rose opened it, her curiosity mingling with a sense of dread. The first few pages felt like a punch to her gut reports and observations, every detail about Lucian meticulously documented, chronicling his early childhood to the present. Why would her mother feel the need to document all this information about her own son? Shouldn’t she have known Lucian without needing to investigate him? As she turned the pages, she felt a growing sickness settle into her bones.
“Why… why would you have all this?” Rose whispered, her voice quivering as she flipped through page after page. She glanced at her mother with a mixture of shock and accusation. “You’re his mother. Why would you need something like this? Shouldn’t you… shouldn’t you have known him?”
Olivia’s face contorted in anguish, her gaze locked on her lap as if looking at Rose might break her. She just shook her head, unable to answer. She knew she couldn’t defend herself, nor did she deserve any defense.
Rose returned her attention to the documents, her heart pounding as she continued reading. With each page, the weight of their failures pressed down on her, revealing the neglected childhood Lucian had endured, his loneliness, the silent screams that had gone unheard, the instances when his love and attempts to reach out had been met with coldness. Details of moments she barely remembered or had dismissed at the time now surfaced with painful clarity. It was a harrowing revelation, each word searing a truth she could no longer deny. She was only a few pages in, but already, she felt a heaviness settling over her chest.
Tears gathered in her eyes, blurring the words before her, and she raised her arm to wipe them away, determined to continue reading. Olivia remained silent, her shame palpable in the room as her daughter read, each page hitting like a hammer, exposing the unforgivable neglect and indifference that had shaped Lucian’s life. As the minutes turned into an hour, Rose’s quiet tears became silent sobs, each page bringing with it a fresh wave of guilt and sorrow.
Finally, her hands began to tremble so much that she could no longer hold the folder. It slipped from her grasp, scattering papers onto the floor. With a strangled gasp, she scrambled to gather them, as if trying to piece together something broken that could never be whole again. She clutched the pages to her chest, her sobs growing louder, echoing the depth of her remorse.
Olivia watched, her own heart splintering at her daughter’s agony, but she knew she had no right to comfort her. She sat frozen, haunted by the knowledge that she had inflicted this suffering on both of her children. Every sob that escaped Rose’s lips felt like a judgment, a testament to her own failings as a mother. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. What could she say to undo the years of pain she had caused?
“Mother…” Rose finally managed, her voice hoarse, her face streaked with tears as she looked up at Olivia with a horrified expression. “Is this… is all of this… true?”
Olivia swallowed hard, her voice breaking as she nodded. “Every word, Rose. Every single word. I failed him. I failed everything.” Her hands clenched into fists as she struggled to hold back her own tears. “I became so blinded by… by everything else, I ignored the love he so freely offered… and he paid the price for my blindness.”
Rose’s face crumpled, more tears streaming down as she looked back down at the papers,
Rose sat on the plush couch, staring at the file in her hands. Her eyes scanned the pages repeatedly as if she could force herself to believe it was all a misunderstanding. Each word seemed heavier than the last. No birthday celebrations. No pocket money for five years. No gifts on Christmas. No medical check-ups.
It wasn’t just neglect; it was a gaping chasm of indifference that reflected how utterly the family had failed Lucian.
Her voice trembled with anger as she finally broke the silence. “Mother, how did things get this wrong? How did we let it go so far?” Rose’s lips quivered, and she could barely suppress the tide of emotions threatening to consume her.
It wasn’t a question anymore. It was an accusation directed at Olivia and at herself.
Olivia looked down, her hands trembling slightly as she clutched the edge of her skirt. Her usually composed demeanor was shattered, her guilt evident in her sunken shoulders. “I… I don’t know, Rose. I don’t know how it came to this.”
Rose slammed the file shut and dropped it onto the table. “It’s not just about knowing, Mother. Look at this this isn’t how a family treats their own. No, not even strangers deserve this.” Her voice cracked. “This isn’t neglect it’s cruelty. I can’t even imagine how lonely Lucian must have been. And we didn’t even realize it.”
Olivia’s face crumpled, tears glistening in her eyes. “You think I don’t know how much I’ve failed him?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Do you think I don’t lie awake every night thinking about how I abandoned him emotionally? How I…” Her voice faltered as she broke into sobs.
Rose’s fists clenched tightly at her sides. “We need to fix this, Mother. Crying won’t undo what’s been done. But we can’t wait any longer. Every second we delay is another nail in the coffin of our relationship with him.”
Olivia sniffled, wiping her tears. “I’ve tried, Rose. I’ve tried so many times. I approach him, but he runs away. He won’t even sit with me, let alone talk. I think I broke him too much. I think… he doesn’t trust me anymore.”
Her words pierced Rose like a dagger. The thought of Lucian a kind-hearted boy who once longed for love and affection giving up on the very idea of familial bonds, was unbearable.
“He needs time,” Olivia continued, her voice fragile. “He’s been through so much. He just needs to heal.”
Rose couldn’t take it anymore. Slamming her hands on the table, she stood up abruptly. “Time? How much more time?Mother, and all we’ve done is ruin him further!”
Olivia didn’t respond immediately, her face crumbling under the weight of her guilt. “I want his forgiveness more than anything, Rose. More than anything,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “But I don’t know if I deserve it. And I don’t know if he’ll ever give it to me.”
Rose’s chest tightened. She turned away to hide the tears streaming down her face. “Then we do whatever it takes,” she said softly. “Even if it costs everything.”
Olivia’s gaze softened, but then, as if struck by a thought, she hesitated. “You know,” she began slowly, “there might be one person who could help us… someone who might be able to mend the wounds we can’t.”
Rose’s heart sank. A sudden, overwhelming sense of dread coursed through her. “No,” she said firmly, already guessing who her mother was referring to.
“Rose,” Olivia said, her voice low and measured. “You know what I mean. Avey. She’s the one he”
“No!” Rose snapped, spinning around to face her mother. “That bitch doesn’t deserve him! Don’t you remember how she treated him? How she humiliated him again and again?” Her voice grew louder, trembling with rage. “Even a dog, when kept as a pet, becomes affectionate. But Lucian… he’s human. And she treated him like garbage!”
Olivia flinched at her daughter’s outburst, but she held her ground. “Rose,” she said softly, “do you think you have any right to say that? After everything you’ve done to him, do you really think you can cast stones at her?”
Rose’s words caught in her throat. Her eyes widened, her breath hitching.
“You treated him just as badly, if not worse,” Olivia continued, her voice cutting through Rose’s defenses like a knife. “But you’re here now, asking for redemption. Why shouldn’t she be given the same chance?”
“I…” Rose stammered, her voice trembling. “I’m different. I’ve apologized. I will begg for forgiveness. But she… she hasn’t and wont definitely.”
Olivia sighed heavily, leaning back on the couch. “She has, Rose. She realized her mistakes too.”
Rose froze, her heart pounding. “What… what do you mean?” she asked hesitantly.
“Last time,” Olivia said quietly, “she agreed to get together with him. She apologized to him and confessed her feelings.”
The room spun around Rose. She collapsed onto the couch, her mind reeling. “So… are they… together?”
Olivia shook her head, her expression somber. “No. Lucian rejected her.”
Rose’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Wait… what? He rejected her? Lucian? But he…” Her voice trailed off, unable to process the information.
“Yes,” Olivia said softly, her voice tinged with sorrow. “He said he’s given up on her. That he’s given up on love.”
Rose’s chest tightened painfully. “Why… why would he do that?”
Olivia looked away, her eyes glistening with tears. “I don’t know, Rose. But he said he doesn’t have it in him anymore.
Rose felt her heart shatter. She slumped back into the couch, her mind a whirlwind of confusion, regret, and guilt. The Lucian she knew the Lucian who once loved Avey with every fiber of his being was gone. And the one who remained was a shadow of himself, carrying the weight of scars that no one had the courage to see before.
She blinked back tears, her throat tightening. “How… how did it come to this?” she whispered, more to herself than to Olivia.
Olivia didn’t answer. She didn’t have the words. The silence that followed was deafening, a reminder of how much they had failed him.
—-
i will fasten the plot from next chapter on…and well no more explainations like these ofc ..
thanks for reading…and forgive this sinner of a author too