Nora followed behind them. Her brows were knitted showing the evident displeasure in her face. What she had just witnessed, the atmosphere she could detect, she hoped her assumptions were wrong. Otherwise, she really didn't like what she saw.

The three were led to the Intensive Care Unit by Alex and Ian. Richard and Alex were permitted to go in to see Stella after wearing protective clothes. Nora, Ian and Amy stood outside and could only watch through the glass window.

Doctor Burn was also inside explaining a few things to Alex and Richard. Amy was staring at Stella's face. She was so used to the bubbly woman this scene was unfamiliar to her. Her heart ached just from watching this scene. Amy felt her eyes sting with tears but just as she had been doing, she would not let herself cry in front of them.

"She's going to be okay", Nora spoke from beside her.

She could read Amy's emotions in that moment and she was touched. Amy really cared about her mother. Dr. Burn came out with Alex following behind while Richard remained inside.

Dr. Burn gave a polite nod to the three before going his way.

"How's Grandma?" Ian asked.

"She's going to be okay. The surgery went well, they expect her to regain consciousness tomorrow. Ian, take Emily home. Nora, can you go home and stay with Stacy?"

"Go home! You did promise Stacy you'd be there when she wakes up. Go on!" Nora shooed them.

"Okay! Let's go", Alex said almost immediately.

Nora's lips twitched. "My gosh! Look at you! You were waiting for me to say that, didn't you?"

Alex chuckled as she hugged her sister, "I picked up a thing or two after thirty six years of living as your sister."

"Alright. Let go, I need to hug Emily", she pushed away her sister and moved with arms wide open towards Amy.

But Alex was faster than her as she hang an arm around Amy and walked away before Nora could get to her. There was an evident frown on Nora's face. Amy chuckled as she looked in the glass window and saw Richard smiling. She waved at him which he return with his own.

He had been watching the whole exchange. He watched as the three left and retracted his gaze to find Nora glaring at him.

'What now?' he mused.

Alex went home on her own after giving Ian Stella's car keys. Ian drove her home with not so much as a word. He was still crashed by their earlier conversation; a huge slap in the face for him. Amy didn't mind the silence, there was a storm of emotions within her from being worried about Stella. She couldn't get that image out of her head.

"Thanks Ian", Amy said as she got out.

He gave a non-committal response and drove off. Amy didn't think much of it and went to unlock her house. As she walked in, she took out her phone and saw a bunch of notifications all from Zach.

Ahismine@***.com: Is everything okay?

Ahismine@***.com: I'm worried.

Ahismine@***.com: It's late. Tell me you're safe at home.

Ahismine@***.com: Wifey, are you ignoring your husband?

Ahismine@***.com: Amy, I'm worried about. Please get back to me as soon as you can.

Her heart warmed up when she saw the messages and subconsciously smiled. She started to compose a response but opted for securing a voice connection as usual. She sent an email to confirm if she could do that first.

"Are you okay?" Was the first thing he asked. "You're not hurt, are you? I told you to run to me if you need to. I can't lose you again!"

With the series of questions and the evident worry in his tone, Amy felt her intense emotions she had suppressed bubble up and threatening to spill.historical

"Zachery", she whispered which quickly turned into a sob as she sat on her bed

"Amy? What's wrong? What's happening? What's going on? You can tell me", he coaxed.

"I'm fine, I'm just.... Something happened", she rested her elbow on on her thigh and held her head as cried.

"What happened? Talk to me baby", Zach's voice turned even more gentle. He was already seated in his bed as he was alarmed by the sound of her cries. This was the first time he heard such a heart breaking sound that he felt his chest tighten just by hearing the sound of her cries.

"My friend got hurt, Ian's grandma. It was so bad she had to undergo surgery.... She's done so much for me even with the little that she has.... Just seeing her on that bed looking pale and so helpless and... She's such a bubbly person and to see her like that...."

Hot tears fell down Amy's face as everything Stella had done for her flashed in her mind scene after scene. One after the other she felt her heart ache even more as she cried out. Zach felt like his heart was getting squeezed with each sound of Amy's heart breaking sobs.

He wished he was there to hold her in his arms and wipe away her tears, to rub soothing circles on her back, to let her cry in his arms until her heart felt at ease. Zach had never felt so helpless in his life than in that moment. But there was not much he could do, so he let her cry as heart breaking as it was for him.

"It's okay..... Everything is going to be okay.... Ssh! Don't cry baby, it's okay. She's going to be okay..... Ssh...."

Zach ended up staying up coaxing Amy to stop crying lest she falls sick. He couldn't have that happen when he was already not with her. To his soothing voice, Amy was lulled to sleep. Zach only relaxed when he heard her breathing even. Despite that, he slept with an attentive ear to when she wakes up during the night.

The next morning, Amy's blue eyes fluttered open witba start.

"Amy?" Zach called out.

"Zachery? Did I sleep on you again?" She asked as picked up her phone from the other side of her bed and nestled back into the sheets.

"Don't worry about it. How are you feeling? Any aches and pains?" He gently asked.

Amy's heart warmed up at his worry. "I'm fine. Slept well?"

"Don't worry about me. Did you eat last night? Is there anything you could eat? You need to regain your strength before you can take on the day."

"I'll see what I have", she said.

"Can you make something right now? I need to hear you eat."

Amy chuckled when she heard this. "Okay, okay."

She got up and went to the kitchen with Zach still on the line. She got out some ingredients for a rice porridge. As she prepped them, her phone vibrated notifying her of a message. Her brows went up when she saw who it was.

Dylan: Buenos Dias!

"Zachery, I need to make a call. Can I get back to you?" She asked.

"Okay, I'll go shower while you do that", he said.

With that, she terminated the connection with Zach and quickly secured a connection with Dylan's mobile device. She was quick to set up her voice changer before Dylan intercepted the connection.

"Spain is a beautiful country! Why have I never been here before?" Dylan's excited voice boomed over her phone.

"Should I trust that you left Aldo's woman and left Italy in your own?" She was annoyed by Dylan's women problem. It was causing him to become careless which is something she could not have.

"Boss, when have I never listened to you?" He chuckled. Amy rolled her eyes at this.

"Stay hidden until everything is over", she ordered.

"Would that be after the Corporate gala? It's happening next weekend you know?" He reminded.

Amy felt a nervous twist in her stomach at the reminder. But she kept her composure and chose not to respond. When Dylan got silence as a response, he let out a cheeky laugh.

"Boss, you're planning something, aren't you? What do you plan on doing?"

A smile crept up on Amy's lips. What did she plan on doing indeed? Well, it would shock them all!