Chapter 30
POV Samuel
My mother has just leapt into my arms, and my bitter world has just been shattered. My heart aches, my eyes burn. A dull pain suffocates my soul and makes me lose my footing. How could I have lived without her? It’s impossible not to feel sad and devastated. She cries on my chest, desperate, allowing everything she has repressed until now to pour out.
My mother was a puppet, just a piece on my father’s chessboard. I remember when I was a child, when we were getting ready for bed, and she would run her hands over the sheets and place a sweet, soft kiss on my face. Her smile was always gentle, and she would say sweetly, "Good night, son. Mommy loves you." The years may have passed, but the love remained intact. It feels like I’ve found my soul again.
Anna still has that serene look, gentle smile, and sweet voice. I realize how much I’ve clung to the love I have for her. Anna has always been my rock, my strength, and imagining that I disappointed her killed me inside. Losing her caused unmatched pain and left a vast crater in my heart that never healed. Seeing my mother again today, I can feel everything inside me beginning to change. Amid tears, her voice comes out choked by the uncontrollable sobbing.
"My... son! I... I’m so sorry." I close my eyes and hold her tightly.
"Mom, it wasn’t your fault, or anyone else’s." Her tears fall heavily, laden with pain, suffering, and longing.
Longing for a life that was taken from her. For choices that were never hers. And above all, for actions and words that were never spoken or fulfilled. Tears stream down my face as I remember the last time I cried, many years ago, when I received the worst news of my life. My mother had taken her own life, feeling disappointed in me. Today, these tears are of joy because I know I never disappointed her!
This sadness is like a knot tightening around my heart, tearing everything inside me apart. I feel small in the face of so much pain and recall the nights I mourned, wishing for my mother’s return. Today, maybe she isn’t proud of who I’ve become. I’ve turned dark, solitary, authoritarian, a true crusher of emotions and feelings. I pull her body away from mine and look into her tear-streaked face, reddened by the intense crying.
"Pavel Colt will pay for making you suffer all these years. Death would be too merciful for what he deserves. Let’s go home. You’ll never be trapped here again, and no one will ever take you away from me again. I promise, Mom!"
"I love you, my son! Look at how much you’ve grown… and I didn’t even see it." The sadness devours me.
I feel furious for not being with her. Perhaps everything would be different if we had grown up by her side. However, we can’t live in the past or in regret.
***
POV Tatyana
I admire the emotional reunion between Samuel and Anna as they cry together. My heart breaks at the thought that soon I will be far from a child I never planned to have. My mind begins to conjure images, and I see myself holding my baby in my arms before handing it over to Luara. My heart burns, and my eyes fill with tears.
"How could I live with this? Holding the baby in my arms and then losing it?" I think.
I just realized I won’t be able to fulfill my agreement with Samuel Colt. I turn quickly and head outside the house. I feel suffocated, hurt, and heartbroken. I look at the car, at the street, and I want to run, to disappear. I place my hand on my belly and begin to grasp the magnitude of what this will mean for my life. I bring my hands to my face, stunned, and get into the car, feeling lost and ready to fall into my own internal abyss. At that moment, Luara's words echo in my mind, tormenting me:
"This is the place where I’ll throw your body after I get my child. If you’re a smart girl, you’ll never give your feelings to Samuel. I saw how he admired you today; there was desire in his eyes. Colt has a gift for destroying people, and that’s what he’s going to do to you! It’s the same thing he did to me! He crushes your feelings, your dreams, and throws your soul off this cliff. He’s beautiful, I know, but they say the Devil is too, and still, he destroys the lives of everyone who crosses his path."
I cry, feeling everything inside me breaking, especially my heart and my life. The car door opens, and I quickly wipe my tears, trying to hide them. Anna enters, frantic, and hugs me desperately.
"I can’t believe I’m going back home. Thank you for coming back to rescue me so quickly." I return her affection, stroking her back to calm her. I know she must be nervous about returning.
"Now you have your family back. Everyone will be happy to see you alive and well." Anna smiles and wipes away the tears that won’t stop falling.
Samuel looks at me intently, analyzing my red eyes, then glances down, scrutinizing my neck. I lift my shirt slightly to cover the purple marks from Pavel’s fingers, but I fear he has already seen them. The bodyguard enters the vehicle and shuts the door while the arrogant man takes the driver’s seat and immediately sends a message on his phone. Samuel finishes typing, looks at his men, and orders:
"I want you at the meeting. We’re arresting Pavel tonight."
"Yes, sir. We’ll be there," the two bodyguards confirm.
The drive back to the Colt Mansion is uneventful, and Anna clings to me the entire way.