Chapter 37 A Mother’s Collapse
Since it was what his father wanted, Andy nodded obediently.
“I understand, Mr. Nathan.”
Nathan gave him a few more instructions before finally leaving the villa.
Claudia refused Mandy’s offer to stay with her and made her way upstairs alone.
The bedroom looked the same as it had the last time she was here. Some clothes she hadn’t taken with her still hung in the closet. She grabbed a couple of pajamas and went into the bathroom.
Standing before the mirror, she peeled off her liquor–stained clothes.
Her skin was pale, porcelain white with the faintest blush beneath. Her figure was graceful, full, luminous under the bathroom’s crystal lights. But when she turned, that beauty dimmed. Her delicate skin bruised so easily, and now her back was mottled with dark patches, her right shin too.
Claudia stared silently at the reflection, lips pressed tight.
This was what Alan left her with.
She had to remember. Engrave it in her memory.
Biting back the pain of every touch, she rinsed herself quickly. The steam made her dizzy, but she forced herself into soft pajamas. The room was warm with central heat, so she didn’t feel the chill.
By the bed sat an unopened tube of ointment–probably left by Mandy.
Claudia’s steps faltered, then she swept it straight into the trash. Nathan had bought it. She would never use it.
Instead, she rummaged through the cabinet until she found a half–used tube of baby ointment..
With a child in the house, she had always stocked up on medicine. When she left before, she hadn’t bothered taking it–she hadn’t been planning on fighting for custody.
Now, ironically, it came in handy.
Alan had said she should wait here for him tonight. But Claudia had no intention of waiting.
She’d waited long enough.
In the past, as long as she w
as home, no matter how late, she would keep a light on for Alan, tend to his clothes, wait with gentle patience.
But not anymore.
Claudia lay down on her side, determined to just sleep. If he came back late, so be it.
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Chapter 37 A Mother’s Collapse
She had only just closed her eyes when the door burst open.
Andy came bounding in, clambering onto the bed and nudging her shoulder.
“Mom, you’re going to bed so early? You haven’t been home in forever. Play with me a little, please.”
Claudia gazed at the delicate little face in front of her. She remembered how, just days ago, he’d said on the phone that he missed her. And it was true–they hadn’t seen each other in so long. Her heart softened, but her body was exhausted.
“Andy, I’m tired. Go play on your own, or find Mandy…”
Andy’s face fell immediately.
“No! Mom, you haven’t played with me in so long. You don’t tell me stories anymore, you don’t sleep with me, you don’t even kiss me. You’re not allowed to sleep!”
Before, whenever she saw him, she had always been overjoyed–hugging and kissing him so much it annoyed him, kept him from playing.
But when she disappeared from his life recently, Andy had gotten used to running wild, often kept company by Aunt Summer. He hadn’t thought too much about it.
Now that she was back, though, something felt wrong. Mom wasn’t the same. She didn’t cling to him, didn’t smile at him the way she used to.
Andy’s little chest swelled with frustration and sadness. And like any child, he let it out.
Whatever Mr. Nathan had told him earlier, he forgot it all.
Claudia’s temples throbbed at his shouting. Her head was already spinning from the hot shower, her body drained. The weight of all the past days‘ emotions came crashing in, her nose stinging with pressure.
“Andy…”
She whispered, bracing herself on one hand, trying to reach for her phone on the nightstand. She wanted to call Mandy up to take Andy away. She desperately needed rest.
But before her fingers found the phone, Andy, stung by her silence, lashed out in his own frustration. He shoved her small shoulder with his little hands.
“I hate you, Mom!”
The push wasn’t strong, but it was enough. The string inside Claudia’s head snapped.
Her vision blurred, her body swayed–and she collapsed onto the bed.
“Mom?”
Andy froze, staring, his face draining of color.
Two seconds later, his shrill wail filled the house.
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Chapter 37 A Mother’s Collapse
That night, Alan got the call and rushed home.
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Mandy was on the couch, holding the sobbing Andy, trying to soothe him. When Alan strode into the room, she breathed a sigh of relief and immediately reported.
“Sir, the doctor has already been. Madam fainted from exhaustion and heart palpitations. She woke once, took her medicine, and went back to sleep.”
“Good.”
Alan turned his gaze on Andy.
The boy, who had been crying nonstop, went silent the instant his father entered, lowering his head guiltily, unable to meet his eyes.
“Come to the study,” Alan said evenly, already heading upstairs.
“Andy…” Mandy started to protest, worried.
But Andy slipped free of her hand, following quietly after his father, his tear–stained face downcast.
Alan paused first at the master bedroom.
Claudia lay on the bed, her face pale, her brows furrowed even in sleep. Restless.
He stood in the doorway for a moment, watching silently, then turned and walked away.
