Chapter 147
Lake:
I leaned out of the wall and rushed over to my mother as soon as I saw her step out of the room behind a group of four nurses, of which one of them held a crying baby in her hands. Seeing the baby brought a warmth I could not explain upon me. The air in the hospital suddenly felt warmer, more relaxed. I tried to tell myself it was because Jojo was okay, the baby was safe now and I was sure she was safe too. But I had a feeling there was much more.
I can not forget to add the part where Kenji kept me glued to the wall by his side.
“To prevent you from tearing someone’s skin apart with your eyes.” He had said out loud. He was damn right about that part.
Even when I rushed to my mother, the young man had the guts to stand beside me.
“How is she?!” The both of us thundered simultaneously. I fought hard to resist the urge to ask him who the hell he was and the right he had to be here, but I suddenly remembered I did not have much rights myself.
My mother flashed us excited smiles, before she shook her head, a faint laughter in her eyes.
“Anthony, stay here, okay? You do not have to worry about Jojo and the baby. Both mother and child are currently doing well, you can meet them once they’ve both cleaned up, okay?” The man seemed to relax a bit, but he nodded his head eagerly, like a fucking lizard.
I fought back the urge to scoff and roll my eyes.
“Lake, come with me.”
I did not know why, but something about the seriousness in her tone alerted me. I could hear a blaring alarm go off in my head. I began to hope and pray that nothing had gone wrong. If not, why would my mother want to see me in the nursery?
I could never know if I did not follow, so I nodded and walked behind her. The nursery was only two doors away. We stepped into the sky blue polished walls with matching floor tiles. We stood still and watched as the baby was given a thorough and gentle bath, dressed in light clothes and placed in a baby cot.
All through these, my mother did not utter even a word. I did not hear a sound from her. The only sounds I could hear were the sounds of the baby’s defeaning cry and the sound of my heart pounding against my chest. Once the nurses were done and had exited the room, my mother took three steps forward.
She did not stop walking away in silence, until she stood by the side of the cot. I continued to watch her with keen eyes.
“Lake, come forward.” She finally called out. I let out a breath I did not even know I had been holding, before moving forward to join her by the side of the cot. The baby lay still in it, eyes opened and lips moving in a motion I did not quite understand, as though he was sucking on something I could not see.
My mother carried him from the court and stretched him to me. Without asking any questions, I stretched my hands forward and accepted the baby into my arms.
His skin brushed against mine and a strange shockwave washed over me. What I found more strange, was how the shockwave left behind a strong feeling of familiarity and belonging. My heart melted at the sight of the child, almost as though the child was a part of me, a missing piece of a puzzle I had long given up completing. When I pulled the baby closer to my chest, I felt my heart dare to leap towards it.
The black eyes brightened as he stared at me. His soft pink lips spread out in what seemed like a smile. My heart skipped three beats at once.
“The eyes, the lips, the nose. Heavens! Even the smile! Everything reminds me of when I had you. This baby is the spitting image of you when you were like this and size. There are so many questions I have to ask you, Lake. But I would start with one, and the most important one at that.” My mother said aloud, standing beside me.
I swallowed the hard lump that was stuck in my throat.
“Are you the father?”
No matter how hard I tried to brace myself up for that question and that reality, it did not stop it from feeling like an airplane had just crashed on my head, tearing the soft bones of my ears into pieces.
My heartbeat quickened in pace, the room around me began to spin.
Still staring into the baby’s eyes, I knew I had to say something.
“I… I can’t believe it either. I am as shocked as you are right now, mother. But, it is the only explanation to the resemblance.”
Immediately, my mind wandered on its own accord, traveling back to the last night I spent with Jojo, all the times I had been intimate with her. I traveled back to the day I rejected her, she had definitely come to see me for a reason. What if… just what if this had been the reason? And the hospital the day before? When she said she was I’ll from hospital snacks!
By the goddess! It was all starting to piece together in my head. The realization only tore me into pieces. I could not believe it. If the baby I was holding in my arms was truly mine…
For the first time in a long while, apart from when I had hugged my mother earlier, tears welled up in my eyes. My heart opened up its floodgate, allowing my eyes to carry the weight of the tears that I fought hard to hold back.
“Then, why did you leave her?”
I tried to sniff my tears in, but my efforts proved forlorn.
“I do not know, mother. I was just in a very bad place and I made a lot of mistakes.” I turned to her, not minding if she saw the tears in my eyes, or the depth of my regret.
“A lot of mistakes that I… I plan to correct.”
My mother heaved a sigh and looked away from me.
“I do not know how you intend to correct this one, Lake. And I do not plan to get involved. I mean, I am happy that I have a grandchild, but the final decision to accept you or not would rely solely on Jojo. And I will support whatever decision she makes.”
Before I could speak, the door swung open and three nurses walked into the room.
“Alright sir, we need to place the baby beside the mother now and make sure that he rests.” One of them spoke to me.
“Of course.” I replied, curtly. I placed the child in the arms of the first nurse, my hands suddenly felt empty and pale.
My mother walked out of the room, behind the nurses, while I trotted beside her.This material belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
Immediately we stepped out of the room, I planted myself in front of her.
“Do you…” I shook my head vehemently. The more I tried to keep my thoughts stable in order to plan my next move, the more my regret and pain tore at the seams of my reasoning.
My mother arched a brow at me.
“Do you think I can see Jojo now, mother? There are a lot of things I need to say to her, and…”
“And I do not think that is a good idea now, Lake.”
There it was again. The sound of my heart breaking into countless pieces. I swallowed the lump of tears in my throat and staggered backward.
“When I tried to tell her you had arrived at the restaurant, she turned on her heels and ran away. You… you need to give her time, Lake. Stay away, even if its for a while.”
Stay away. The two words continued to resonate in the walls of my ears.
I nodded, my eyes fixed on the ground.
“I understand. I deserve it.”
My mother did not speak. She turned on her heels and continued her journey to Jojo’s room.