The Unexpected Heir

Chapter 2: The Orphan

❤ Eight Months Ago ❤

NATHALIE stayed by her mother's grave until it got dark in the cemetery. She would have stayed longer but she was asked by the groundskeeper to leave.

As she walked out, she felt lost. She walked towards the terminal. When she arrived, she sat in the waiting shed for a few minutes while waiting for the bus.

Her mother, Natalia, is the only family she had left, and now that she's gone, she feels so alone. She's never known her father and doesn't even know his name. All her mom told her was that her father passed away a long time ago as well. Still, it would have been good to at least have known his name or at least see a picture of him.

She eventually got on the bus. When Nathalie got home, she went straight to bed and laid down. She is so tired. Aside from her body being physically exhausted, her spirit is crushed.

Nathalie Manansala is a 19-year-old nursing student. Her dream was to become a doctor, but she knew that it would be difficult for her mother to send her to medical school. She plans to work for a few years after graduating, and when she has enough saved up, she'll eventually enroll in medical school. Her mother didn't know about this plan because she didn't want to burden her any further.

Her mother had worked hard to give Nathalie everything she needed. She wanted to get a part-time job to help out with their expenses, but her mother refused. She wanted her to focus on her studies.

Natalia eventually got sick, but she refused to get treated because she didn't want to take time off work. When she finally got to the hospital, it was too late. It appears that she had a fatal respiratory ailment.

Nathalie was at school when she got the call that her mother was in the hospital. When she arrived, her mom had already succumbed to her illness.

Nathalie was beside herself, and she did not understand what was happening. Looking back, she had seen signs that her mom would have been sick. Whenever she asked, her mom would just dismiss her and say that she was just tired. Nathalie had resorted to blaming herself for not doing anything sooner.

Once Nathalie laid in bed, she started crying. She hadn't cried since her mom passed away, most likely because she still couldn't believe her mom was gone.

Nathalie kept crying until she fell asleep.

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After three days, Nathalie finally stopped crying. She realized that she couldn't stay in bed any longer. She has to go back to school and start looking for a job.

Thankfully, her school is paid for until the end of the semester. She has a scholarship and even gets a small allowance every month. This allowance will not be enough to cover all her living expenses. Aside from food and school expenses, she also has to worry about rent and bills now.

After lunch, Nathalie went to a computer shop to create a resumé. She had a few copies printed. Her goal is to find a job today.

She left a copy of her resume at convenience stores and fast food restaurants. She also inquired if there are openings at the hospital that she might qualify for, but there were none.

When Nathalia got home that night, she was tired and a little defeated. She knows that it's not realistic to expect that she'd get a job in a day, but she was hoping that things would go her way today.

When she laid in bed, she thought about her mom again. She felt tears welling in her eyes once more. She fell asleep while crying.

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After school the next day, Nathalie passed by the hospital just to check if there were new job openings. She went to the billboard because there are announcements there sometimes that the hospital might not know about.

As she was browsing through the announcements, a middle-aged man walked toward the bulletin board and pinned a flyer. Nathalie glanced at it and saw that it was a job advertisement for a caregiver. Just as the man was about to walk away, Nathalie took the flyer and said "E-excuse me, sir."

The man turned around and looked at Nathalie before saying "Yes? How can I help you?"

Nathalie was a little intimidated by the man's serious demeanor. She shifted her gaze at the flyer she was holding before saying "Uhm, about the job ad for the caregiver. Can you tell me more about it?"

Middle-Aged Man: "What do you want to know?"

Nathalie: "What are you looking for?"

Middle-Aged Man: "A caregiver."

Nathalie was expecting to hear more but decided to just shoot her shot and said "I would like to apply for the job."

The middle-aged man took a business card from his pocket and handed it to Nathalie before saying "Call my office to get the details."

The man turned around before Nathalie got the chance to say thank you. She looked at the business card and then at the flyer and smiled. Somehow, she has a good feeling about this.

Nathalie decided to take a seat on one of the benches in the hospital reception area. She took her phone and decided to call the man's office. She didn't want to miss the chance. She was pretty sure that the serious-looking man had put up flyers elsewhere.

The phone rang twice before someone answered: "Thank you for calling Escudero Holdings. This is Marie. How can I help you?"

Nathalie was taken aback for a bit. She cleared her throat before saying "Uhm, hi. I'm calling about the job opening for a caregiver. The man who put up the flyer asked me to call this number."

Marie: "May I know who's calling?"

Nathalie: "My name is Nathalie Manansala. I'm--"

Marie: "Did you say Nathalie Manansala?"

Nathalie: "Yes."

Marie: "Okay. Do you have a pen and paper?"

Nathalie: "Yes, I do."

Nathalie took a pen and notebook from her bag just as Marie gave her an address.

Marie: "Go to that address tomorrow at 10 am. Bring a resumé."

Nathalie: "Okay."

Marie: "Thank you for calling Escudero Holdings. Have a good day."

Just as the call ended, Nathalie smiled. She felt so lucky that she was closer to getting a job. She doesn't have any experience as a caregiver, but she's studying to be a nurse, and she imagined it was not going to be any different.

As she went home that night, she passed by a computer shop to print another copy of her resume since she had run out of copies. She also decided to look up Escudero Holdings since she wanted to know more about her prospective employer.

She was a little overwhelmed as she read about how Escudero Holdings. It is owned by a man named Don Miguel Escudero, who is considered as one of the wealthiest men in the country. He owns a lot of businesses in the country, including shopping malls, hotels, and condominiums.

Nathalie fell asleep as soon as she got home. She wanted to be well-rested so that she'd be ready for anything tomorrow.