The Night Everything Changed

Hillary's POV

Thunder rumbles furiously, and the light flickers repeatedly before plunging the house into darkness.

None of us gasp. None of us grumble. Not even Hailey, my sister, who's alone in the room.

Aunt Sonya and I keep washing the dishes as if nothing happened. After countless times of power outages and zero attempt to fix it, we've learned to live with it.

When Mom told me my aunt would come for Hailey and me, I realized for the first time I had one. Arriving at her home in the village and seeing the modest life she lived, brought another painful realization. 

The lightning flashes again, followed by a howling wind.

I drop the rag. “I’ll get the basins.”

The roof leaks when it rains. The basins are our only defense against flooding. Again, Hailey and I are used to it.

She grabs my wrist before I can leave, switches on a flashlight, and presses it into my hand. “Watch your steps.”

I take only a few steps to the doorway when a sharp pain slices through my lower abdomen. I groan, hissing through gritted teeth.

 Plates clatter behind me as Aunt Sonya rushes over, her hand on my lower back.“It's going to be okay.” Her voice steady with forced assurance.

Suddenly, the pain vanishes.

“The pain…it's gone.” I wipe sweat off my forehead with the back of my palm.

“Hillary.” Her grey eyes dull with worry. “Should we go to the hospital?”

I shake my head. “No.”

The word barely leaves my mouth when my water breaks.

I gasp, gripping her hand tight as the pain resurfaces tenfold.

“Hey, hey, hey,” she murmurs calmly, guiding me towards the couch with slow, careful steps. “It’s going to be okay.”

My weight leans heavily on her. I can barely stand. My swollen stomach feels impossibly heavy.

“Hailey!” Aunt Sonya grunts as she lowers me onto the sofa. “Your sister needs you!”

Hailey doesn't come out.

Tears spill down my face, fueled by Hailey's resentment. In her eyes, I'm the reason Mom and Dad are behind bars.

“I’ll get the neighbor to drive us to the hospital.” She hurries out.

Three hours later, I lie helpless in a hospital bed, my vision dim. Aunt Sonya is standing with the doctor discussing, their voices indistinct.

Her worried look says it all, something is wrong with my baby.

Clinton's voice crawls into my mind, cackling and mocking me for choosing death.

Tears slip from the corners of my eyes. Am I really dying?

Aunt scurries to my side, gripping my hand. “Your blood pressure is dropping. You're only 2 cm dilated,” she says quickly. “The doctor recommended surgery immediately. It’s going to be okay, soon.”

She kisses my forehead.

I want to beg her, to save my child, to not let him die, but I end up muttering nonsense instead.

The doctor returns with a team of nurses. One holds IV fluids, another a tray of instruments.

Cold cotton brushes my skin, then a syringe pierces my vein.

“Be strong.” Aunt Sonya's voice echoes, distant and distorted.

The lights over me blur, stretching into glowing stars. Slowly, everything fades.

When I wake, brightness assaults my eyes, forcing them shut again.

I wince softly at the sharp pain that throbs in my lower abdomen. I squint, examining the hospital room I remember so well. I'm alive.

My heart stutters. My baby.

I struggle to sit up, panic eating away at my sanity, until a soft coo reaches my ears. 

I turn my head, looking down at the crib next to my bed.

Clinton was wrong after all.

Tears stream freely as I stare down at my baby. Mom's disappointed face occupies my vision, stabbing my chest with painful guilt.

“I'm so sorry, Mom,” I whisper, shutting my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“He's beautiful.” A smooth husky voice I quickly recognizes brushes past my ears, and I freeze, shocked by his sudden visit after nine months.

“What took—” the person I see before me deprives me of the things I intend to say. “Did you see someone leave?”

“No,” Benjamin says, his gaze fixed on the baby.

Lester's promise still toils with my brain. It's been nine months since I last saw him. Yet, I still believe he will find me and right our wrongs.

“He’s so adorable,” Benjamin says, pulling me away from my thoughts. “So, what's his name?”

“It's Hayden.”

“Strong name.” He smiles. “For a cute baby.”

I chuckle faintly. “Thank you…for standing in as his father. It means a lot.”

Benjamin saved me from being reported as a rogue six months ago when I came to register my pregnancy. Without him, everything would have ended.

I owe him that much.

“Glad I could help.” He looks at Hayden the second time and smiles.

Hayden coos again and opens his eyes, looking at me. His amber eyes melt my heart and reform it with fragile hope.

“Please,” I whisper, stretching my arms towards his crib.

 Benjamin gently places Hayden in my arms.

Tears fall as I smile down at my son.

I'm smiling, looking down at my son, tears of joy streaked down my eyes.

Instinctively, I lower my gown, guide him to my breast, and he latches eagerly. 

I laugh softly, amused by how gluttonous he is.

The sight fills me with purpose: to protect Hayden and free my parents from prison.

And with Benjamin acting as my mate and Hayden’s father, my goals suddenly feel achievable.

***

Six months later

The door clicks, and I push it inward, letting myself into Benjamin's apartment, luggages in my grip. My eyes sweep over the neat, modest living room.

Benjamin is a resident doctor at the university teaching hospital, the same university where I've earned a scholarship to study law.

Aunt Sonya enters behind me with another bag and a box of apples from her garden. She drops it against the wall and closes the door.

Panting, she surveys the place. “Not bad.”

“Yes, I guess,” I murmur, patting Hayden's back as he sleeps in his strap, smiling.

“Let me take that,” I say softly, lifting the fruit box from her and heading to the kitchen.

“Hillary.” Aunt sighs, worried. She walks over to the kitchen counter and places her hand on mine. Her voice is soft. “You wouldn't be here if Benjamin wasn't a nice person. I wouldn't let that happen.” Her voice becomes softer. “Ever.”

“There's not the only thing that bothers me, Aunt Sonya.” I sigh sharply, frustrated and anxious. “What’s going to happen to us when he finds his mate?”

“What if that never happens?” She asks, bringing out homemade jams from the tote bag on her shoulder and dropping them on the counter. “And what if…just what if he chooses you over his mate?”

Her question opens an old wound, and my chest pangs. They remind me of Lester's choice, him choosing a dominant female wolf shifter over me.

I sigh heavily and shake my head, forcing the perturbing thoughts away. I have to stop thinking about the past. I can't change the past, but the future can if I put in the hard work, and there's no better way to do that than to focus on my education, Hayden and Benjamin.

***

Six years later

“Hear me out, sir.” I'm chasing after a potent client, trying to pitch myself as his potent lawyer. “You have a good case here. If you can—”

“ Hey, woman, enough!” He turns sharply. “Do you want to reunite with your parents in prison?”

“What?” A pang of pain hits my chest hard. I barely know this man, but he's talking about my parents.

“I'll take that as a yes.” He takes out his phone from his pocket.

I hurry out of his company lobby onto the pedestrian, walking aimlessly.

I don't know what's happening, but every prospective client I meet always has something to say about my parents.

“Meet me in court, hag,” a young man snarls, tossing a paper at an old lady. “Let’s settle this fair and square.”

When he enters his Mercedes Benz and drives off, I go to the old lady, picking up the paper.

It's a summon to the court. She's being summoned for trespassing and harassment.

“Here.” I stretch it to her. “Do you need a lawyer?”

She walks off, leaving the summon with me. “I can't afford one.”

“I can be your lawyer.” I go after her, walking by her side and praying she won't talk about my parents.

“Didn't you hear what I said, young lady?” She faces me. “I can't afford one.”

“I want to help.” I stretch the paper to her. “Please, let me help you.”

I win the case, and the old lady is compensated for her son's death. In return for my assistance, she rewards me with twenty-three thousand dollars.

That one case shows me a new way of sourcing for clients. I open a site that urges people who can't afford a lawyer to hire me.

My consistent victory attracts wealthy clients.

After renovating Aunt Sonya’s house, Benjamin and I buy a mansion in an urban area in Moon Pack and relocate with

Hayden and Hailey.

Life becomes wonderful, but I'm unhappy.

Until my parents' case is reopened and their names are cleared, then I may be happy.