a serene smile, nodding at him as if he’d been dismissed.
“I’ll follow behind,” I said calmly.
The drive was short, yet with each passing moment, I felt my heart begin to race. My hands grew clammy, my mind whirling. Why were we headed this way? It wasn’t until we pulled up to the hospital’s entrance that the fear truly set in, ky and unrelenting.
“What’s the meaning of this?” I demanded, grabbing his arm as he stepped out, my voice a trembling whisper. It felt like betrayal all over again. He met my gaze, a flicker of something mocking glinting in his dark eyes.
“You wanted to see him, didn’t you?” His voice was infuriatingly calm, cold, and detached. “Then follow me.”
The sterile smell of antiseptic hit me as soon as we entered the hospital. Each step felt heavier than the last, my heart pounding so loudly it nearly drowned out everything else. I could feel Alexander’s presence beside me, unyielding, unfeeling. How could he be so unaffected?
Then we reached the room
The sight that greeted me shattered whatever resolve I had left. There, lying so small and fragile on the hospital bed, was my son. My beautiful, precious Elam. A machine beeped softly beside him, tubes and wires connecting him to a source of life, and I felt my knees weaken, my heart twisting painfully in my chest.
I took a shaky step forward, tears already blurring my vision. hand trembling as I reached for him, even though I couldn’t bring myself to touch him. “Liam.…….” The whisper left my lips, barely audible, as if saying his name might break the spell and pull him from this nightmare.
“What…” My voice came out broken, barely a whisper. “What’s wrong with him?”
Alexander’s voice was a cold hiss in my ear. “You want to know what’s wrong with him? You. You’re what’s wrong. If you hadn’t disappeared, maybe he wouldn’t be lying here like this.” His words were like a slap, stinging, cutting deep. T
1 felt anger rise up within me, hot and fierce, pushing through the sorrow and heartbreak. How dare he. “I am the reason? You’re the one who took him from me!” My voice shook, and I took a step back, my hands balling into fists. “You’re the one who deprived me of being his mother
of knowing him, of loving him. And now you want to stand there and act like I’m at fault?”
He scoffed, crossing his arms. “Spare me the theatrics, Raina. If you really wanted to be there for him, you wouldn’t have run off to God–knows -where with your-“he paused, his expression hardening, “-lover.”
I flinched, the accusation hitting harder than I’d expected. I wanted to scream, to tell him the truth, to make him understand. But I knew it would be useless; he’d already made up his mind. The man standing before me was nothing like the one I’d once loved. This man was bitter, cold, a stranger.
“So, what is it you want from me?” I demanded, my voice breaking despite my best efforts.
He looked at me, his expression hard and unyielding. “I want you to do what you should have done years ago. Perform your motherly duty.” Be stepped closer, his eyes dark and filled with contempt. “Donate your marrow to save him.”
His words were a command, harsh and unfeeling, and I felt the weight of it, the demand pressing down on ine. But even more than the demand was the sheer arrogance of it, the expectation that I would simply comply without question.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Every word felt like a slap, a reminder of just how little he thought of me. It was almost enough to break me–almost
I straightened, locking eyes with him, my voice steady and unwavering. “You have no right to ask me to fulfill any ‘duties now,” I said, each word a knife honed with years of pain. “You’re the one who took them from me. So don’t you dare stand there and accuse me of failing my
Igripped the edge of the bed as I fought the overwhelming urge to lash out. How dare he stand here and cast judginent, as if he hadn’t been the one to cast me aside su easily? I turned toward him, my expression neutral, but inside I was anything but calm.
“You wanted to keep me out of his life,” I said quietly, watching the flicker of something in his eyes–surprise, maybe even guilt. “You were the one who made sure I was gone, Alexander.
He stiffened, the façade cracking for a briel moment. But I didn’t wait for his reply. I couldn’t bear any more of his arrogance or that look of disdain that always seemed to follow me like a shadow.
As looked at my son, feeling the pang of longing, the years of absence, and the helplessness, one thought crystallized in my mind, sharp and clear as glass:
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What right did he have to ask me to fulfill motherly duties when he was the one who stripped them from me?
