34. Lily didnt remember
Sophia's POV:
The moment those words left Adrian's mouth-
"I want us to get back together."
The disgust I felt for this man only deepened.
How could he even say that?
After everything he had done to me...
After destroying me piece by piece for five whole years...
How could someone be this shameless?
I didn't want to stand there for even another second.
Before I could walk away, Adrian stepped closer and gently took both my hands in his.
"Sophia... I know I was a terrible man, but please... give me one more chance."
I immediately pulled my hands out of his grasp as though his touch burned me.
A mocking laugh escaped my lips.
"Ohh... so now you remember to apologize?"
"Till yesterday... or even the day before yesterday... or the day before that... you never apologized."
"The day I left your house, there wasn't even a single call from you asking where I was... whether I was safe... or even why I left."
"You didn't apologize when I sent you the divorce notice either."
He hurriedly interrupted.
"Sophia, I was going to come to you to apologize only-"
I cut him off before he could finish.
"No, Adrian."
"No, you weren't."
"You were never going to apologize."
"And do you know why?"
"Because you had Vanessa."
"But now that you've found out she's no longer with you, so suddenly you remembered me."
"You probably thought..."
"I'll apologize to Sophia. She'll come back anyway. After all, she'll need me. She's so dumb."
A bitter smile spread across my face.
"But not anymore Adrian."
"Not now."
"Not ever."
"I will never return."
"And please respond to the divorce notice."
"Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to move forward with the divorce proceedings through the court."
With that, I turned around to leave.
But once again...
He held my wrist.
The familiar grip made something inside me snap.
"Sophia, please listen to me."
"Trust me."
"I never thought about you that way."
"I never thought you'd need me."
"But the truth is..."
"I need you."
"I miss your presence in the house."
My eyes instantly burned.
Tears threatened to spill over.
I hated crying in front of him.
Tears showed weakness...
And I refused to let this man see me weak ever again.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced my voice to remain steady, even though it trembled with years of buried pain.
"Adrian..."
"I was present in your life for five years."
"You were the one who made me feel absent."
"And now that I am truly absent..."
"...you're suddenly missing my presence."
A hollow, sarcastic laugh escaped my lips.
I jerked my hand free from his grip.
Then I looked straight into his eyes and smiled-a smile devoid of warmth, filled only with hurt and irony.
"What did you always say to me, Adrian?"
I pretended to think for a second.
"Hmm..."
"Oh yes..."
"Sophia, you're overreacting."
"So now, Adrian..."
"You're overreacting."
"Be mature... hmm?"
Without waiting for his response, I turned around and walked back inside Lily's private hospital room...
...leaving Adrian standing alone outside the door, frozen exactly where I had left him.
I quietly sat down on the seat beside her bed.
The moment my eyes fell on my little girl lying there with an IV drip attached to her tiny hand...
Everything I had been holding back shattered.
I gently held her hand in mine.
My vision blurred.
And then...
I broke down.
A soft sob escaped my lips as tears streamed uncontrollably down my cheeks.
I cried for everything.
For every wrong decision I had made.
For every insult I had silently endured.
For every night I had cried myself to sleep.
The man I had married...
The man I had believed would stand beside me through every hardship...
Had turned out to be the very reason behind all my suffering.
A bitter thought crossed my mind.
I should never have married him.
I should have remained a single mother.
I should have raised Lily all by myself.
At least then...
Lily would never have gone through all this.
I quickly wiped my tears with the back of my palm.
No.
Crying wouldn't change anything.
The thought of becoming a single mother made me instinctively reach for my phone.
Today...
The results of two of the interviews I had given were supposed to arrive.
Taking a deep breath, I opened my mailbox.
Nothing.
No email.
For a second, disappointment washed over me.
Did that mean...
I wasn't selected?
A wave of self-doubt crept into my heart.
But I immediately shook my head.
No.
I gave six interviews.
Even if these two reject me... I still have four more chances and still I am not being rejected yet , it's just that I have not got the email yet. Yes Sophia, Be positive.
I locked my phone and looked back at Lily.
She was sleeping peacefully, her tiny fingers wrapped around mine while the IV drip slowly flowed into her fragile hand.
A strange feeling settled inside me.
The tears gradually stopped.
My face turned expressionless...
But my heart burned with determination.
From today onwards...
I would work harder than ever.
I would do everything within my power for my daughter.
I would fight for her.
I would protect her.
No matter what.
She would always come first.
My daughter...
Would be my only priority.
And from today onwards...
I would never depend on anyone again.
I would build my own life.
On my own terms.
It wasn't just anger towards Adrian anymore.
It was guilt too.
Guilt that I had stayed silent for five years.
Guilt that I had never stood up for myself.
And today...
Because of those very mistakes...
My daughter's life had been put in danger.
That guilt burned inside me like fire.
It made me more determined than ever.
More desperate than ever.
To succeed.
To become strong enough that no one could ever threaten my daughter again.
How could Adrian even think...
That I would go back to him?
Never.
Not in this lifetime.
I would work day and night.
I would attend a hundred interviews if I had to.
I would rebuild my life from scratch.
But one thing was certain...
I would make sure that my daughter came back to me.
Forever.
--------------------------------
Adrian's POV:
I couldn't bring myself to go back into Lily's room after that.
Not after what had happened with Sophia.
Not after hearing every word she had said.
Every sentence echoed in my mind, making my chest feel heavier than before.
So, I stayed outside.
I sat down on one of the benches placed along the corridor outside the patient's room.
I don't even remember when exhaustion took over me.
Sometime during the night...
I dozed off while sitting there.
When I finally opened my eyes, morning sunlight was filtering through the hospital windows.
I immediately checked the time.
7:34 a.m.
I rubbed my tired eyes and slowly stood up.
A sharp ache shot through my back.
I must have strained it from sleeping in the same position all night.
Ignoring the discomfort, I walked towards Lily's room.
As I stepped inside, I saw that Lily was awake.
She was quietly looking around the room with her big curious eyes.
The sight alone brought an involuntary smile to my face.
"Good morning, baby."
The words had barely left my mouth when Lily quickly put a finger to her lips.
"Shhh..."
She whisper-shouted at me.
"Mommy is sleeping."
She pointed towards the chair beside her bed.
My gaze followed her tiny finger.
There she was.
Sophia.
Still asleep while sitting on the chair, her head resting against its back.
She must have spent the entire night beside Lily.
Hearing my voice, she stirred awake.
She immediately looked at Lily.
The moment she realized Lily was awake, all traces of sleep disappeared from her face.
She leaned forward in panic and gently touched Lily's forehead.
"What happened, baby?"
"Are you feeling pain somewhere?"
Lily shook her head before smiling brightly.
"No, Mommy."
"I was just telling Daddy to be quiet because you were sleeping."
Then she pouted adorably.
"But you woke up."
Hearing Lily speak so normally again...
My heart finally relaxed.
She was talking.
She was smiling.
She sounded just like herself again.
Sophia seemed to feel the same relief.
Without another word, she carefully leaned over and hugged Lily before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Lily giggled happily.
Before either of us could stop her, she stretched out both her little arms to hug Sophia back.
But the very next second-
She froze.
A sharp cry escaped her lips.
The IV line attached to her hand pulled painfully, causing her hand to fall back onto the bed.
Her eyes instantly filled with tears.
I hurried to the bedside.
Sophia immediately began rubbing Lily's arm gently.
In the calmest voice possible, she comforted her.
"Baby..."
"You're still unwell."
"The doctor has put this IV drip in your hand."
"So you're not supposed to move this hand, okay?"
Lily tried to hold back her tears...
But she couldn't.
She burst into loud sobs.
"But... but Mommy..."
"I want to hug you..."
Seeing her cry like that broke my heart.
Sophia smiled softly despite the worry in her own eyes.
"No problem, baby."
She carefully leaned forward and hugged Lily herself.
"Let Mommy hug you right now."
"Once you're completely fine..."
"You can hug me as much as you want."
A smile unknowingly settled on my lips as I watched the two of them.
For a brief moment...
Everything felt peaceful.
Like this was how our family was always supposed to be.
Sophia slowly pulled away from Lily before turning towards me.
The warmth disappeared from her face the instant she looked at me.
Her expression turned cold once again.
"Could you please call the doctor?"
"He asked us to inform him once Lily woke up."
I immediately nodded.
"Yes."
"I'll get him."
Without wasting another second, I walked out and informed one of the nurses that Lily had regained consciousness.
A few minutes later, the doctor entered the room.
He smiled warmly at Lily.
"Good morning, Lily."
"How are you feeling now?"
Lily smiled back innocently.
"Good morning, Doctor."
"I am feeling good..."
"But my hand is hurting."
"And I want to hug Mommy too."
She pouted adorably while saying the last part.
The doctor chuckled.
Meanwhile, the nurse checked Lily's vitals as the doctor continued talking to her.
Lily answered every question cheerfully.
Watching her smile again should have relieved me completely.
Yet...
Something felt strange.
Not once had she mentioned the kidnapping.
The doctor seemed to notice it too.
Finally, he asked gently,
"Lily..."
"What had happened to you last when you were awake?"
"Do you know why you're in the hospital?"
Lily innocently shrugged her shoulders.
"Because I'm sick."
The doctor smiled patiently.
"Yes, sweetheart."
"But how did you become sick?"
"What happened to you?"
Lily frowned slightly as if trying to remember.
Then she simply turned towards Sophia and asked with complete innocence,
"Mommy..."
"What happened to me?"
Both Sophia and I froze.
The room suddenly felt unnaturally silent.
Sophia slowly looked at the doctor, confusion written all over her face.
The doctor looked back at Lily.
"Child..."
"What do you remember last?"
Lily remained silent for a few seconds.
Her little brows knitted together.
Then she looked at Sophia once again.
"Mommy..."
"Did you put me to sleep?"
It sounded less like a question directed at Sophia...
And more like she was trying to question herself.
Sophia didn't respond.
Her face had completely changed.
The relief she had been feeling moments ago vanished.
In its place...
There was only worry.
And fear.
She looked at the doctor again.
The doctor immediately interrupted before anyone else could speak.
"That's enough for now, Lily."
"You should get some rest."
"You're still weak."
Lily obediently nodded.
Then the doctor turned towards both of us.
"Mr. Whitmore... Mrs. Whitmore..."
"Could you both step outside for a moment?"
My heart sank.
Blood seemed to drain from my body.
Beside me, I could see Sophia had gone equally pale.
Neither of us said a word.
Because we had both realized the same terrifying thing.
Lily didn't remember...
...that she had been kidnapped.