Bonds

Chapter 14

-Maya POV-

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. A million conflicting emotions warred within me: anger, resentment, guilt, fear, and an unexpected pang of grief.

She was more like a trophy wife to Daniel Stone but the fact still remained-she was my mother.

Natalia placed a comforting hand on my arm, her presence grounding me in the midst of the emotional maelstrom. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision, but I blinked them back, refusing to crumble.

“Where is she?” I demanded, my voice surprisingly steady.

He gave me the name of the hospital, and before I could even process the information, I was already pushing the call to end. Natalia helped me gather my things, moving with urgency yet understanding

“I’ll watch the kids,” she promised, her voice firm and reassuring. “Go, be with your mother.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. With a quick hug of gratitude, I rushed out, my mind racing, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

Would I get to say goodbye?

scent assaulting my senses as I skidded to a stop at the reception desk. My breaths were coming in ragged gasps, adrenaline

mother was in an accident. She was brought here. Victoria Stone. I need

eyes that held no warmth, scanned my frantic state. “Room 101,” she uttered,

dismissive.

attitude. With a mumbled “thank you,” I tore through

stopped me in my tracks. There, on a sofa, sat my mother, a magazine casually draped across her lap, as my father tapped

The words seemed to rip from my throat, raw and laced with disbelief. “You told me she was in an accident! How?

of any genuine concern “Amaya,” he drawled, his voice flat

demanded, my voice rising in pitch. My eyes darted between them,

saw a flash of apology, a flicker of the mother I remembered before the walls

it further, my father’s

said, thrusting a document in my

momentarily stunned by

voice

me right now? You seriously lied! To get

Chapter 14

contrasting the vivid red blooming on my skin. Anger simmared, threatening to boll

the sterile silence. “Why do

in the air, a loaded accusation. I yearned to unleash the oriental frustration and hurt that had fostered within me for years, but something held me back. Perhaps it was the vulnerability flickering in my mother’s eyes, or the raw pain simmering

silence stretched, suffocating and