“Malik, you need to calm down,” Olivia said, though her voice quivered slightly. “I’m tired of the secrets. We need to speak with my mother to hear her truth.”
A sharp rapping at the door cut through the turmoil. Malik flung open the door to reveal Alina and Lee standing there, their presence an unwelcome intrusion into our chaos.
“Olivia?” Alina’s voice was soft, almost hesitant.
With a sudden burst of energy, Olivia pushed herself up and lunged into Lee’s open arms. I could sense the love and longing in their hug.
“I missed you so much, Lee. So, so much,” Olivia whimpered.
“My dear Little Moon,” Lee said. “Not a single day has passed since you left that I haven’t thought of you. I’m sorry, Little Moon. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”
Olivia clung to him before facing her mother, her eyes alight with a thousand unanswered questions. “Mom, how are you standing here, alive in the flesh? Where have you been all these years?”
The demand hung heavily in the air.
Alina met her daughter’s gaze, the weight of years etched onto her face. Silence fell upon the room.
I stood to the side, my arms crossed over my chest as Alina stepped forward with open arms toward Olivia.
“I will tell you everything, my darling,” she said, her voice a blend of joy and sorrow. “I’m so happy to see you! I know you have many questions, and I will answer them all. But first, I need to check on Emily. I was told she had her baby today.”
Olivia’s expression hardened, her eyes flickering with the pain of recent revelations.
“She just learned her father is Balthazar and is devastated,” she stated flatly. “She witnessed the brutal death of Balthazar’s son. She has never met you. After everything she has endured today, I don’t think she is ready to see you.”
“The last time I saw Emily, she was just a tiny newborn,” Alina said, her voice quivering.
“Please,” Oliva said, “be gentle with her.”
Olivia and I proceeded down the candle-lit corridor toward Emily’s room with Alina close at our heels. My footsteps echoed heavily against the stone floor, each a dull reminder of the uncertainty gripping our lives.
The sight of Emily cradling the baby to her chest while tears streamed down her face twisted something deep within me. Her soft sobs filled the room, each one punctuated by a whispered plea for Marcellious.
“Disgusting,” Alina muttered, but I caught it. Disgust? At her flesh and blood in distress?
Before I could question or chastise, Olivia was at Emily’s side, whispering words of comfort and smoothing back her hair. Alina cleared her throat to assert her presence, but it was a clumsy intrusion against the backdrop of Emily’s grief.
“Emily,” I began, my voice steady despite the turmoil, “it’s alright. We’re going to find Marcellious, I promise.”
“Everyone, leave! I don’t want to see anyone right now. I want to be alone.” Emily’s forceful and raw voice broke through her tears. She didn’t look at Alina.
Olivia rested her hand on Emily’s trembling shoulder. “Emily, I know you’re going through a lot today, and I feel every ounce of your pain, but there is someone special you probably want to meet.”
Emily’s heart clenched with betrayal as she met Olivia’s gaze, her pain mirrored in the woman’s conflicted expression. “This is your mother,” Olivia said softly, her words laced with regret and guilt.
The room fell silent, all eyes fixed on Emily, waiting for her reaction to this revelation. Would it bring healing or only deepen the wounds that were still raw and bleeding?
But instead of finding solace in the truth, Emily’s agony erupted into a deafening scream, her voice rising to an unearthly pitch like a banshee’s cry. “Get out!” She spat at her mother, tears streaming down her face. “I want no one in this room.” Her words hung heavy in the air, thick with anger and pain.
Alina took a hesitant step forward, reaching out as if to smooth over the chasm that had opened between them.
“Emily, honey, let me explain,” she pleaded, her words trembling with desperation. “Balthazar meant nothing to me. It was a past connection.”
“Past connection?” Emily’s shriek cut through Alina’s defense like a knife. “I don’t want to hear anything from your mouth, especially after discovering that Balthazar is my father! I’m disgusted. Do you know how many times he tried to kill me? You bore me but abandoned me. I wish I’d never been born!”
I remained an observer, a statue rooted in place as emotions raged around me. Alina’s face contorted in pain, her composure slipping away under the weight of Emily’s condemnation.
“No, Emily,” Alina said, her voice straining against the tide of rejection. “I tried to protect you. He never wanted anything to do with you or be a part of your life. I wanted you to have the best life, so I left you with Philip.”
