Chapter 33 033
Thalia’s POV
"I’m here to see my daughter." I heard my mother’s voice echo through the hallway of the prison. My bare toes rubbed against the concrete. My clothes, which I had worn for three days straight, itched against my body. I practiced with my voice before she arrived.
A guard stood by her side holding a bunch of dangling keys, but he didn't approach my cell. "She has three more hours here. You are free to stay with her until she is released." Then the guard left, giving us privacy.
My mother instantly crumpled to the floor. "How did this happen, Thalia?" she asked me. "I have been looking all over for you, so worried when I found out you were here."
I didn’t cry. There was just this numbness where all the pain usually was inside of me. "I lost, Mom," I said quietly. "I lost everything."
It all started three days ago when I was in the car with Varian and he told me that he had already placed Liam on suppressants. As I went quiet, he instantly burst into this long speech, telling me that it was the best decision and one that was necessary to make—that I was hesitating, and every second that I wasted, our son was in pain. He did the right thing, he continued to hammer over and over again.
What followed from me was just silence. I was so tired, so defeated.
Even if I had made a big talk about getting the money, there was really no way to do it. Ever since I became a Luna, I was also more or less a glorified housewife. I didn’t have a single penny to my name. Everything I owned in essence belonged to Varian, and he wouldn’t let me use any of it for our son's treatment. He had to take away the chance for me to still help our child by getting the suppressant without even asking for my permission to do so. He just went ahead and decided.
I thought about screaming, exploding at him completely and just letting all of my anger out, but I was so tired—so defeated in that moment. I just told him to drive me back so that I could spend time with my son before planning what to do next. I told him that if I had not already decided to sever our ties and leave him before then, he had definitely convinced me to do it now.
He said I would change my mind, sure of himself and full of confidence. I was bulging with rage but kept a firm poker face. I was powerless now—a bitter pill to swallow—but I had a hold on my emotions, at least for the moment. I thought it would remain that way until I had gotten my son and we were gone.
Varian drove back to the hospital, and I made sure not to look at him so that I wouldn't snap halfway through. I was doing so well, beginning to have hope that it would work out, but it was my own foolish idea to have any sort of hope.
Shelly saw me as I entered the ward, and as always, there was not a speck of guilt to be found in those calculating eyes. Her lips curved into a satisfied smile. She came over to me and then hugged me. "If you need someone to talk to about Liam, then I'm right here for you, okay? And don’t worry." She hugged me tighter. "I’ll make sure that I raise an excellent Alpha for this Pack."
Now that I am more grounded, I know that she must have done that on purpose—said the right words that would make me lose my mind. But I wasn’t grounded then. The earth beneath my feet was crumbling along with the life I once knew and loved. She had taken everything away from me and still had the audacity to be smug about it. Having her arms around me was like a snake slithering over my skin.
I reacted on instinct and just pushed her away, screaming for her to shut up. I pushed her hard, I’ll admit that, but she was supposed to fall on her bum. Instead, she intentionally curved herself around so that she would land directly on her stomach. An instant dread went up my spine. Before I could react, Varian had grabbed me by my neck right in front of Liam, who looked horrified, the machines in his hospital ward going crazy.
What happened after that was more or less a blur for me. All I could remember was kicking my feet in the air and every bit of oxygen being locked right under where his fingers held my neck. I had known then that there was no true love.