Chapter 145 014
RYAN stared at her as though he hadn’t heard properly.
“They are… still there?” he repeated slowly, disbelief thick in his voice.
Amelia nodded once, sharply, ending the call. Her hand dropped to her side with the phone clenched so tight her knuckles whitened.
“They said no one came,” she said, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it. “And it's already an hour after dismissal, Ryan. An hour.”
“What about—” Ryan stopped himself, swallowing. “What about Charles? I mean he was supposed to.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she bent, grabbed her bag from beside the desk, then her phone again, checking the screen as if hoping a missed call would magically appear.
“Apparently,” she said finally, bitter and breathless, “he is too busy.”
Ryan’s eyes widened.
“He didn’t go?”
“No,” she snapped, panic seeping through the cracks now. “He didn’t.”
She looked around the office as if she had misplaced something vital, her movements hurried and disjointed. Keys. Phone. Bag. Everything felt suddenly insufficient.
“Ryan,” she said, already halfway to the door, “I need you to take care of things here.”
“Wait— Amelia—” he started.
“I can’t think right now,” she cut in, yanking the door open. “Handle whatever comes up. If anyone asks, reschedule. Cancel. I don’t care. Just oversee things.”
She stormed out, heels striking the floor too fast, too loud, her heart pounding in her ears. The showroom blurred past her as she moved, ignoring greetings, ignoring stares.
“Take it easy, ma’am,” Ryan called after her instinctively, following her a step or two before stopping himself.
She didn’t slow down.
The glass walls swallowed her figure as she disappeared down the corridor, panic riding her shoulders like a weight she couldn’t shrug off.
Ryan stood there, frozen.
Seriously? he thought, dragging a hand through his hair. So Charles didn’t go to pick the boy up?
God.
He exhaled sharply, shaking his head as the reality settled in. An injured child. Left behind. Waiting.
And Amelia, already stretched thin, now unraveling.
Ryan turned back into the office slowly, his chest tight, knowing this wasn’t just another disrupted schedule.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
The house was unusually quiet for a place that held two energetic seven-year-old boys. The dining table stood neatly arranged, sunlight filtering through the curtains and settling gently on the polished surface. Amelia moved between the kitchen and the dining area, her movements brisk but distracted, her mind far from the plates she was arranging.
“Sit properly, Gad,” she said absentmindedly, placing the last plate of food on the table with a little more force than necessary.
Gaddiel straightened instantly.
“I am sitting properly,” he protested, glancing at his brother. “Gabriel is the one slouching.”
Gabriel didn’t respond. He sat stiffly, his injured left hand resting on his lap, bandaged neatly but still tender. His eyes stayed on his plate, unblinking.
Amelia noticed.
She pulled out a chair and sat beside him, gently reaching for his hand.
“Let me see,” she said softly.
Gabriel hesitated, then slowly lifted his hand. Amelia turned it carefully, inspecting the bandage, her brows knitting together.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“A little, mommy.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” she murmured. “I should have been there earlier. I’m so, so sorry.”
Gaddiel frowned.
“Mommy, you came fast,” he said quickly. “You came like a superhero.”
Amelia smiled faintly at him.
“It didn’t feel fast enough.”
Gabriel remained silent.
She sighed and reached for his spoon.
“Come on, eat. You need your strength.”
She scooped a little rice and held it up to his lips. He opened his mouth obediently, but without enthusiasm. Amelia watched him chew slowly, her chest tightening.
“I don’t like school anymore,” Gabriel muttered suddenly.
Her heart skipped.
“Why would you say that?”
“They forgot me,” he said, his voice small. “Everybody left.”
Gaddiel jumped in immediately.
“But the teacher stayed with you! And the nurse. And I came for you too.”
“I know,” Gabriel replied quietly. “But Daddy didn’t come. Uncle Charles didn’t come. Nobody came.”
Amelia’s throat burned. She swallowed hard.
“I didn’t abandon you,” she said, her voice shaking despite herself. “Never. I would never do that. I promise you.”
He nodded, but didn’t look convinced.
She fed him another spoonful, then another, her eyes stinging. Gaddiel tried to lighten the mood, making exaggerated chewing sounds and pretending his spoon was an airplane.
“Next stop— Gabriel’s mouth!” he announced, zooming his spoon through the air.
Amelia chuckled despite herself.
“Eat your food, and stop acting like a clown.”
Gaddiel grinned and obeyed.
But Gabriel didn’t smile.
Amelia’s gaze lingered on him, the weight in her chest growing heavier. She reached for her phone on the table, her fingers trembling slightly as she unlocked it.
No missed calls.
No messages.
Not even a notification.
Her heart stabbed painfully. She locked the screen again and set it down, forcing a smile as she lifted another spoon.
“Open up,” she coaxed.
Gabriel did.
She fed him slowly, methodically, as if the act itself could mend what had cracked inside him.
“I waited for him,” he said suddenly, barely audible.
She froze.
“For who, sweetheart?”
“Uncle Charles,” he replied. “I thought he would come. He made a promise to Gaddiel and I, didn’t he?”
The spoon paused midair.
“Yes,” she whispered. “He did.”
Her grip tightened on the phone again. She glanced at it, willing it to light up, to vibrate, to give her some explanation, anything.
But still, nothing.
Her lips trembled. She bent her head slightly, hiding her expression from the boys.
“I shouldn’t have made him promise,” Gabriel continued, voice flat. “I shouldn’t have believed him.”
That did it.
Amelia set the spoon down and pulled him into her arms carefully, mindful of his hand. He stiffened at first, then melted into her embrace.
“I’m here,” she whispered fiercely. “I will always come for you. Always. Do you hear me?”
He nodded against her shoulder.
Gaddiel watched quietly, his usual brightness dimmed as he sensed the heaviness in the room.
“I finished my food,” he announced softly, as if hoping to help.
“Well done,” Amelia said, kissing his hair. “You are such a good boy.”
She drew back slightly and reached for her phone again, almost involuntarily.
And then— it rang.
The sudden sound startled her. Her heart leaped into her throat as she grabbed it, rising halfway from her seat.
“Finally,” she said breathlessly, already hoping.
But the name on the screen crushed that hope instantly.
Adrian.
She froze.