Bella jerked around in her seat at the sound of the opening door that interrupted her glaring at the diagram of an heart on the pristine white wall of Dr. Silver's office.

The man himself walked in through the door, closely followed by Dr. Rhea, a young woman that didn't look a day older than twenty-four although she had to be. Bella knew her as an articulate person and she had this air about her that always made Bella feel inferior whenever they got caught in the same room.

Which was most of the time. Dr. Rhea was unavoidable, seeing as she was another one of the paediatric heart transplantation team of St. Barnabas Teaching Hospital.

"Oh Ms. Campbell, very nice to see you." She spoke patronizingly, like she didn't know Bella was waiting in Dr. Silver's office.

Bella stood from her seat and took the offered handshake from Dr. Rhea but kept her eyes on glaring at Dr. Silver, she had an idea why he brought Dr. Rhea and Bella didn't like it one bit.

He sat down across from her in his squeaky leather chair, looking impeccable as always and folded his arms on the desk, regarding Bella solemnly. She held his gaze with bated breath.

"Dr. Rhea is going to explain somethings I'm not sure you understand." He said to her.

At the intro Dr. Rhea cleared her throat and went to stand beside him. "Let's get right to it then. I was informed that you offered to be your daughter's donor?" She asked and Bella nodded once.

Rhea gave her a tiny rueful smile. "Ms. Campbell, I want to tell you how commendable that is but I'd rather be sincere and excuse my bluntness but that is not only the most preposterous thing I've heard since the beginning of my career but it's also the stupidest."

Bella blanched at her tone and Dr. Silver shot a cautious look at his colleague.

"It really is." She affirmed without remorse. "First the possibility that your child's body will reject the new heart is very real and do you know what that means?"

Bella stood back up sharply and faced the female doctor in a square off. "Her body will not reject my heart, I'm her mother."

"Spoken like an illiterate, being her mother has got nothing to do with this." Rhea said firmly, then folded her arms on her chest and sneered at Bella. "And let's say her body accepts the heart, you're single mother and you're about to leave your daughter without the only family she knows. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a regular foster kid out there? Talk less of one that will require constant medical attention?"

"She's not going to be a foster kid, she has a father and he's around now! He'll take care of her!" Bella yelled, starting to shake furiously.

"You have it all figured out, don't you?" Dr. Rhea's voice was calm, clipped and professional even though her words weren't.

She walked slowly around the desk towards Bella, her arms still folded across her chest. "Listen to me, I'm gonna be the bad guy and tell you everything you don't want to hear and I don't mind you hating me."

Dr. Silver quickly interrupted her. "Ahem...Dr. Rhea please, I'm sure there's an amiable approach to this?"

"Losing a child is hard, everybody knows that." Rhea continued as if the other doctor had not spoken at all. "It's sad and difficult, but you learn to live with it. You're healthy and fertile, there's also adoption, you can have many more kids and do with them what you couldn't with Lyric, you could raise them in Lyric's memory. I'm sure she would want that if she understand what you're trying to do.

And if you end up sacrificing your life for her, that's an end game to everything and the unfortunate part is, Lyric still won't live forever with your heart, she have until she's nineteen years, twenty-two at most until she'd need another transplant. What if she doesn't get a donor then too?"

"Dr. Rhea?"

"Yes, Dr. Silver." She answered sweetly. "I'm just being honest. You and I know if Ms. Campbell continue with this way of thinking, we may have to get her committed and put under surveillance before she does anything stupid."

A tear rolled down Bella's cheek, she picked her bag from the table without looking away from Dr. Rhea. "I don't care what you say, I'm not going to lose my daughter." She said hoarsely and ran out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

-->>
She stomped all the way to her car and got inside before wiping her tears with the back of her hand. They weren't sad tears, no she was done feeling sad and sorry for herself a long time ago. These were angry tears at the nerve of that stupid bìtch asking her to sit back and watch her daughter slip away. Insane, was what that woman was.

Bella would like to see someone try to stop her from saving her daughter's life the only way she knew how.

She was just about to start the car and head home when her phone rang and she dung around in her handbag for the device.

'Iverson' fitted the screen.

She wouldn't deny the relief she felt on seeing that name. Not on a billboard, not for any commercial, not in the gossip news but on her own personal phone.

She didn't realize it yesterday but today she could say she was thankful for him somewhat being back in their lives by fate or coincidence and she hated to admit it after flying solo for seven years, the truth was that she needed him now more than ever.

She needed love and if that was too much to ask for, she could make do with just companionship. She was tired of dealing with everything on her own, she needed somebody to lean on and most importantly, she needed to know her daughter would be in good hands when she was gone.

"Hello?" She croaked into the phone in her real voice. Tired of impersonating Victoria, tired of pretending to be anyone else but herself.

She was going to tell him anyway, Biggie gave her until today to tell him or he was going to and she had planned on revealing herself to him when he return with Lyric.

There was a throat clearing at the other end of the phone before he spoke up. "I wanted to let you know Lyric and I didn't make it to the rink." He said.

Bella's heart drummed fast for a different reason than the anger she felt a moment ago.

He knew. She could feel it in her heart, and with the way there was no pleasantries as he spoke to her.

Either Biggie or Lyric must have opened their big mouth, she wanted to be the one to tell him.

"Where are you then?" She asked him.

"I had to rush to the hospital, Claire is in labour."

Again Bella noted how he didn't feel the need to tell her who Claire was. He would have, if he still thought she was Mrs. Micawolf.

"Oh my God, she's due already?"

"Not for another two weeks, they were going back to Metro today but I guess the baby wanted out now." He said and Bella heard shouting in the background, she recognized the booming voice as Biggie.

"I have every right to be in that room with my wife, you piece of shìt! I was there in the making of that baby, you know that? I helpfully pinned her body down under mine and I covered her mouth with mine when she screamed!"

She heard him yelled and couldn't help but smile, typical of Biggie to throw in an innuendo at a time like this.

"So where is Lyric?" Bella asked since Iverson was just silent on the line.

"Right here with me, she's asleep though. I can let my bodyguard bring her back to you, I need to be here for my friend..." He trailed off and there was a pregnant pause before he spoke again. "...Biggie, I need to be here for Biggie. He's already going out of his mind."

Bella nodded even though he couldn't see her. Judging from his hesitation as he spoke, she could tell he was still having problems coming to terms with the fact that he was actually speaking with her. Maybe he needed to see her for himself before accepting.

"Which hospital are you?"

"St. Barnabas Maternity Centre."

Bella held the phone between her ear and shoulder bone as she started her car, she was already at St. Barnabas, the maternity centre was just at the corner. "I'm on my way there."

She heard his audible breath intake and then he was silent for a couple more seconds before telling her, "My bodyguard will pick you at the reception, his name is..."

"Aldo, I know who he is." She interrupted him. Of course she knew who his body guard was, it wasn't like she was obsessed with Iverson or anything but she did spent a lot of time ogling his paparazzi pictures and his bodyguard was literally his shadow in most.

He was also the one who drove Iverson to the charity ball the previous day, she recognized him in the Roy Royce before he drove away.

-->>

She arrived at the maternity centre about three minutes later and true to Iverson's words, Aldo was waiting for her in the reception.

"Mrs. Micawolf?" He asked as she approached him and she nodded. "This way please." He led her to an elevator.

They got out on the third floor and she followed him through the hall, she could already hear Biggie still mouthing someone off.

Aldo showed her to the entrance of a smaller waiting room that looked more private. She saw Biggie first, standing tall and mighty and glaring death at the much shorter man stood in front of him wearing a security uniform.

The security man was guarding a door and preventing Biggie from going inside and from the stance of Biggie's body and the look in his eyes, he was ready to snap the man in two. Maybe three.

"If you calm down, they might let you back in. They don't need you getting in the way of their job in there." The security man was trying to reason with Biggie. "Your wife herself requested that you shouldn't be let in until you're calmed."

"She didn't have a problem 'letting me in' when we were making the baby and I can tell you I wasn't calm then either." Biggie retorted.

"You're a big fool." Came another voice that immediately drew Bella's eyes away from the scene before her in search of the owner. His voice came from a corner in the room she couldn't see unless she walk further insider.

Bella took a lungful of breath, ran her sweaty palms down her jeans clad hips and walked forward with her heart literally in her throat.

Biggie turned around at the same time she stepped in and his eyes flew wide in surprise, she smiled at him and gave him a little wave before looking at the corner Iverson's voice came from.

Their eyes instantly locked.

He sat on a silver-metal 3seater beside a large glass cubicle where a nurse stood. Lyric was draped around his torso, her blonde head resting on his chest as she slept soundly through all the noise.

Iverson stood up as if on reflex at the sight of her, his hands securely wrapped around Lyric. Bella felt air rushed into her lungs and her body seized it, refusing to let it back out.

Yes, she saw him the previous day but it felt like she was finally letting herself look at him for the first time since seven years ago.

He looked like Iverson, not Clouds that she saw on the television but Iverson. Her Iverson, the only guy who ever made her heart palpitate with just his presence.

He was standing before her, holding their baby to his chest. Their baby! The child they made together through the act of loving. Tears pooled in her eyes blurring her vision and she rapidly blinked it away but more just streamed down her cheeks.

"Seems like you guys have a fetish for hospitals." Biggie said, thankful for something worthwhile to distract him from the pain his wife was going through behind the door to bring their baby to life. He lost interest in the amateur security man before him and went to sit in the chair Iverson just vacated, this was a shìtshow he would pay to watch.

Iverson took heavy steps towards Bella, his eyes fixed on hers unblinking. She stood very still and watched him approach.

She figured he knew about her already by their phone conversation and he also knew she was coming over, still she expected him to be surprised on seeing her, the real her for the first time in seven years. Instead he walked up to her with a totally blank face, his rigid body the only indication of his agitation.

He got close enough that she could smell him and feel the warmth radiating off of his body towards hers, Bella wanted to dissolve in it richness or throw herself at him and never let him go again.

If only he showed an ounce of what he was feeling in his eyes. Those eyes used to be a lot more expressive back in the days, not this cold and indifferent.

He leaned forward slightly and relinquished Lyric to her without a word then instantly took a step back but he watched her still, his hard eyes searched her face, her hairline, her eyebrows down to her lips and her chin.

He seemed to be taking in every blemish and every freckle. She knew that look, like he was committing her to memory, he gave her that look at the train station in Kadeville before sending her on her merry way to Metro where Daniel waited to change her life forever.

This time though, he was re-familiarizing himself with her features.

His eyes moved to Lyric that was now in Bella's arms, she had only stirred a bit but remained fast asleep.

"Is she mine?" He finally spoke, his voice deeper than she remembered and laced with timbre of power it sent shivers down her spine and she wept   harder.

"Of course she's yours." Biggie answered for Bella, rolling his eyes as he stood up and walked up to them.

"If you're too lazy to do the math just think of your sister and look at the girl." He gave Iverson one of those manly slap on the back once he got to them, his eyes focusing on the sleeping child in Bella's arms.

"She should have taken after Bella's softer features to be honest. Poor kid have to grow up with a forehead like yours, shine bright like a diamond." He sniggered.

Bella didn't have it in her to glare at him, she couldn't look away from Iverson's cold yet captivating eyes and her tears won't stop flowing either.

"Is she mine?" Iverson asked again disregarding everything Biggie just said. He knew alright, she could tell he knew the answer already but he still needed to hear her say it.

She swallowed and nodded.

"Speak." He ordered briskly, nothing gave on his face. His expression still remained blanked, except for the angry muscle tickling in his jaw like a time bomb about to detonate.

She wondered if she did the right thing by coming here, if this was the right place for this talk but she also knew it was too late to back out, he wouldn't let her step a foot out without getting his answer.

"Yes." She croaked and cleared her throat, she didn't want to keep it in her any longer. "Yes Ivers, she is your daughter."

That was all she said and the tickling bomb exploded right before her eyes.

Under one breath, he was there standing stoic before her and in the next, there was an animalistic growl and the shattering of glass in the distance and Iverson was there too.

It took a couple blinks before it registered in her head that Iverson had just punched the glass cubicle where the nurse was. He didn't stop, he delivered punch after punch with that wounded animal cry, shattering more and more of the glass and no doubt damaging his knuckles.

The nurse had jumped out of harm's way and was now shouting for Iverson to stop while also trying to get the show on recording with her phone.

Biggie, the security man and Iverson's own personal bodyguard were all trying to get him to stop but he was like a man possessed.

Bella pleaded with him to stop from her position, she couldn't go any closer because of Lyric who had been awoken by the chaos but Bella prevented her from looking at the scene behind her. Lyric didn't know what was going on but she heard her mother crying, so she started crying too.

"Calm the fúck down or I'm knocking you out." Biggie snapped at Iverson when he and Aldo finally subdued him, they had him pinned haphazardly across the silver chair.

The fight wasn't out of Iverson yet, his face was red and angry with thick muscles lining his forehead, his bloody knuckles were fisted in Biggie's shirt and he had Biggie flipped on the ground at the first chance he got.

"You arranged for her to be at the ball, didn't you? How long have you known, you bastard!" Iverson raged and punched Biggie in the face.

Biggie rolled them over so it was Iverson on his back again. "I didn't, I was shocked to the bones when I recognized her yesterday." He told Iverson and delivered his own punch to Iverson's face.

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" Iverson had rolled Biggie on his back again with his fist reared back to do more damage, luckily Aldo succeeded in grabbing his hand from behind and yanked him off of Biggie.

Biggie sat up slowly, touched his bleeding lips and showed the blood on his fingers to Iverson. "Because you're a wanker and you would be one dead wanker if I didn't love you so much."