Different | ✔️

19 | Reunion

"I'm so sorry, my little gummy bear. I once again failed to protect you! I made a promise to your father to shield you away from any possible harm that might come your way... and I broke that promise! I'm so sorry, my love." She broke down in tears, her knee clashing harshly with the stone cold floor as she wept into her palms. I followed suit and reached for her hands, entwining them into mine.

"As much as I want to hate you, Mom... I can't. As much as I want to regret ever being your daughter... I still can't. You know why?" I raised a brow, staring at her moist eyes.

"Why?" She whispered.

"Because it won't let me, it won't let me hate you! It won't let me feel mad at you, it won't let me, Mom..."

"It?" She asked, confusion shimmering in her eyes.

"Yes, Mom... my love for you is still so strong... The one thing hate can never take away from me... is the love you gave me by bringing me into existence. That, I will always cherish." My lips curled up into a smile, a tear trickled down my pale cheeks as fresh tears found its way to her eyes.

"I love you too, my love."

I had always thought of various ways I would meet her and various ways I would hurt her for putting me through all that pain but never did I think, the moment I'd lay my eyes on her, all hatred or pain would evaporate into the air like it was never there, to begin with. How truly powerful love is...

•

"How have you been, I see you've grown up to be a pretty lady." She said as her eyes beamed with joy.

"Mn. Not so good... Michelle's gone and so is Ruby, while Adira's whereabouts remain unknown. Ever since you left, nothing has been the same. Don't leave me ever again Mom, please..." I blinked back tears, averting my gaze to the floor as I fiddled with my thumbs.

"I'm so-"

"Enough! Apologising won't alter the past... just promise me you won't ever leave, no matter what the case may be."

"I promise I won't... A-adira, how is she? I dragged her into this mess too, didn't I? Had I listened to him, this would have been prevented."

My brows arched, confusion growing within me, "Who?"

"Shane Grayson."

You've got to be kidding me.

"How do you know him? That liar contributed in all this mess." My heart ached as previous moments with him came to memory. Our laughter, silly quarrels, and... the undeniable affection that glimmered in our eyes that we both chose to dismiss...

"H-he made a wrong choice, sweetheart, don't point fingers at someone you know nothing about."

I veered uncomfortably on the couch, questions bubbling up within me, waiting for the right time to voice them out.

"He lost both his parents in a day, his abusive father mistakenly killed his mother, the whole scene unfolded in front of the little boys' eyes, fear of being reported by his son, his father attempted to murder him as well. He acted a second faster by jabbing a knife into his father's abdomen. From that day, the thirst for blood calls to him day and night. And that's when he met Scarlett Bates-the head scientist of the experiment I was forced to participate in." Her voice wavered as she took in a deep breath.

You didn't kill dad, you didn't kill him, Mom. The words got stuck in my throat, tears welled up in my eyes at the remembrance of my dad.

Before I could get the words out, she continued, "She promised to help him satiate his thirst but in return, he must pledge his life to her, he did according to all she requested, unknown to him, she was not only training him to conquer his thirst but to turn him into a slaying machine. As a result, he lost the ability to feel emotions; joy, sadness, love, and pain. He became numb to it all, he built up a perfect façade to delude those around him, whereas he's silently dying on the inside. He needs help, Aurora... he needs your help."