.
"Fine. But don't come crying to me if someone starts threatening you just for a chicken wing," Mandume grumbled, grabbing a piece of meat and settling in to eat.
In her room, Christine was lost in thought. Maria's attitude gnawed at her.
What exactly did Star see at the clinic that Maria's so desperate to keep hidden?
She picked up her phone and made a call.
"I just arrived. Yes, I've started seeing signs. Maria's acting off. I think Star might be a threat to her," Christine said in hushed tones.
"She's Mandume's girlfriend… Okay, Sir. I'll dig deeper. Whatever it is Star knows, Maria is scared. But Maria isn't going anywhere. She owes me my son. In the meantime, I'll stay alert."
She ended the call and sat in silence, suspicion brewing.
Back in Star's room, Mandume and Bonita were trading jokes and waiting.
"I can't wait for her to wake up. She'll be like, 'Oh gosh! Is my baby alright? What happened to me?'" Bonita giggled.
"Or act like it's nothing," Mandume smirked.
"No, she'll definitely freak out," Bonita said.
"Star only cares if she's okay. Let me tell you—when we were in the hospital, she woke up and insisted on seeing her mother right away."
"You were with her at the hospital?" Bonita blinked.
Mandume paused. He had told the family he was sleeping over at a friend's place.
"Ah… yeah, I lied. I had to sneak off," he said sheepishly.
"Mmmh, I see…" Bonita said playfully.
"She needed me. No one else was there. I had to do it."
"Bro, it's okay. That's love. She would've done the same."
"Yeah. You should've seen her—arguing with the nurses. 'No, my mom is in danger!'" he mimicked Star dramatically.
"I'm really sorry, Star. You shouldn't even be in that hospital bed," Bonita said softly.
"Yeah… she probably doesn't even remember that anymore," Mandume replied, his voice low with guilt.