Chapter 8
Juliana looked puzzled. "Silly boy, what are you apologizing for?"
But Damian didn't explain. He buried himself in Juliana's embrace, holding her with every ounce of strength he had. "I'm sorry... Mommy, I'm so sorry..."
I'm sorry you suffered so much.
I'm sorry I didn't know.
I'm sorry my last name is Sharp.
Juliana felt a bit lost at his sudden emotional outburst. She figured her words earlier had scared him, made him feel unsafe. She stroked his back in slow, soothing circles.
"It's okay, don't cry. Mommy's right here. How about you sleep with me tonight?"
Damian nodded hard.
This was the first time in seven years he'd felt maternal love this real, this warm. He decided right then—he never wanted to leave Mommy again. Nobody was going to separate them. Not ever.
As night deepened, two identical small figures met in the shadows beneath the swing set.
"Mommy's asleep." Damian handed over a bag containing clean house clothes. "Quick, change."
Matthew took the bag. These past few days at the Sharp family hadn't exactly been pleasant.
"That woman didn't bother you again, right?" Damian meant Bianca.
"No." Matthew's answer was brief. "Daddy kicked her out."
Hearing 'Daddy,' Damian's emotions tangled into a complicated knot.
"Mommy told me... Grandma almost killed us. Back then."
Matthew's body went rigid. "You know?"
"Yeah, Mommy told me. So I have to go back."
He couldn't let Mommy face those people alone anymore.
Matthew didn't press for details. He could tell Damian had made up his mind. The two boys quickly swapped clothes and exchanged intel they'd each gathered over the past few days.
The Sharp Estate.
Damian slipped through the familiar gap in the estate wall with practiced ease. The living room was empty. He heard muffled voices coming from the upstairs study.
"That woman has some nerve, throwing our generosity back in our faces!" Ashley's voice was shrill and weak, laced with barely suppressed venom. "Lucas, you can't just let this go! She wants money? Give it to her! Make her disappear—preferably forever!"
Lucas sounded exhausted. "Mom, focus on recovering first. We'll deal with everything else later."
"How am I supposed to recover?!" Ashley's voice shot up. "What is the Sharp family's standing? And what is she? That woman makes my skin crawl—acting all cold and aloof while playing her little games so well."
Outside the door, Damian's small hands clenched into white-knuckled fists.
They were talking about his mommy! The mommy who gently fed him strawberries, who held him while he slept, who stood between him and danger!
"Enough." Lucas's voice turned cold.
"A woman who'd sell her womb for money—what right does she have!" Ashley fumed on. "Lucas, listen to me. Have someone teach her a lesson! Show her the Sharp family isn't to be trifled with! I refuse to believe she's the only one who can cure me!"
The study door slammed open.
Damian stood in the doorway, eyes burning red, glaring at Ashley on the sofa.
"Don't you dare talk bad about my mommy!"
The study fell into dead silence.
Lucas looked at his son's sudden appearance, his brow furrowing deeply. Wasn't he supposed to be asleep upstairs?
And since when did they say anything bad about Bianca?
"Dami?"
Ashley froze too, not expecting her grandson to burst in—much less overhear all that.
"My sweet boy, you—"
"You're not my grandmother!" Damian whipped around, screaming at Ashley. "I don't have a grandmother like you!"
Lucas's expression turned to stone. "Damian, apologize to your grandmother."
"I won't!" Damian's chin jutted out stubbornly, meeting his father's gaze without fear. "She's the one who did something wrong! This is just karma catching up with her!"
Karma?
Ashley's chest tightened. Memories from years ago surfaced, and all color drained from her face. She pointed at Damian, lips trembling, unable to form a single word.
"What karma?" Lucas hadn't expected Damian to say something like that. Suspecting someone had been filling the boy's head with nonsense, he pressed for an answer.
"Isn't this exactly the karma for not finding a good doctor! Lucas, look at the fine son you've raised—turning against his own grandmother!" Ashley let out a cold laugh.
Just then, Lucas's phone buzzed in his pocket, completely shattering the moment.
He pulled it out irritably and glanced at the caller ID. The name on the screen blinked clearly.
Juliana.
Lucas looked at his mother still spewing threats, then at his son crying so hard he could barely breathe. He swiped to answer.
A cool, familiar voice rang clearly through the deathly quiet study.
"Mr. Sharp, about your mother's surgery."
Juliana paused. "I'll do it."
The instant those words landed, Ashley's expression shifted to smug satisfaction. The woman had finally caved. Scared of the Sharp family's power, terrified she'd never work in medicine again.
Lucas's feelings were far more complicated than his mother's.
Why had Juliana suddenly changed her mind?
"Conditions." Lucas's voice came out rough.
A soft laugh filtered through the phone. "No conditions. I'm doing this because I'm a doctor."
Then she hung up. Clean and simple.
The dial tone seemed to mock the three people in that study, each lost in their own thoughts.
"You hear that?!" Ashley immediately straightened her spine. "She's scared! I told you—give her a little pressure and she falls in line!"
Lucas said nothing, just pulled the hiccupping Damian up from the floor.
"Go to your room."
Damian refused to move.
"Now." Lucas's tone left no room for argument.
Damian finally turned and ran out.
Mommy had agreed to do the surgery. But... why didn't he feel happy about it at all?
The next day, at the hospital.
Juliana walked into Ashley's private room.
Ashley was propped up in bed, a servant feeding her porridge. When she spotted Juliana entering, she let out a derisive snort.
"Dr. Wells, you finally decided to show up. Such a diva."
Juliana ignored the passive aggression and walked straight to the bedside. "Mrs. Sharp, pre-op examination. Please cooperate."
"Make it quick—don't fumble around like an amateur." Ashley looked her up and down critically. "Did you even disinfect your hands?"
Juliana's expression remained blank as she pulled on disposable gloves.
Just then, the door swung open. Bianca walked in carrying an elegant fruit basket, her face plastered with a saccharine smile.
"Mrs. Sharp, I came to see you! Oh my, Dr. Wells is here too."
She covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise. "Mrs. Sharp, you can relax—Dr. Wells is a professional. Although... she is quite young. In terms of experience, she might not quite measure up to those veteran specialists."
The words sounded comforting, but every sentence was pure gasoline on a fire.
Ashley's expression soured further. "Inexperienced? This surgery is serious business. If something goes wrong..."
"Mrs. Sharp," Bianca cooed, "don't worry. I'm sure Dr. Wells will do her absolute best. After all, this determines whether she can continue working here, doesn't it? She wouldn't dare slack off. Right, Dr. Wells?"
She turned to Juliana, her eyes naked with challenge and gloating.