Faux Vows, True Desires

Being the child of divorce is something most people dread, and Janice knew it all too well.

The fear that her two kids might be swayed by Nathan, their father, to act as his lobbyists, pleading with her to reconsider the divorce, weighed heavily on her. "Mom, we'd never do that. Neither would my brother," Lucinda reassured her.

They were coming to terms with the kind of man their father was, but their hearts ached for the years of suffering their mother had endured. They wouldn't side with him, nor would they pressure her.

This was their parents' tangled mess of love and pain, and it was theirs alone to sort out.

If their father ever earned their mother's forgiveness, they'd be overjoyed. But if divorce was the final chapter, they'd stand by their parents' decisions and choices.

A weight lifted slightly from Janice's shoulders.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Lucy, how's your dad doing?"

Almost as if to avoid any misunderstanding, she quickly added, "I'm not concerned about him. I'm just worried he'll catch a cold and then I'll be expected

to look after him. That would drive me up the wall."

"Don't worry, Mom. My brother and Stefan will convince Dad to go inside and change. It's still warm out. Even if he's soaked to the bone, with Dad's constitution, he won't catch a cold."

"He's been shot before, nearly died. His health isn't as solid as you all think," Janice said absentmindedly.

After saying it, she paused, lost in thought.

Why did she remember Nathan's gunshot wound?

When had that happened?

It must have been when she had first lost her mind or during those long years of madness. The timeline was hazy.

She only remembered him throwing himself on top of her, and then the gunshot. Blood everywhere, her hands red with it, the memory so harrowing it stuck with her even through her madness.

And now, it slipped out so naturally.

"My dad's been shot?" Lucinda was shocked.

been an oak, a rock-solid presence, impervious to the storm. With all the skilled bodyguards around him, the notion of him getting hurt seemed

But he'd been shot.

brother mentioning their cars were

her dad's car would undoubtedly

happened. All I remember is your dad falling on top

terrifying moment made Janice's face turn

random attack. Her

my husband. She hit me, several times. I was terrified, of her, and that your dad might die. He bled so much...it stained my hands

too far. Mom, what happened

her head, "I don't remember,

clutched her head, feeling an

overwhelming her, making

mom, what's wrong? If you can't remember, don't force

only retained fragments of the past, not the entire tragic

in such agony, she wrapped her arms around

darkness enveloped her. She plunged into a world

cries of

a moment, then ran toward the source of the

Her daughter

Lucy was just six months old. Without her mother's sight, she would cry bitterly, inconsolable by any nanny. Only in Janice's arms

thinking she was close to Lucy, but the baby always

taken by a bad

catch the villain, and reclaim her

barefoot

her, but she

long as breath remained in her, she

storm rage at her, but

the night, followed by someone running toward her with an umbrella,

Who was it?

She didn't know.