Unrequited Passion

Chapter 5 Go to Emporio Club!

As soon as she received the call, Astrid rushed to the hospital. The doctor informed her that Carina’s condition did not look good and that the results of her medical report would come out in three days.

There was nothing much Astrid could do but wait another three days to find out the results of her daughter’s medical report. The doctor told her she needed to be prepared as things were not looking good for Carina.

Finally, three days later, the long and horrendous wait was over. Astrid rushed to the hospital once again to retrieve Carina’s medical report. Apparently, Carina was born with a complicated heart condition and had to stay in the hospital for treatment.

Furthermore, she needed a heart transplant as soon as possible. Otherwise, her condition would only worsen as she grew older.

The $30,000 Astrid had in her bank was far from sufficient to cover Carina’s medical treatment.

Worried and helpless, Astrid made her way to the pediatric ward to check up on her daughter.

“Mommy, am I sick?” Carina asked Astrid.

Astrid saw the innocent smile on her daughter’s face and smiled back at her. “It’s alright. You’ll be fine. The doctor says you can leave the hospital in two days!”

“Really?” Carina beamed at Astrid.

“Mmhm!” Astrid pulled Carina into her arms, forcing a smile on her face.

Her daughter was the only thing she had now. She was her world. She couldn’t let anything happen to her precious baby.

The next day, Astrid spoke to Sammy Wilkes, her neighbor downstairs who bartended at the Emporio Club. She asked Sammy for a recommendation for a singing gig at the club.

Emporio Club was the largest and most expensive nightclub in Cloud Coast. It was a shady place for debauchery, where rich people would go to blow their money.

Astrid managed to secure a job as a singer, thanks to Sammy’s recommendation. She went on three times a night and received a pretty good pay for it. Astrid was most grateful for her new job, and because of the nature and working hours of her new job, she also had more time to spend with Carina. Most importantly, no one, including her boss, questioned her past.

She even had a stage name — Raven.

“Hey, Raven. The boss wants you to go on stage one more time tonight!” Sammy said. She was surprised at how popular Astrid’s singing was.

“I don’t think I can do it. It’s getting really late. I need to go home and take care of my kid. She’s waiting for me!” Astrid replied as she wiped off her makeup.

“Raven, you have to do this. You’re an employee. Besides, don’t you need the money for your kid?”

Astrid’s face turned pale when she heard this. Sammy was right. She wasn’t a Noelle heiress anymore. She wasn’t anything now. She was now living her life for Carina’s sake.

“Okay, fine. I’ll do it.”

Astrid relented in the end. She had to go onstage and sing “Someone Like You.”

As soon as Astrid stepped onstage to sing her song, she immediately caught the eye of a man in the corner of the room. The entire time she sang, he kept his eyes on her and had a smile playing on his lips. He was on a business trip and never expected to see her here.

‘Never in a million years would I have thought that the proud and graceful Astrid Noelle, the It Girl of Bronzewood, would fall so far. I wonder how Blake would react to this?’

The man smirked at the thought of this. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of Astrid, who was belting out on stage. Then he sent it to Blake along with the caption — “The former queen bee is now wallowing in the mod. Does this please you, Blake?”

Meanwhile, in Bronzewood, Blake was sitting in his study organizing documents when his phone vibrated. He checked his notifications and frowned — it was a message from Felix Gardner.

He tapped on the message and saw the picture Felix had just sent, along with its caption.

Blake’s gaze darkened as he stared at Astrid’s image in the picture. He tightened his grip around the phone in his hand as his other fist trembled violently.