Chapter 11: Setting Boundaries

Beverly POV

“Liam…” I called.

My voice came out shaky, thin, as an heavy weight settled in my chest after listening to his words. It felt like something pressing down on my heart, slow and relentless.

Of course, I had plans to leave. But not the way he was thinking.

I would never be so cruel as to abandon a child because of his illness.

“Don’t try to make me feel better, Aunt Beverly,” he said quietly. “Just admit it. You’re going to be like the others, aren’t you?”

“Like who?” I asked.

“My mommy. And my previous doctor. Everyone who promises to stay with me always ends up leaving when they find out how bad my sickness is.”

The pain in his eyes was unmistakable. His voice cracked on the last word, and it struck me right in the chest.

“They say they’ll stay,” he continued, tears spilling freely now. “But when they see how hard it is… they go.”

Something squeezed hard around my heart at that instant. My head pounded, my thoughts spiraling as his words sank in. I tried to steady my breathing, but one thing kept circling my mind, refusing to settle.

His mother abandoned him because of his sickness?

Was that really true?

Was Vanessa truly that heartless?

And if it was, was that one of the things that had shaped Marcus into the man he was now?

I couldn’t take a little boy’s words as absolute truth. No matter how much they hurt to hear. I pushed the thoughts aside for later and focused on the child in front of me.

“Hey, Liam,” I called gently as I moved closer and sat beside him. The bed creaked softly under my weight.

He was still crying, his face buried in his small palms. He refused to look at me. My heart broke over and over again, and it took everything in me not to cry with him.

I never imagined the thought of me leaving would affect him like this.

“Hey, baby. Please look at me,” I said softly. “Who told you I was leaving?”

“You’re not?” He lifted his head so fast it startled me. His eyes widened, hope flaring in them so suddenly it almost took my breath away.

“Why would you think that?” I asked, even as guilt curled tight in my stomach.

I didn’t know why I was lying. Or why I was still leading him on when I could just tell the truth and end this now. Maybe it was compassion. Maybe it was the part of me that simply couldn’t watch him cry.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just thought…”

“Listen to me, baby,” I cut in gently before he could finish. I cupped his small cheek, my thumb brushing away his tears.

“If I ever leave one day, it won’t be because of you.”

His eyelids twitched. His eyes searched my face, studying me like he was trying to catch a lie before it formed.

“If I ever do…” My voice cracked. My chest tightened as I spoke the truth I had barely admitted to myself, let alone anyone else. “It will be because I am scared. Yes I'm scared. Scared of staying in one place. Scared of facing things I’ve been running from. But none of that has anything to do with you.”

I stroked his hair slowly. Another lone tear slid down his cheek, and I wiped it away before it could fall.

“You are not someone people walk away from,” I said firmly, leaning closer so he could see every bit of sincerity in my face. “You are not too much. You are not hard to love. And like I keep saying, if I ever leave, it will never be because of you, Liam. Never.”

“Do you…” he sniffed, wrapping his tiny fingers around mine. His eyes were glassy, hopeful, terrified. “Do you promise?”

That word cut deep.

Promise.

I froze.

This was supposed to be about stopping him from crying, not tying myself to something I wasn’t even sure I could give. I hesitated, my silence stretching just long enough for his shoulders to slump.

“Why do you always think people leave because you’re sick?” I asked instead, changing the subject I saw the way his face went down with me avoiding is questions and I hated myself for it, but I wasn’t ready for that promise.

“Daddy said that’s why mommy left,” he answered softly nonetheless and the words pricked me.

Marcus told him that?

“He said she complained all the time,” Liam continued. “That I wasn’t getting better. That I wasn’t going to make it. And then one day she took all his money and ran away.”

So that was the case.

Meaning it was true, Vanessa hadn’t been bluffing when she told me years ago that she was there to ruin Marcus. I could still remember the fierce determination in her eyes when she said it.

But using her own son as collateral? Letting him grow up believing she left because of him?

Was that how desperate she was for money?

Now I understood Marcus better. The exhaustion. The bitterness. The way he looked worn down by life itself. That woman had broken him.

And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for him.

Not after the memory that still burned in my mind. His cold eyes. The way he chose her lies over me. The way he left me bleeding at the staircase that day.

The only reason I wasn’t wishing worse on him now was because of Liam.

If anything happened to Marcus, it would crush this sweet child who had no idea of the kind of man his father really was.

“And about the doctor Joanna,” Liam voice came again softly, pulling me back.

“What about her, baby?” I asked, stroking his hair again.

“She was mean to me before she left,” he said. “Cold. That’s how I knew she was going to go too.” His grip tightened around my wrist. “Please, Aunt Beverly. Don’t be like them. Please promise to stay with me.”

His eyes shone with unshed tears and he looked like he might break any second.

The sight broke something in me as I just sat there staring speechlessly at him and I was still contemplating what to say when the door opened and Marcus walked in.

He looked drained. His shoulders sagged, his face drawn tight like someone who had been told that the world was ending.

“I’d like to see you outside for a moment,” I said.

His head lifted immediately and I saw something hopeful and maybe excited flickered across his face.

“Really?”

I ignored him and turned back to Liam, forcing a small smile.

“Sweetie, I’ll be gone for a moment,” I said gently. “I want to talk to your daddy. When I come back, we’ll talk more, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded slowly.

I gave him one last smile before walking out, Marcus following behind me.

As soon as we reached a quiet corner away from the ward, I turned on him.

“Is what Liam saying about Vanessa true?” I asked watching his reaction closely.

He stayed quiet for a moment shoulders stiffen breath catching before he masked it.

Then something unexpected happened.

After a while the downcast look on his face lifted, just slightly, and a small smile not happy or proud one more like relief tugged at his lips.

“That’s why I’m glad you’re back, Beverly.”

My jaw tightened.

“Answer the question, Marcus,” I snapped getting irritated with his sudden enthusiasm what was he getting excited about? “Yes or no.”

The smile disappeared as if it had never been there. His eyes dropped to the floor, hands curled slowly at his sides, then loosened again like he didn’t know what to do with them.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “It’s true.”

The word sat between us, heavy and ugly.

He swallowed, his throat bobbing

“Actually, it’s a long story, Bev. Life hasn’t been the same since you left and…”

“That’s enough,” I cut him off. “I didn’t bring you out here to listen to your life story.”

He looked up at me, disbelief and irritation flashing in his eyes. The old me would never have spoken to him like this. Would never have interrupted him.

But I wasn’t that woman anymore.

“I called you out here because I’ve made a decision,” I said.

I paused, giving myself one last moment to think it through. Everything in me screamed against it. But after hearing Liam earlier, I knew I was already trapped.

A sick child. Rejected by everyone. Believing he was the reason people left.

I couldn’t walk away from that.

“I’ve made my decision, Marcus,” I said firmly my voice sharp and enough to cut. “I’ll be stepping in as your son’s new doctor.”

For a heartbeat, he just stared at me.

Then his face cracked open.

“What?” His eyes widened. “Really?”

The grin that spread across his face was immediate and unrestrained. Relief poured out of him so fast it almost startled me. He let out a breath he clearly hadn’t realized he was holding, his shoulders sagging as if a massive weight had been lifted.

“Oh my God,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Thank you. Thank you, Beverly.”

“But there’s a condition.”

His joy froze instantly.

“A condition?” He repeated. His smile faltering as his hand dropped slowly back to his side.

“Yes,” I said seriously.“This stays strictly business. You don’t interfere. You don’t get in my way. No matter what.”

His brows furrowed. The hope in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something darker almost frustrated

“But…”

“Don’t,” I said sharply.“I’ve made up my mind. Unless you have a better option for your son, don’t push me.”

I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there. I could feel his stare burning into my back, sharp and heavy.

But I didn’t look back.

If this was going to work, there had to be boundaries.

And this time, I was the one setting them.