Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189

LUMINA

68

I sat beside Ollie’s hospital bed, watching my son stare at the ceiling with empty eyes that broke my heart into a thousand pieces. He’d been like this since I’d been released from the dungeon and finally allowed to see him withdrawn, quiet, speaking only in fragments that made no sense to me.

–

The relief of seeing him alive and breathing had been overwhelming, but now I was faced with a different kind of terror. This wasn’t my vibrant, talkative little boy who usually chattered nonstop about dinosaurs and adventures. This was a hollow shell of himself, and i had no idea how to reach him.

“Ollie,” I said softly, reaching out to smooth his dark hair away from his forehead. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He turned his head toward me, and for a moment his eyes brightened with something that looked like hope. But then it faded, replaced by that terrible emptiness that had been haunting his expression since I’d arrived.

“Where’s Daddy?” he whispered, his voice so quiet I had to lean closer to hear him. “He broke his promise.”

I felt my chest tighten with confusion and frustration. “What promise, baby? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Ollie’s face crumpled, and tears began rolling down his cheeks. “He promised to look after Riley. He promised Riley would be safe. But they broke the magic, and now Riley’s gone.”

son

The name hit me like a slap across the face, sending anger surging through my veins. Riley. Of course this was about Riley, Sophia’s

the living, breathing evidence of my mate’s betrayal during our marriage.

–

‘Ollie, listen to me,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm despite the rage building in my chest. “Riley is fine. He’s back in the city

with his mother. You don’t need to worry about him.”

“No!’ Ollie said with more passion than I’d heard from him since I’d arrived. “You don’t understand! They shouldn’t have broken the connection! I told them not to, but nobody listened to me!”

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that my son had been through trauma and wasn’t thinking clearly.

“Sweetheart, Sophia was using magic to drain your life force. She was trying to kill you to hurt our family. Breaking that connection saved your life,”

“I don’t care!” Ollie shouted, his small hands clenching into fists against the hospital blanket. I wanted to help Riley! He was scared and alone, and I was the only one who could be with him! Now he’s gone, and it’s all my fault!”

The pain in his voice was genuine, and it tore at my maternal instincts even as I struggled to understand why he cared so much about a child I hated. To me, Riley represented everything that had gone wrong in my marriage the proof that Xenois had been unfaithful, that he’d created another family while I was carrying his child.

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Chapter 189

I’d tried so hard not to let my feelings about Riley’s existence poison my relationship with Ollie, but it was difficult. Every time my son mentioned the other boy’s name, it was like reopening a wound that had never properly healed.

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“Ollie,” I said carefully, “I know you feel bad for Riley, but you need to understand that his mother did terrible things to our family. She tried to hurt you, tried to take you away from me. I don’t want to hear about Riley anymore, okay? I just want to focus on getting you

better and taking our family home.”

The effect of my words was immediate and devastating. Ollie’s face went white with betrayal and fury, and he grabbed his favorite toy

a stuffed triceratops named Tricy, Tricy the last thing he had held onto in my past life before dying on his birthday from a heart attack-

and hurled it against the wall with all the strength his small body could muster.

“You’re not listening!” he screamed, his voice cracking with emotion. “Nobody ever listens! Riley needed me, and I failed him, and now

he’s gone forever!”

I felt tears sting my eyes as I watched my son fall apart, knowing that I was somehow making everything worse but not understanding

how to fix it. The rational part of my brain knew that Ollie’s attachment to Riley was probably some kind of trauma response, but the

wounded part of my heart couldn’t separate the child from what he represented.

Before I could figure out what to say next, the door opened behind me. I turned, expecting to see a nurse or doctor, but instead found

myself looking at Xenois.

Relief flooded through me at the sight of my mate, alive and whole and finally here where he belonged. He moved toward me quickly,

wrapping his arms around me from behind and pulling me against his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured against my ear, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, sorry I left you alone to deal with

all of this. I’m sorry for everything that’s happened.”

I melted into his embrace despite my anger, my body recognizing its other half and responding instinctively to his presence. He kissed my cheek softly, his lips warm against my skin, and for a moment I let myself believe that everything might actually be okay.

Then Xenois pulled away and turned toward Ollie’s bed, clearly intending to check on our son, but Ollie immediately rolled away from

him and pressed his face into his pillow.

“Why did you break your promise?” Ollie said, his voice muffled by the fabric but still audible. “You said you’d look after Riley, but you

broke your promise and now he’s gone.”

I saw confusion flicker across Xenois’s face. “What promise did I break, buddy? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“You promised to look after Riley,” Ollie repeated, turning back to face his father with tears streaming down his cheeks. “You promised he’d be safe. But I felt him disappear in the white light, and now he’s gone, and it’s all because I couldn’t protect him.”

Xenois opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, the door opened again. This time it was Thorne who entered,

and my blood ran cold when I saw who was with him.

Riley.

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Chapter 189

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The boy who represented everything I’d tried to forget about, everything that had helped destroyed my marriage, was standing in my son’s hospital room like he had every right to be there. He was smaller than when I last saw him, with dark hair that reminded me painfully of Xenois, and when he saw Ollie his entire face lit up with joy.

“Ollie!” he shouted, his voice bright with happiness and relief.

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Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart