Rejected and Pregnant I Fled The Pack novel Chapter 94

Chapter 94

He managed a weak smile at that, echo of the same exchange we’d had after the first, less severe episode. “I’ll do my best to avoid it.”

My mother remained close beside him, her hand still resting gently over his, and he glanced toward her, something soft and vulnerable in his expression despite the physical weakness still evident in his voice.

“You came,” he said quietly. “After everything. After the separation papers.”

“Of course I came,” she said, her own voice thick with emotion. “Thirty years doesn’t just disappear, Robert. Whatever else is true, whatever we still need to figure out about our future, I wasn’t going to let you go through this alone.”

He was quiet for a moment, processing that, before speaking again, his voice careful and deliberate despite the obvious exhaustion. “I don’t expect anything from your being here. I meant what I said before the surgery-I’m not going to fight the separation, not going to try to manipulate you back into something you don’t genuinely want.”

“I know,” she said gently. “But maybe we can talk, properly, once you’re actually recovered. Not about reconciliation necessarily, not yet. Just about actually understanding each other honestly, for the first time in longer than I can remember.”

Something hopeful flickered across his tired face at that, careful and restrained but genuine. “I’d like that. Whatever it eventually leads to, or doesn’t.”

I watched the exchange with quiet, complicated attention, understanding I was witnessing something significant-not full reconciliation, not yet, but the careful, genuine beginning of an honest conversation neither of them had apparently managed in thirty years of marriage.

The healers came by eventually, checking his vitals, adjusting medication, gently but firmly insisting he needed actual rest rather than continued conversation, however emotionally significant. My mother reluctantly agreed to step out for a brief break, promising to return once he’d rested properly, and I found myself alone with him for a few final moments before the healers ushered everyone out.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, his eyes already growing heavy again. “For getting me here in time. For staying, through all of it.”

“Of course,” I said simply. “You’re my father. Whatever else is complicated between us, that doesn’t change.”

He nodded slowly, already drifting toward sleep again, and I made my way out of the room, finding Evelyn and my mother both waiting in the hallway, exhaustion evident in both their postures.

“He’s resting again,” I said. “Healers want him to actually sleep properly now, without visitors.”

My mother nodded, some of the earlier tension easing slightly now that immediate crisis had genuinely passed, replaced by simple, bone-deep exhaustion from the long, frightening night.

“I should get back to Hazel,” she said. “The nannies have been managing wonderfully, but I’ve been gone

1/2

+15 Bonus

longer than I planned.”

“Go rest yourself too, once you check on her,” I said gently. “You’ve been through just as much tonight as any of us.”

She nodded, pulling me into a brief, grateful hug before making her way down the hallway, and I turned to find Evelyn watching me with quiet, warm attention.

“You okay,” she asked softly.

“Exhausted,” I admitted. “Relieved. Still processing everything, honestly.” I reached for her hand, needing the physical connection after everything the night had put us through. “Thank you, for staying through all of it. For extending grace to my family even after everything complicated between us.”

“That’s what we do now,” she said, echoing the words from days earlier, something warm and genuine in her tired expression. “Show up for each other, even when it’s complicated.”

I pulled her gently into an embrace, holding her close, grateful beyond words for her steady presence through the longest, most frightening night I could remember.

“I meant it,” I said quietly, into her hair. “What I mouthed, back in the room. I love you, Evelyn. Completely.”

“I meant it too,” she said softly, pulling back slightly to meet my eyes. “I love you, Damon. I think I’ve been trying to avoid saying it, worried about what it might mean, but watching everything tonight-your father, your mother, all of it-I don’t want to keep holding back something that’s genuinely true.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify