Chapter 39
The living room was dim, lit only by a lamp in the corner. Madam Arabella Pedro was pacing, her fingers twisting the hem of her sweater, but she stopped the moment Amara walked through the door.
“You’re home,” Arabella said, her eyes searching Amara’s face for any sign of a breakdown. “You must have seen Amira. She is the only one who can get you worked up like this p>
Amara hung her coat up, her movements calm, unusually so, and added. “Don’t worry, mother. She will come around when she realizes how much we love her,” she said, her voice steady.
Arabella forced a smile, though her eyes remained guarded. Amara doesn’t have to know the truth, she thought, the secret heavy in her chest. Not yet.
“Julian tried to create a beautiful, romantic moment tonight,” Amara continued, walking over to the main hall. “He wanted to cheer me up. I actually feel… peace, Mother p>
Madam Predro Arabella’s expression shifted, a flicker of relief crossing her tired features. “Oh? Looks like you had a lot of fun today,” she said, quickly pivoting away from the mention of Amira.
“Julian is rather an amusing person, and funny and sweet,” Amara admitted, a genuine softness returning to her tone as she remembered his joke about not wanting to leave.
“Oh, as long as you’re happy,” Arabella said. Then, her voice dropped, becoming sharp and cold. “I heard that Seren got hurt when she came to the house today p>
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. The warmth from the memory of Julian evaporated.
“Elara is trouble, mother I don’t know what she wants,” Amara said, her jaw tightening. “She’s using her child as a pawn to ask me for money I don’t get it p>
“She’s a threat to you,” Arabella countered. Her eyes darkened, and for a second, she looked ready to take matters into her own hands to get rid of the woman once and for all.
Amara reached out and placed a hand on her mother’s arm, feeling the tension radiating from her. “Don’t worry, mummy. I’ve got this, alright? I’m not the same girl who gives in anymore p>
Arabella looked at her daughter, really looked at the new fire in her eyes. A slow, proud nod followed.
“I believe in you,” Arabella replied.
Across town, the sun rose on a much more chaotic scene. Seb had spent the night in the hospital waiting room, his head in his hands. When the elevator doors finally slid open, Elara stepped out, looking perfectly polished despite the early hour.
Seb stood up, his face pale and his eyes burning with a mix of exhaustion and rage. He didn’t wait for her to speak.
“Why didn’t you tell me Seren was here?” he demanded, his voice echoing in the sterile hallway. “And why did Amara have to be the one to pay the bill p>
Elara froze, her hand tightening on her designer handbag. “Amara? You spoke to her p>
“She was the one who told me, Elara!” Seb stepped closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous hiss. “What else are you hiding from me p>
The hospital hallway felt cold, the smell of antiseptic stinging Seb’s nose as he stared at Elara. She didn’t look like a woman who had been caught in a lie; she looked like a victim.
“You spoke to her, of course?” Elara’s voice trembled perfectly. She squeezed her eyes shut, and a single, well-timed tear rolled down her cheek. “Seb, I didn’t want to tell you because I knew it would break your heart. I wanted to protect you from the truth about who Amara really is p>
Seb’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about? Amara said she brought her here. She said she paid the bills p>
“She paid the bills out of guilt,” Elara snapped, her voice rising in a scripted panic. She grabbed Seb’s arm, her grip tight. “Seb… Amara pushed her. Seren missed her so much and begged me to drop her over she was just trying to talk to her at the house, and Amara… she lost her temper. She pushed our little girl p>
Seb felt like the floor had dropped out from under him. “She… she pushed Seren p>
“Go ask her,” Elara whispered, pointing toward the glass window of the pediatric ward where Seren lay. “Go see your daughter and tell me if she looks like she’s lying p>
Seb walked into the room. Seren looked so small in the oversized hospital bed, a bandage wrapped around her arm. When she saw her father, her lip quivered.
“Daddy,” she whimpered.
“Seren… honey, what happened?” Seb sat on the edge of the bed, his heart breaking. “Did your mummy, Amara… did she hurt you p>
Following the instructions her mother had whispered to her earlier that morning, Seren nodded slowly, looking down at her sheets. “She was angry, Daddy. She told me to go away… and push me, then I fell p>
Seb’s blood turned to ice. He had spent the last few weeks trying to win Amara back, begging for her forgiveness, thinking she was the moral center of his world. But this?
He stood up, his face hardening into a mask of fatherly rage. He walked back out to the hallway where Elara was waiting.
“She needs to apologize,” Seb said, his voice shaking with a new kind of intensity. “I don’t care what I’ve done to her. I don’t care about our past. No one touches my daughter p>
Elara tucked a stray hair behind her ear, a cold victory shining in her eyes that Seb was too blinded by anger to see. “I agree. If she doesn’t apologize and take responsibility, I will never forgive her. And neither should you p>
Seb pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over Amara’s contact. He had been sending her flowers and apologies for days, but now, the messages he wanted to send were very different.
Amara has to apologize, he thought, his jaw locked tight. I’ll do anything to get her back, but I won’t let Seren get hurt. Not for anyone.