Clover was driving toward the condo with his wife, who was two months pregnant. They were heading home after her check-up and stopped briefly in front of a pharmacy because his partner needed to buy something.
"I'll be back," Clarisse said to him.
He just nodded and smiled. They had been married for two years now. He never expected that he, once a reckless man, would have a family someday. Thinking about it made him chuckle to himself.
Then, he noticed a woman familiar to him, and his brow furrowed as he recognized her.
Is that Frank's ex-girlfriend? he wondered.
Clarisse returned, and he was still doubtful.
"Hon, isn't that Frank's ex?" he asked.
She immediately looked at the woman.
"Yes, that's her," Clarisse nodded. "Why does she look so thin now?" his wife noticed.
"Are you done buying the medicine for your parents?" he asked the woman.
She just nodded and adjusted her seat. He saw that she was waiting for a car.
"Shall we go?" he asked.
She nodded. He was about to start the car when suddenly the woman fainted. They were all shocked and looked at each other.
He quickly got out. People around panicked, but he rushed to her and supported her. She had hit her head.
"Call an ambulance!" someone shouted.
"I'll take her to the hospital," he volunteered.
"Son, get her to the emergency room right away! The impact to her head was strong, and she lost consciousness," another bystander warned.
He just nodded. He picked her up and placed her gently in the backseat, while Clarisse looked on worriedly.
He moved swiftly.
"Hon, let's take her to the emergency room now," Clarisse said.
He nodded.
"Sorry, hon, I don't know why I helped her," he said to his wife.
She gave a weak laugh and shook her head. "I'm glad you volunteered to help her."
They brought her to the nearest hospital. Nurses attended to her immediately after hearing why she was brought in. They didn't know the woman.
So, Clarisse searched through the woman's bag and fortunately found an ID.
"Faith Mariely Celestial." The nurse recognized the name, frowning. "We have a record of her here."
"I'll look up her records," another nurse said quickly and went off.
They cleaned the wound on her forehead caused by the fall. She was still unconscious and looked pale. The last time he saw her, she wasn't so thin.
"Hon," Clarisse called him.
"Yes?" he replied.
"The nurse I talked to said she has a lot of bruises," Clarisse whispered.
He looked at her to confirm what he heard. Clarisse nodded.
"Sir, do you know anyone who can pick her up when she wakes up?" the nurse asked him.
He shook his head. Then an idea came to him.
"Wait a minute, nurse, I need to make a quick call," he said.
"I'll try to contact Frank. Maybe he knows someone who can pick her up."
Clarisse nodded. "I'll stay with her inside for now." She said goodbye and walked quickly inside.
He messaged Frank urgently on Messenger. On the second call, Frank finally answered.
He sounded sleepy. "What's so urgent?"
"Are you at the hospital? Is your wife okay?" Frank asked, confused.
"Just chill, Clarisse is fine. I just want to ask you something," he sighed.
"Do you know Faith Mariely Celestial?" Clover asked his cousin directly.
Frank frowned.
"Why? She's my ex-girlfriend," Frank answered.
"She's in the hospital. She suddenly collapsed. Do you know anyone who can pick her up? She's unconscious," he explained.
"What? What happened to her?" Frank's voice was alarmed but trying to stay calm.
He hesitated.
"Hey Clover, what exactly happened?" Frank asked again.
He sighed. "We don't know yet; no doctor has officially checked her. But one nurse found many bruises on her body. I haven't seen her condition myself. My wife is inside with her now."
"Bruises? Why does she have bruises?" Frank asked again.
"Hey, calm down. Just calm down. I'll keep you updated. For now, do you have any contact we can call?" Clover asked.
"I don't have contacts for Nathan or Nadia, but I'll message Andrew—he's close to Faith's girlfriend," Frank said.
"Please do," Clover said.
"Keep me posted."
He nodded and ended the call. He went back inside the hospital. Clarisse was talking seriously with a doctor. Maybe they were discussing why Faith fainted.
Clover didn't catch the doctor's explanation because Clarisse finished talking and the doctor moved to help another patient.
"Hon, what did the doctor say about her condition?" He asked Clarisse, looking at Faith.
He noticed the rash on Faith's legs and frowned.
Clarisse sighed before speaking. "Exhaustion and stress, plus the rash and fresh wounds on her back and thighs," she said.
"Also, maybe she experienced abuse," Clarisse added.
His ears perked up at the word abuse. "Who the hell would do that to her?" he asked, still unable to grasp it.
"The nurse said the patient has a sibling and a husband of Nadia who worked in the hospital before."
"Did they call him?" Clover asked.
Clarisse shook her head. "No contact info. Apparently, she changed her phone number and isn't active on Messenger anymore."
He nodded.
"Have you contacted your cousin?" Clarisse asked him.
Clover only nodded. "He said he would talk to Andrew's girlfriend."
"Is Frank worried about her?" Clarisse asked.
He gave a weak laugh. "You could tell from how he kept trying to drag me on Messenger. He loves her; of course he's worried—especially if he finds out the reason. He might come home to the Philippines right away."
"So, your cousin really loved his girlfriend back then."
"He hasn't denied it. And he's hoping to return to the Philippines to see her. But apparently, she has a boyfriend now."
"Ah, that's why your cousin has been avoiding showing up," Clarisse said.
Clarisse immediately frowned, looking at him. "If she has a boyfriend, where is he?"
"I don't know." He shook his head, staring at Faith's condition.
"Any complications?" he asked.
"No, the doctor just said she needs rest and relaxation," Clarisse said worriedly. "That might be why she's gotten so thin."
He quickly took photos of Mariely's appearance. He needed to send them to his cousin. He also captured the recent bruises and rashes on her back.
"Excuse me," a woman said hurriedly.
He turned to see who it was. "Veron," he recognized her.
"Clover?" she asked.
"So, you're Andrew's girlfriend?"
"Where is Faith?" she asked.
Veron immediately rushed over and supported Mariely. "Faith," she said with concern, seeing her condition.
"What did the doctor say?" she asked urgently while looking back and forth between them.
They exchanged looks.
"The doctor said she fainted due to exhaustion and stress and needs rest. Don't worry, there were no complications found. But the doctor mentioned she may be suffering from abuse," Clarisse explained to Veron.
Veron nodded and stared at Faith.
"Thank you for bringing her to the hospital," Veron said gratefully.
Does Veron know about this? Clover wondered.
"Veron, we heard she has a boyfriend now, right? Then why does she have rashes and bruises?"
"What happened to her? Is she a victim of physical abuse from her boyfriend? Damn, I hope I'm wrong. My cousin would be furious if he found out."
"Do Andrew and you know about this? Does her family know what's going on?"
Veron was silent. Clover noticed her fists clenched tightly.
"Frank left Faith, didn't he? He'd be furious? Frank doesn't care about Faith," Veron said.
"You don't know Frank well yet, Veron. But one thing I can say—if he wants to protect someone in his life, he will move mountains. Whoever did this to her will face hell," Clover said.
"So? What happened to your friend?" he asked again.