Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-two
ARA
There had to be a mistake.
There were at least fifty thousand women named Lola in the world.
But Liliana wouldn’t stop touching my face. She wouldn’t stop studying me with that strange, delighted smile, as if she’d found something she’d been missing for years.
“Lola, my old friend,” she said warmly. “You came back. Where have you been?”
She clasped my hand and began tugging me toward one of the chairs by the window, swinging our joined hands like we were old schoolgirls reunited after years apart.
Before I could say a word, Thayne stepped between us.
He gently but firmly pulled me to his side.
“Mother, stop it,” he said softly, too softly. “You don’t know her.”
Liliana’s lips trembled, and her face crumpled.
Then she wailed. A loud, broken sound that echoed through the ward like a siren.
Thayne rushed to her instantly, crouching beside her, stroking her hair, murmuring promises; telling her he’d be good, that he’d protect Ursula, that everything was fine.
It only made things worse.
She shook her head violently, crying louder, her voice climbing until two more nurses hurried over, alarm etched across their faces.
Liliana wiped her nose with her sleeve like a child and sobbed, “He won’t let me talk to my friend. Lola came to see me and he won’t let her talk to me.”
Then she threw herself onto the floor.
Rolling. Kicking. Thrashing.
The nurses rushed to restrain her.
“Her heart rate is spiking,” the lead nurse said urgently, pointing to the monitor strapped to Liliana’s wrist. “This isn’t good.”
Liliana fought them, reaching for me, her cries rising into something feral.
Thayne hesitated.
That hesitation struck me harder than her screams.
“Who is Lola?” he asked me quietly, confusion knitting his brows.
“My mother’s name is Lola,” I admitted.
Guilt tightened around my chest.
Why did chaos follow me everywhere?
Suddenly, Liliana’s hand shot out.
She grabbed one of the nurses by the neck.
The nurse choked, eyes widening, hands clawing uselessly.
I didn’t think.
I lunged forward, pushing myself between them.
“Liliana, please,” I begged. “Let her go.”
The nurse’s face was turning red, too red.
“Will you drink tea with me and tell me everything?” Liliana asked suddenly.
The question made no sense.
I nodded immediately.
“Yes. I will.”
“Promise?” she asked, still squeezing.
“I promise,” I said quickly. “Now let her go. She’s my friend.”
The nurses were already calling for backup. Thayne’s escorts hovered, torn.
Liliana studied my face, then released the nurse and took my hand instead, guiding me toward the chairs by the window.
Thayne moved to intervene.
I lifted a hand, whispering urgently, “We can’t ruin this for her. Let me handle it.”
He hesitated for a moment, n nodded.
Liliana pulled her chair close to mine.
“What’s my surname, Liliana?” I asked carefully.
She burst into laughter.
“You forgot your own name too?” she giggled. “You’re Lola Sanderson. I’ll remind you again if you forget!”
My chest tightened.
Lola Sanderson.
My mother’s name—before she married Neil. Before she became Irvington. Before I became Irvington.
Emotion swelled, sharp and overwhelming.
“Where did we meet?” I asked gently.
The nurses watched closely, clearly confused by our interaction.
“How can you ask that?” Liliana gasped. “We were seatmates! From grade one till the end. Lola—what about the baby? Will you keep it?”
My breath caught in my chest.
She was talking about me.
Her memories were frozen, preserved from before her illness stole everything else.
“I—” I faltered.
Had my mother ever thought about giving me up? Ending the pregnancy?
Given how I was conceived, I wouldn’t have blamed her.
Liliana suddenly sprang up, sending her chair skidding backward.
“I’ll make tea while you think about it,” she said cheerfully. “I still have the teabags from when I was pregnant with Thayne.”
I turned to Thayne.
His jaw was clenched so tightly it looked painful.
Did he fear she’d grow attached to me?
Was that why his fists were curled at his sides?
“I can’t find the teabags,” Liliana said, rummaging. “But I’ll look again. We need to talk today. You should keep the baby. I know it reminds you of him, but you must forget him and focus on the baby.”
Her voice was gentle. Loving.
One nurse whispered, “She’s never made this much sense before.”
“Should I keep the baby?” I asked.
Liliana clapped joyfully.
“Yes! Yes! Let’s name her Arayna!”
She spun in circles.
Thayne smiled.
I did too, until the weight of her words settled.
She had named me.
“Arayna will look just like you, Lola,” Liliana continued softly. “She’ll be nothing like him. Don’t worry, you—”
She froze.
Her face drained of color, and her eyes widened in terror.
“Father,” Thayne said bitterly.
I turned slowly.
Mr. Slade Senior stood in the doorway, escorted, Madison clinging to his arm like an accessory.
“I should have known this is where you’d hide her,” he said coldly to Thayne.