THE DOCTOR'S LOVE TRAP

75. Not allowed to meet

Elrich, may be very fond of a joke that makes him or others laugh out loud. He also has a good sense of humor when he is in joking mode.

But, right now El is in serious mode. He needed an answer that could satisfy him. Not a joke that will provoke anger or a deep disappointment.

"Emily is gone. Your mother's dead, El."

The statement from Theresia was able to make Elrich's previously flat facial water turn into pias.

He was indeed unable to accept Theresia who came suddenly into his life. He also has not been able to forgive his biological mother who had intentionally left him.

But, this surprised him greatly. What other joke this time? Does Theresia want to test it? Or is it the universe playing tricks on him?

"Don't make a joke! Even if that woman doesn't have the guts to meet me that she left behind, then let me meet her just once. Yeah, so much better. I want to talk to him and ask him directly!"

El stood up from his seat for a moment.

Abrine and Theresia were surprised by the reaction El showed. Theresa's fear of this was evident, Elrich seemed shocked by her statement.

While Abrine was alone, he could only hold El tightly. It is as if channeling all the power so that the husband can be strong when he knows this reality.

"El, forgive grandma. But.the truth is. Emily... Emily... has been in a different world to us" said Theresa who wiped the clear water in the corner of her eyes.

"No way! You lied to me about anything else, madam?" el's not upset. Unexpectedly, he actually shed tears when he learned this reality.

Elrich is a man of taste. Just a glimmer of hope in her appeared when she knew there was a grandmother who recognized her as a grandchild.

Indeed, his attitude was angered by the sudden arrival of Theresia. But, the other side in her would have been moved because in fact she still has a mother. Although in reality his mother left him first, but El still hopes to meet Emily.

Even if Theresia is not in front of El at this time. At one possibility for later El was already intent on finding the whereabouts of his mother. Because, however, she was born from Emily's womb.

Elrich again sat in a doldrums because there was no lie on Theresa's face when she mentioned that Emily had indeed left this world.

"El, I know you're upset. I know you're angry too. But, I understand your sadness...." Abrine hugged El's head, leaning it against his stomach, for now Abrine was still standing in front of El Yeng sitting limp.

"What sins have I committed, Brine? I've been abandoned since I was a baby. Now I can't see it though. And he has left me forever."

El grumbled in his wife's arms, making Theresa's heart as slit as he watched it.

Theresia was remembered when Emily was still in the world. How much his daughter loved Elrich and always silently watched his growth from a distance.

Theresa took something out of the bag she was using. It looked like an old album and book.

"This is your mother's, El. He never asked me to give it to you. But, this is my own initiative."

Theresia pushed it in front of Elrich. El just stared at the thing with no interest in touching it.

"You can see it later, maybe not now. Open up when you feel better."

Theresa got up from her seat. He turned away but before he actually left their meeting place, he again made a sound without turning his head towards his granddaughter.

"Grandmother will retire soon, when you're ready for everything, meet grandma again later."

Elrich understood the words of his grandmother. But, he didn't think about it. What's on his head is still about Emily's death. Her mother's.

"Can I know why my mother died?" his question stopped the graceful steps of the middle-aged woman.

"Your mother is sickly, she also had an accident that left her with a brain injury."

El clenched his own hand. How she didn't know how hard her mother's life was after leaving her. All this time he even thought his mother left him to be able to have fun with another new life. Go with another man, for example. Or have a new family. In fact, today his estimate must be slapped hard on the reality that Theresia made.

Apparently, his mother was not okay after leaving him.

A flash of El's memory came to the surface. That memory led to her speaking to Abrine the other day about who donated her heart to.

The medical world has been like salt acid for El all this time. So, when he learned this fact. The fact that his biological mother had a brain injury, immediately her brain worked and concluded everything that had happened.

Abrine knows El can already decipher everything himself. But to answer the words of the husband he did not have the heart.

While Theresia herself did not intend to make El feel guilty for the heart of Emily he had received.

"And that woman is my mother." continued El with a laugh full of irony. He laughed, but he was crying.

During this time, Abrine had never seen the weak side of her husband. Perhaps he had once accidentally seen El shed tears. Yes, a while ago when she was hit by a disaster caused by Claire. But, just this time Abrine saw El who was blatantly crying in front of him.

"I'm ashamed of you, Brine." said El later.

"Tempo?"

"Yes, my life is a mess. Very messy. Not even God allowed me to meet my real mother, though."

"El, you don't say that. Everything that happened already has someone set it."

"Yes, my life is set to be like this. I look so pathetic."

"Because you're strong, that's why you're tested. That's what I know. Your shoulders are too firm. Even every problem you have faced to this day, cannot knock down your power. I know you can get through it."

****

A few days after El met Theresia that time. Eventually, El steadied himself to open his grandmother's gift.

A photo album with memories of his childhood. There is also a photo of a young Emily - her mother - who has the same eye color as her.

All the photos were taken candidly, without anyone's knowledge. I don't know where Emily got this from but there's a belief in El that it's true that her mother never left her. He is monitoring his growth.

An orange juice served Abrine on a table, to accompany El to look over the memories.

"Well, so this is a picture of you as a kid, huh?" Abrine wanted to comfort El who these few days looked glum.

"Hmm.." said El slowly.

"It turns out since childhood you've been handsome. Will my children inherit your good looks?"

El smiled to see his wife, although a sad hue still emanated clearly in the look of that face.

"If one or both of our babies were girls, they'd be pretty like you. But if they're men, then they must be my duplicates."

Abrine breathed a sigh of relief, apparently the husband can already be invited to chat.

"I'm glad to see you back in excitement. I don't want you to be sick." Abrine stroked El's jaw repeatedly.

"Hmm, I don't want to get sick either. If I'm sick who's gonna take care of you and them?" el said while stroking the wife's stomach.

"So, what's your next plan, El?"

"I'll continue reading my mother's diary. Then I'll tell dad the news. All this time I've been looking for my mother and she must have waited a long time without a certainty."

"I agree with that, El."

"If you have, I'll visit mom's grave with you and dad later. Then...."

"Then what?"

"Maybe I'll rethink my grandmother's message regarding my meeting with her."

El is not interested in her grandmother's estate, but she has other plans regarding it. He wanted to test Theresia first. Does her grandmother have compassion for her or just want to see her because she has no choice but to retire?

******