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?

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

mother was in an accident. She was

woman with an overly-tight smile and eyes that held no warmth, scanned my frantic state. “Room 101,” she uttered, her tone

dismissive.

didn’t bother registering her attitude. With a mumbled

There, on a sofa, sat my mother, a magazine

to rip from my throat, raw and laced with disbelief. “You told me she

looked up, his eyes devoid of any genuine concern “Amaya,” he

is going on?” I demanded, my voice rising in pitch.

for a fleeting moment, and in that silent exchange, I saw a flash of apology, a flicker of the mother I remembered before the walls went up and the silence settled

it further, my

said, thrusting a

blinked, momentarily stunned by

Amaya?” His voice grew

you seriously kidding me right now? You seriously lied! To get me to come here?” I spat,

Chapter 14

trembled as i accepted the paper, the starkness of the white contrasting the vivid red blooming on my skin. Anger simmared, threatening

My voice, barely a whisper, echoed in the sterile silence. “Why

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 beneath my father’s stoic

stretched, suffocating