The Contracted Stripper

Meanwhile, Iris drove to her mother’s house, her mind heavy with worry and confusion. As soon as she arrived, she parked and rushed inside, heading straight to her mother’s room. Finding Skylar and her mother were sitting on the edge of the bed, looking frail but stern.

“Mom, Sky, what’s going on?” Iris asked, her voice trembling.

Her mother, looking frail but determined, gestured for Iris to sit.

“Mom, you called and sounded urgent. What is wrong? Do you feel pain? Should I call a doctor? Should we go to the hospital? Mom, talk to me,” Iris pleaded.

“Iris, enough!” her mother snapped.”Mom, what are you talking about?” Iris asked, clearly confused.

“Iris, how could you? How could you Iris? Her mother spoke.

“Iris, you got married and hid it from me? How could you?” Her mother’s voice was shaking with anger.

“You’ve been lying to me about your job. You don’t have a job. You’ve just been lazing around in your husband’s house. You’ve been deceiving everyone, especially me, your mother. I didn’t raise you to be this way. What have you turned into?”.

“Were you so ashamed of me that you couldn’t tell me about such an important thing? You abandoned me and hardly come to see me because you now have a new family, right?” Iris’s mother spoke with so much pain that tears filled her eyes.

“Skylar, I’m also disappointed in you. You knew all this while and kept it a secret from me.”

“Mom, it’s not what you think. I didn’t plan for all this to happen. I was going to tell you,” Iris explained, crying.

“Tell me when Iris? When I die? On my grave? Tell me, Iris,” her mother demanded. “I want that marriage dissolved immediately.”

“Mom, I can’t. It’s complicated. I did everything because of us. We needed help. I needed to take care of you and your condition. I had to get married, Mom,” Iris said, sobbing.

Skylar stood by the door, crying too.

“You had no right to do that without informing me. Dissolve that marriage, Iris, and that’s final,” her mother insisted.

“Mom, I can’t. I will, but not now,” Iris replied amidst tears.

“Iris, I said dissolve…..” Her mother collapsed before she could finish her sentence, her voice having been raised too high.

“Mom! Mom! Mom, please wake up! I will leave the marriage. I will dissolve it… Mom!!!” Iris and Skylar cried as they called an ambulance and rushed her to the hospital.

When they got to the hospital, their mother was immediately taken to the emergency room. Iris couldn’t stop crying, and Skylar tried to console her. “Calm down, Iris. Mom will be fine. Please calm down.”

“I failed, Sky. I failed,” Iris continued crying. “Mom is in the hospital because of me. I can’t seem to get anything right. I don’t want to lose Mom. She’s all I have left,” Iris sobbed.

“Nothing will happen to Mom. She will be fine, Iris. I warned you about this whole thing,” Skylar said softly.

“How did she find out?” Iris asked.

“After your fashion show, she watched when you and Ryan were leaving how those dumb reporters were asking you both questions and how you and Ryan walked out together.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

She confronted me, and I couldn’t lie to her. I had to tell her.”Iris nodded in understanding as tears kept dripping from her eyes.

After some minutes, the doctor walked out of the emergency room. Iris quickly approached him.

“Doctor, how is my mother?” she asked, with Skylar standing behind her.

“Can we talk in my office?” the doctor replied as he walked, Iris and Skylar following him.

“Your mother was stressed and in shock, which led her to fall into a coma. Right now, she’s not responding to treatment, but I hope she will soon. We need to monitor her closely,” the doctor explained.

At this, Iris’s already wet eyes began to flow with another set of tears.”Secondly, her kidney condition has worsened. She needs a transplant as soon as possible, or she might not hold on for long.

But we have to wait for her to get out of the coma before we can start any further treatment.”

Iris felt her world crumbling as she stared at the doctor, unable to process the magnitude of what she had just heard. Her mother’s condition had deteriorated, and she needed a kidney transplant. The guilt of hiding her marriage weighed heavily on her heart, and now her mother was in a coma.

She was speechless. She didn’t know what to say. Words escaped her, and the world around her began to spin as she felt utterly defeated.

“Iris, are you okay?” Skylar’s voice cut through the fog of her thoughts.

Iris nodded weakly, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall anew. “Yes, Sky, I’ll be fine. I just need a moment.”

The doctor cleared his throat gently. “We will continue to monitor your mother closely, and we’ll keep you updated on any changes. In the meantime, you should try to get some rest and take care of yourself.

“Iris nodded again, barely hearing his words. She felt numb as she followed Skylar out of the doctor’s office and into the waiting area.

She sat down heavily in one of the chairs, her mind racing.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Iris whispered, her voice breaking.

Skylar sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Iris, I’m so sorry. I should have been more supportive. I should have found a way to protect you both.”

“It’s not your fault, Sky,” Iris said, shaking her head. “I made my choices, and now I have to deal with the consequences.”

They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts. The sterile smell of the hospital and the murmur of voices around them only heightened the sense of despair that hung in the air.

Finally, Skylar broke the silence. “Iris, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Iris admitted. “I need to find a way to save my mom. I can’t lose her, Sky. She’s all I have left.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Skylar said firmly. “We’ll get through this together.”Iris nodded, grateful for her friend’s unwavering support. “Thank you, Sky. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

As they sat there, the sound of footsteps approaching caught their attention. Iris looked up to see Ryan walking towards them, a concerned expression on his face.

“Iris, I came as soon as I heard,” Ryan said, his voice filled with worry. “How’s your mother?”

Iris’s eyes filled with tears again. “She’s in a coma, Ryan. And she needs a kidney transplant. I don’t know what to do.

“Ryan reached out to take her hand, but Iris pulled away, the pain and betrayal still fresh in her mind.

“Iris, please let me help,” Ryan said softly. “I know I’ve hurt you, but I want to make things right.”

“How can you make things right, Ryan?” Iris asked, her voice shaking. “Bella is pregnant with your child. You betrayed me.”

Ryan’s eyes widened. ” Iris, I had no idea until that day at the show. I swear.”

“Don’t lie to me, Ryan,” Iris snapped. “I heard it from her mouth.”

“Iris, I promise you, I didn’t know,” Ryan said, his voice pleading.

“Let me help you and your mother. Please, I owe you that as my wife.”

Skylar stood up, placing herself between Iris and Ryan.

“Ryan, maybe you should give Iris some space right now. She’s been through a lot.”Ryan looked desperate, but he nodded reluctantly. “Alright.

But Iris, please call me if you need anything. I’ll do whatever it takes to help.”Iris didn’t respond, and Ryan slowly walked away, leaving her and Skylar alone once more.

As the days passed and turned into weeks, Iris spent most of her time at the hospital, sitting by her mother’s bedside and praying for her recovery. She barely ate or slept, consumed by worry and guilt. Skylar visited often, bringing food and trying to get her to take care of herself.

“Mom, please wake up,” Iris whispered, holding her mother’s hand gently. “I need you. We need you.”

Skylar sat in a chair nearby, her eyes red from crying. “She’s a fighter, Iris. She’ll pull through this.”Iris nodded, but her heart was heavy with worry.

The weight of her mother’s condition, combined with the complexities of her own life, felt unbearable.

Just then, the door opened, and Dr. Evans walked in, carrying a clipboard. He looked at the two women, a sympathetic expression on his face.

“How are you holding up?” Dr. Evans asked, looking directly at Iris.

“We’re managing,” Iris replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Any change in her condition?” Dr. Evans shook his head. “Not yet, but we’re monitoring her closely.

Sometimes, it takes time for the body to heal.”Iris swallowed hard, fighting back tears. “Is there anything we can do? Anything at all?”Dr. Evans sighed.

“Just keep talking to her. Sometimes, coma patients can hear what’s going on around them. Your presence and your voice might help.”

Skylar nodded, squeezing Iris’s hand. “We’ll be here, doctor. We won’t leave her.”

After Dr. Evans left, Iris sank into the chair next to her mother’s bed, exhausted both physically and emotionally.

“Sky, I don’t know how much longer I can do this. It’s all too much.”Skylar wrapped an arm around Iris. “We’ll get through this, Iris. We have to.”

Iris stood by her mother’s hospital bed, the rhythmic beeping of the machines a constant reminder of the fragility of life. Jessica’s face was pale, her body still. The coma had taken a toll on her, and every day seemed like an eternity for Iris.

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

Back at the mansion, Ryan was pacing his room, feeling the weight of the day’s events crushing him.

He picked up his phone and called his assistant

.”Get me the best nephrologist in the country,” Ryan ordered. “I don’t care what it costs. Just make it happen.”

His assistant, used to Ryan’s urgent demands, replied, “Right away, sir.”Ryan hung up and sat down, his head in his hands.

He felt like he was losing control of everything. The image of Iris’s tear-streaked face haunted him. He knew he had to make things right, not just for her but for himself too.