Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring
Billionaire Shadow 102

Chapter 102

"My mother wants to see you before she leaves the hospital tomorrow," he said quietly, his voice almost breaking.

She hesitated, her eyes flickering with indecision. For a moment it looked like she might refuse. But then she exhaled slowly, the fight leaving her just a little. "I'll come by," she said, her voice weary. "Now, if that's all, goodbye." She turned to leave, her back to him, and he felt a sharp pang in his chest. He wasn't ready for this to end, for her to walk away again. The words rushed to his lips, propelled by desperation.

"Emma," he called out, his voice raw.

She froze, her hand gripping the doorframe so tightly her knuckles turned white. The silence between them stretched painfully.

Alexander's throat felt dry, his heart a leaden weight in his chest. He swallowed hard, forcing his voice to be steady even as he felt it splintering from within.

"My team told me about the house hunting," he said, his tone low, almost hesitant. "You can move into the house without paying a dime."

A bitter, humorless laugh escaped her lips, sharp as glass. She finally turned her head, just enough to let him see the cold disdain in her eyes. Her gaze sliced through. Her voice trembled with restrained fury as she spoke.

"You think you can buy away the damage, Alexander?" Her words dripped with sarcasm and exhaustion, like someone who had fought too many battles and was tired of wielding her sword. "You should stop the act. Mr. Alexander Black." She spat out his name like it tasted bitter on her tongue. "By now, you should have realized that I'm no longer the weak girl you sent away mercilessly five years ago.

She turned away again, her jaw clenched, her chin lifted as if defying the universe itself to break her.

"Goodbye, Alexander," she whispered, so softly it was almost lost to the wind.

And then she opened the door and locked it behind herself before he could speak. AAAAA

Alexander walked into the dimly lit house, the silence pressing down on him like a weight he couldn't shake off. The air was cool, sterile devoid of the warmth it used to hold. Without thinking, he headed straight for the shower. This had become his nightly ritual recently. He let the scalding water run over him, hoping it would wash away the weariness clinging to his soul, but all it did was leave him standing there, hollow and cold.

The water cascaded down his face but his mind was filled with just one person. Emma. Her name echoed through his mind, a whisper of regret that never ceased. Her voice, sharp and unyielding, replayed in his head: "I'm no longer the weak girl you sent away mercilessly five years ago." The words cut him deeper than he cared to admit, reopening wounds he had tried to ignore.

He stepped out of the shower, steam rising around him. He dressed for bed with slow, deliberate movements, each motion. heavy with exhaustion. As he walked through the door into the room, an emptiness gnawed at him. This house, which had been his sanctuary for years, now felt like a mausoleum - cold, silent, and haunted by what he had lost.

His thoughts drifted back to his mother, Brianna. Tomorrow evening, she would finally be going home, leaving behind the sterile walls of the hospital where she had spent the last four years. The thought should have brought him joy, but it only made the ache in his chest sharper. He knew that the only reason his mother was getting better, the reason hope had flickered back to life in her eyes, was because of Emma. Emma's kindness, her positive energy- everything he had once taken for granted.

A bitter irony twisted inside him. Emma was the only person who could heal the wounds of his heart and his family, yet she

11:08 Wed, Dec 18

Chapter 102

was the one person he had-uanaged to push the furthest away. He owed her so much more than the house he has offered her. He owed her all the years she had spent building herself back up from a no one.

the

He sighed heavily, running a hand through his damp hair as he walked deeper into the bedroom. His cold gaze landed on Annie, curled up under the duvet, her face turned away from him. The room felt stifling, despite the silence. She had been quiet lately and he prefers that. He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him. The room was thick with unspoken words, the air heavy with the bitterness that had become their constant companion.

She was pregnant with his child. That reality hung in the air like a fragile thread. He had been raised to be responsible, to face his obligations no matter how tangled they became. He promised himself he would take care of Annie and their child - at least that much he could offer, even if his heart had long since left thile relationship.

His voice was low and flat as he spoke. "My mother will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow evening." he has only told her out of formality and nothing more.

Annie immediately sat up, her eyes lighting up with a forced excitement, a wide, brittle smile spreading across her face. "Oh my goodness! That calls for a celebration, baby!" Her tone was almost manic in its cheeriness. "Why are you just telling me this now? I'll pay her a visit first thing tomorrow morning."

His jaw clenched, and he turned his head slightly, his gaze cold and distant. "You don't have to," he said, his voice devoid of warmth. "You know better, Annie."

The smile on Annie's lips disappeared, replaced by a look of disbelief and hurt. Her eyes went wide, shining with unshed tears. She swung her legs off the bed, sat upright, and her hands started to quiver. "You can't be serious, Alex. Still trying to hide me from her? How much longer will this go on?" Her voice broke with the burden of frustration accumulated over five years. "I've been through thick and thin with you, for five very long years... "Tears finally rolled, running down her cheeks. "And yet, you still won't acknowledge me. You still can't proudly show me to your mother."

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if to shut out the storm of her words. "Stop making a fuss about this, Annie. You knew what this was from the start." His tone was sharp and unapologetic.