Chapter 47 Chapter 47
Liana's POV
The door slammed shut with a loud crack, yet it echoed like thunder within my very bones. I stood there, frozen,my chest panting and air slicing through my lungs like splinters of glass.
He was gone but the moment still hung on me like smoke. Heavy and choking. I leaned against the door and slid down, the weight of it all crashing down on top of me. My back struck wood, my knees drew up into my chest, and the tears came before I could stop them.
Large, hot, angry sobs. I didn't cry because he'd yelled or sworn or blamed me.
I cried because my daughter was finally in the open and at risk. He'd looked at me as if I'd cut something vital out of him. Well… maybe I had but I didn't care.
How did we end up here? I buried my face in my hands, trying to push it all back. But the silence in the apartment was too overwhelming now. Every breath was a reminder of what I'd just shattered.
"Mommy?" The little voice pierced the fog.
I raised my head. Now, Cam stood in the hallway, rubbing her eyes, her favorite stuffed bunny dangling from one hand. Her curls were scattered, her pajama top slightly crooked, and her face scrunched in concern.
“You fell down?” she asked, walking toward me on sockless feet. I quickly swiped at my face and sat up straighter. “No, baby. I’m okay.”
She stopped a foot away, studying me with that innocent intensity only kids had. “You’re crying.”
“I just got a little sad," I said softly. "That's all."
Cam frowned. "Did someone make you sad?"
I paused. "Yeah. Someone did."
She marched over and sat beside me, folding her legs up like a little pretzel. "Then he's not a good person. I don't like people who make you cry."
I smiled, even as another tear fell. "Sometimes. people don't try to hurt us. But they still do.
She rested her head on my shoulder. "Like when I accidentally knocked over the flowers you liked?"
I half-heartedly chuckled. "Just like that." I didn't want her to have the notion that Dominic hurt me intentionally. She thought about this for a moment, then nodded like she understood the weight of the universe. "I still think I just like good Uncle Stanley. He doesn't ever make you cry. He buys me jelly worms and he makes you laugh when you're sad."
I closed my eyes, her words seeping through the hurt in my chest. "Uncle Stanley's really sweet."
Cam shifted, her eyes scouring my face again. "Was that him at the door?"
I stiffened. "No, baby. That was somebody else."
"Who?"
"An old friend."
Her brow furrowed. "Was that the old friend that made you cry?"
I nodded, amused by her interrogations. She wrinkled her nose. "Then he's a bad friend. I don't like him. I just like the ones that make you laugh.
I laughed aloud amidst my tears, pulling her into my arms. "That's why you're my friend. You're the best medicine."
She wrapped her arms around my neck. "Come on. Let's go wash your sad face. You said we're going to see Granny today."
I kissed her forehead. "Yes. Let's get ready."
………..
The hospital smelled of antiseptic and citrus, the kind of spark that would make you think that it wasn't a place of pain. I gripped Cam's hand tightly as we entered the room, a bouquet of pink carnations under my arm. My mother was propped up, her skin not so pale as it had been yesterday, a bit of color returned to her cheeks. Her smile came the moment she saw Cam but her gaze intersected mine and at once narrowed.
"What's wrong, baby," she asked, before I could open my mouth.
"Nothing," I said quickly, stooping to kiss her cheek. "You should be concentrating on getting well mom."
Cam dashed over to the bed and scrambled up like it was her own personal castle. "Granny, look! I wore the pink pants you like!"
"They're beautiful, darling," Mom said, hugging her tightly. "And you brought me flowers?"
Cam held up the bouquet proudly. "And I brought my blue hair clip! It makes people get better. You have to wear it." Mom smiled as Cam clipped the gaudy plastic barrette into her graying curls. "Perfect. I feel ten years younger."
"You look fifty," Cam stage-whispered.
Mom laughed, then winced and rubbed her side. "Careful. Too much joy may break something."
I busied myself with putting the flowers in the vase on her bedside, but I could feel her waiting for me. Watching me.
Cam snuggled beneath the covers beside her, her bunny held tight in her arms, her thumb once again in her mouth. She was asleep within minutes against my mother's side.
The room fell quiet. I sat, running my hands over my jeans. "He came by this morning," I said to her.
She looked genuinely confused and I didn't blame her so I added the detail she was waiting for. "Dominic." I swallowed
She slowly exhaled. “Does he know?"
I nodded in affirmation. "Everything.
She was silent for a moment, her hand brushing Cam's hair. That's one thing I have always loved about mum. Even in terrible storms, she was always calm.
"So what's next ?"
"I don't know mum. I admitted to everything," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I couldn't keep it any longer. When he confronted me with a picture, I admitted it was my baby."
She nodded solemnly, letting the weight of it all drop between us. "I told him he had no right," I went on, trying to force the words out. "He just… looked at me like I'd taken everything from him. And threatened to come back.”
Mom's hand found mine.
"You made the best decision you could to protect your child. It was defence.," she said softly. "It doesn't make you cruel. It makes you human."
"But I feel cruel. I feel like I took something from her… took from him."
Mom gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "You protected her. That was never wrong." I laid my head against the bedframe, tears dropping onto the white sheets. "I just wanted to be enough. For her. For me. I didn't know if he'd come back, or if he'd still be him."
"And now?" she encouraged.
I shook my head. "Now, I don't know anything. Sooner or later he would need to see her and she deserves to know the truth."
Mom nodded. "Then do it one step at a time. That's all you can do."
We sat there in silence, just the sound of the heart monitor and Cam's slow, sleepy breathing between us.
Then my phone buzzed. I wiped my eyes, expecting maybe a check-in from Stanley, or a reminder from the pharmacy.
But it wasn't. It was a message from my lawyer.
We need to talk. It's about Dominic.
I blinked, the words blurring.