Chapter 4 - The Hospital Room
|
The maternity ward was quiet, a stark contrast to the chaotic courtroom. The steady, rhythmic whoosh-whoosh of the fetal heart monitor filled the small, dimly lit room.
The obstetrician had examined me thoroughly. The impact had caused significant bruising and induced minor contractions, but the placenta appeared intact. I was ordered to remain on strict bed rest for twenty-four hours for continuous monitoring.
I lay against the pillows, staring at the ceiling, feeling an exhausted emptiness settle into my bones.
The door clicked open softly.
I expected Dana returning with legal updates, or a nurse checking my vitals.
Instead, my father stepped into the room.
He didn't wear the imposing black robe of his profession. He wore the rumpled grey suit he had been wearing in the courtroom. He looked older than the man I remembered. The silver in his hair was more pronounced, and the lines around his eyes were etched deeper.
He stopped near the foot of the bed, his hands hanging awkwardly at his sides.
"May I come closer?" he asked, his voice low, hesitant.
The question broke something tight and fragile inside me.
Marcus never asked for permission. He simply took up space, demanding compliance.
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat thick and painful.
"Yes," I whispered.
Elias pulled a plastic chair closer to the bed and sat down. He didn't reach for my hand. He maintained a careful, deliberate distance, as if afraid any sudden movement might shatter the fragile peace between us.
"I am sorry," he said. The words hung in the air, heavy and loaded with years of unspoken history.
"For what?" I asked, my voice barely audible over the hum of the machines.
"For making return feel like defeat," he answered, his gaze fixed on the blankets covering my legs. "For making my pride louder than my love for you."
I closed my eyes, a single tear escaping and tracking down my cheek. Seven years of silence, built on a foundation of stubborn anger, suddenly felt incredibly foolish.
May you like
"You warned me about him," I said softly.
"I warned you in a way designed to prove my authority, Nora," Elias corrected gently. "Not to preserve our relationship. I gave you an ultimatum when I should have given you a lifeline."
