"Apologize?" Jonah echoed, shocked. "Apologize for what? For being honest? For loving someone?"
"For causing her pain," Victor said, his voice gentle but firm. "For shattering her expectations. For disrupting the family dynamic."
"I am not going to apologize for being myself," Jonah said, his voice trembling with anger. "And I am not going to let you manipulate me or my mother."
Victor sighed, his expression a mask of disappointment. "Very well," he said. "But you are making a mistake, Jonah. You are pushing your mother away, and you will regret it." He turned to leave, pausing at the door. "Just remember," he said, his voice low, "I am only trying to help." He disappeared into the ward, leaving Jonah and Elliot standing in the hallway, the air thick with tension.
Jonah turned to Elliot, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and despair.
"He is trying to turn her against me," Jonah whispered. "He is trying to steal my family."
Elliot wrapped his arms around Jonah, pulling him close. "He will not succeed," he said, his voice firm. "We will not let him."
"But what if he does?" Jonah asked, his voice breaking. "What if she chooses him over me?"
"She will not," Elliot said, his voice filled with conviction. "She is your mother, Jonah. She loves you. She is just lost right now.
Jonah sighed
"We have to go," Elliot said, his voice gentle. "Dr. Wilson is waiting for us."
Jonah nodded, his throat tight. He pulled away from Elliot. "Let us go," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
They walked in silence to Dr. Wilson's office. The sterile hallway felt colder than usual.
"Jonah," Dr. Wilson said, his voice calm, "are you ready to begin?"
"Ready for what, exactly?" Jonah asked, his voice flat. "More needles? More tests?"
"We need to get a baseline," Dr. Wilson explained. "To see exactly what we're dealing with. It is the first step."
"And then?" Jonah asked, his eyes fixed on the floor.
"Then we talk treatment," Dr. Wilson said. "But first, we need the data."
The next few hours were a blur. Blood was drawn, questions were asked, and machines hummed. Jonah felt like a lab rat, not a person.
"This one might sting a bit," a nurse said, inserting a needle into Jonah’s arm.
"Everything stings a bit," Jonah replied, his voice laced with bitterness.
Elliot stayed close, his presence a silent comfort. But even Elliot's warmth couldn't chase away the cold dread that settled in Jonah's bones.
Later, in the hospital lobby, after they had just left the lab.
Jonah stared at his hands. "Victor is right, I need to talk to them," he said, his voice quiet. "I need to try."
"Jonah, are you sure?" Elliot asked, his brow furrowed. "They are still angry."
"I do not care," Jonah said, his voice hard. "I can not let Victor win, no matter the game he is playing now. I can not lose my family."
They walked to his father's ward. Jonah's mother sat by the bed, her face tired. His father fast asleep with an IV attached to his arm. Victor was long gone.
"Mom, Dad," Jonah said, his voice shaking, "I need to talk to you."
His mother looked up, her eyes cold."I am not going to talk to you with this son of the devil in the room." She sneered eyeing Elliot.
Jonah turned to Elliot with pleading eyes. Elliot clenched his jaw and left the room.
"Now I can hear you out." His mother announced. "What is it, Jonah?" She asked.
Jonah took a deep breath. "I want to apologize," he said. "For how you found out. It was not supposed to happen like that."
"Supposed to happen?" his mother said, her voice sharp. "How was it supposed to happen? I mean was it even supposed to happen before."
"I was being blackmailed," Jonah said, his voice stronger now. "Someone was threatening to expose me. They wanted money. I could not afford the the ten million they demanded."
"Blackmail?" his mother asked, his voice weak. "Why did not you tell us?"
"I was scared," Jonah admitted. "I did not want to hurt you. I didn't want to bring shame on us."
"Shame?" his mother echoed. "You think this is not shame?"
"I love you both," Jonah said, tears welling in his eyes. "I never meant to hurt you."
Silence hung in the air. Jonah’s mother looked away.
"It does not change anything," she said, her voice flat. "The damage is done."
"What damage?" Jonah asked, his voice rising. "Loving someone? Being honest?"
"The damage to our family," his mother said, his voice tired. "To our name."
"So, you still want Victor to replace me?" Jonah asked, his voice barely a whisper.
His mother nodded. "It is for the best," she said. "He understands us. He respects our values."
"And I do not?" Jonah asked, his voice filled with pain. "After everything?"
"Not anymore," his mother said, her eyes hard.
"So that is it?" Jonah asked, his voice breaking. "You are just cutting me out?"
"We are not cutting you out," his mother said. "We are just adjusting things."
"Adjusting things?" Jonah repeated, his voice filled with disbelief. "You are giving my life away to him."
"Now you are just being ungrateful. Victor was the only reason I am listening to whatever you have to say. He has tried to protect you so many times, protect your reputation and yet this is how you speak about him?" Jonah's mother scolded him.
Jonah looked down on the floor silent.
"We are choosing what is best for the family," his mother said, her voice firm.
"And I am not part of the family?" Jonah asked, tears streaming down his face.
"Jonah, please," his mother said, her voice softer now. "Do not make this harder."
"Harder?" Jonah laughed, a bitter, broken sound. "You are the ones making it hard."
He looked at them, his heart shattered. "Fine," he said, his voice barely audible. "If that is what you want."
He paused, his voice thick with emotion. "I do not want to be separated from you," he said. "Even if I have to be treated like a stranger, I will take it."