Divorce Anxiety

Kathleen entered a restaurant and ordered herself a plate of vegan pasta.

After her meal, she soon left to visit Benjamin who was admitted to the nearby hospital.

Kathleen couldn’t help her rising concern as she observed the unconscious form of Benjamin through the window of his hospital room.

“My brother’s condition has been stable since early this morning,” Gemma uttered from behind Kathleen.

Kathleen turned to face Gemma, who was dressed in her nurse’s uniform and balancing a tray between her hands.

“When will your brother be regaining consciousness?” queried Kathleen cautiously.

Gemma’s expression darkened as she replied, “The doctor says that it’s still too early to tell.”

“Why not try consulting the opinions of other specialists?”

“It’s all right, Kathleen. There’s still time,” Gemma comforted. “By the way, how was your experience volunteering?”

“It was such an eye-opener! I learned so much from it,” Kathleen enthused.

Gemma smirked. “I watched your speech just now during my break. You were pretty amazing out there.”

“By the way, why the sudden interest in individuals with autism?”

“Well, my foster brother is autistic,” said Gemma grimly.

Now that is new.

“My foster parents come from pretty wealthy backgrounds. They adopted me as I had seemed pliant and obedient. Their hopes were that I would comply with their wishes to look after their son once they were gone. Their plan was for both of us to marry by offering me their inheritance as an incentive. They then threatened to disown me if I were to refuse,” said Gemma drily.

Kathleen was stunned speechless.

“I overheard all this when I was in high school. If I were to go against them, they swore never to pay for my tuition fees and daily expenses. Gaining admission into a university would have been a lost cause.”

“That’s preposterous!”

“Consider yourself lucky, Kathleen. Truly. I’ve gone through the worst of it all, and things barely faze me these days,” advised Kathleen with a wry smile.

Kathleen gripped Gemma’s hands anxiously. “What happened after? How did you make it out?”

“Thankfully, my brother was already a policeman back then. He located me and sponsored me all the way till graduation.” Gemma smiled fondly.

sympathy welled up within Kathleen, her eyes prickling with unshed tears over Gemma’s

My brother will be fine,” Gemma

Kathleen pursed her lips.

Gemma was right.

indeed

family had always treated her

herself after noticing the time. “Duty calls. I will

around!” Kathleen added

at Benjamin’s

Kathleen met up with Federick to finalize the terms

sorry, Frederick! A-About

offered a gracious smile while

eyes widened as she perused the terms. “You’re

earn from their work. Yours is good enough for a greenhorn

has already far exceeded my expectations.” Kathleen beamed

to complete

enthusiastically while signing

to you. It should be reflected in your bank account

you to lunch as a celebration of

have to rain check. I still need to

all right, Federick. Whenever you’re free. I will be

“Sure. Take care.”

departed with a

and therapeutic as basking

leaving the publishing firm, Kathleen was consumed by the thought of the

getting paid for the first time

wasn’t much, but it was a significant milestone

barely suppress her glee from

But Old Mrs. Macari has everything she needs. Even so, a present won’t hurt. It’s merely

less than fifty thousand in her bank account after tax

she was

veritably glowing with joy as she entered

selecting several items, Kathleen decided

saccharine innocence of Kathleen’s voice instantly dispelled

let slip a “Darling!”

Macari,” she