Chapter Four: Her Decision

" How dare you make Roman go through a surgery? Hasn't he been through enough? Every single time you enter his life, you bring nothing but bad luck with you." She snarled.

" So you admit you have been lying to him all along? 

It all makes sense now. He thinks you're me because you were there when he woke up. He knows you because the second he looked at you, even without his complete memory, you seemed familiar. He trusted you and so you took the chance and replaced me."

She scoffs. " You're simply delusional. Not everything has to be connected to you. Your false sense of importance is so nauseating. It has blinded you to the point you do not realise that no one wants you around. Not even our parents."

" Is that why you went for him?" I countered, calmly. "You suddenly found out there's someone in this world who genuinely cared about me and you couldn't stand it. You need to up your game, cause your time here is about to expire. 

Sylvester or Roman, whatever you choose to call him. My husband will wake up and remember who he really loves and that name on his lips wouldn't be yours." I blasted, fury burning on the tip of my tongue.

They lied to me. They showed me his body when I came home. They watched me mourn a man that wasn't my husband to begin with. No one said anything or had sympathy for my son who grew up longing for his father. I can't tolerate it anymore. 

My parents hurry in, eyes searching for their favourite daughter. " Are you alright? How is he?"

I wasn't expecting them to care about me or my son, so it didn't come as a surprise when they convoked around Diana.

She looked sullen and weathered. Her silence unnerved my mother. The next second, her hand flew to my face and landed in a firm hold.

" Enough!"

I turned and met the long grey hair. She wore a cold and expressionless face. I was taken aback by how much Kelvin looked like her.

" That two in there are the only grandson of Sullivan group of companies, and the only great grandchild of Sullivan's family. Unless you all want to spend the rest of your lives behind bars for disturbing their rest, I recommend you bag your puppies and find another place for this chaotic scene."

My parents wilted like overstayed cabbage. Diana's chest rose and fell in anxiety. It piqued my interest. Does it mean this granny doesn't know about Roman's other son...the one Diana had for him?

" Granny, Roman and I are engaged to marry." Her voice trembled, trying to fix the words. I expected her to go on. She could have mentioned the boy...her son, but she left him out.

" I'm aware. I'm also aware that you have hidden his child from him." She snapped at Diana.

It was my turn to grow nervous. The way she acknowledged Kelvin but not me, made me shake inside. If she's truly who she says, they might take my son away and I would never see him.

I gulped in dread. Every thing she said reinforced my thoughts. I grew wary.

She turns to me. " We need to talk."

I followed her to the balcony and waited for her to speak. Every second felt like walking on tenterhooks.

" I want to apologize for everything that has happened so far... and what will."

I cut in. " If you're thinking of taking my son away, I suggest you reconsider. I will die first before you achieve that aim."

She shakes her head animatedly. " Now I know how you both have survived the harsh climate of your lives. You are a storm of a kind. But no, child. I had two children myself. I would curse whomever took them from me until my dying breath. But some things happen and it can not be changed.

Your husband's full name is Sylvester Roman Sullivan. An incident forced his family to disavow him. So, he chose his middle name and adopted his mother's maiden name after he woke up from coma. 

When his father learnt that he survived the accident and had lost his memories of most events of the past, he sought to keep it that way. I had no idea, I assure you.

" Last week, I buried the last of my two children...his father. 

I hope you understand me, child. Roman must succeed his father but he can't do that if his memory of that incident returns. He won't want to do it."

My eyes widened in disbelief. " You want to prompt him out of coma. You want the gap in his memory to remain buried...me...my son...his son..."

" I'm sorry, but that is the way it will be. If you accept to leave quietly, I will ensure that both you and Kelvin are taken care of for life. But if you won't, I will be forced to go extreme. 

Roman can have many other children. He already has another. Outside wedlock. Of course, they don't count," she hinted at Diana's son. " but no one else can take over the Sullivan company except him. I advise you to make your decision quickly." She advised and wobbled away.

I stood by the balcony looking out to the vast greenery stretching out outside the hospital. Thick clouds covered the face of the sky. It could rain anytime and from what the granny said, Roman might wake up soon.

But so will my son. And I won't have him live in danger for the rest of his life.

I went back and met a triumphant look on my sister's face. She must have briefed them. My mother was more calm than she has been all my life. My father inched close to me. " Don't take it to heart. You buried him five years again. All you have to do is pretend that he's still dead."

For how long? Do I pretend for the rest of my life that my husband and I weren't separated deliberately. The granny might not have noticed, but she had given out the truth. 

Roman knew something he shouldn't. Something so scarry it drove a father to plan his son's accident and fake his death.

The missing piece is my family. How did they get involved? How much were they paid to keep mute?

" You wouldn't have to worry about money. Just keep it quiet." 

I ignore him and returned to the room. 

" Have you made your decision?" She asked, eyes nestled on Roman.

" You can keep your money. I want no part of what you do. I wish I could tell you that he isn't just your grandson. He's a man whose life you don't get to determine. But someday, you will watch the lines fall in place. I will take my son and leave."

She humphed. " He will be transferred to another hospital. I have ordered for the best doctors, but they all say his sickness can't be cured. When he wakes, you can go. I hope his father's bone marrow will lengthen his days, she said and waved me away dismissively. 

My eyes brims. Tears trickled down, cascading freely. I look at her. To my surprise, she hadn't noticed Roman twitching his fingers all along.