Lyrek-Out of all the questions I could have been asked by a ten-year-old, that wasn’t one I anticipated. Taken aback by his question, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. My entire existence wanted to scream yes, but my mouth wouldn’t work.When I imagined my life with them, I hadn’t thought about becoming his father. Although at this current moment I couldn’t speak, I knew my answer. Gathering him into a hug, I slowly found my voice once more.“It would be my greatest honor.” I told Andrew, my voice cracking just a little.His arms came around me as he released a sound of delight, which sounded much like a chipmunk rather than a small child. We hugged each other for a while until he pulled away once again filled with energy. Focusing on our food, we had to remind Andrew to slow down a few times.“I want to see the penguins, Dad.” Andrew announced after he finished his food and stood up.With a chuckle, I rubbed the top of his head. “Then let’s go see the penguins.”Since they weren’t f

Veronica-Choking back my tears, I tried to be strong as I watched Andrew be taken through the double doors that led to the operating rooms. It pained me that I couldn’t follow him back there. I made sure to tell him that I loved him, and we said goodbye.He was adamant about telling each other goodbye because he was afraid I would regret it if he didn’t pull through the surgery. I had to keep reminding myself to be strong. No matter what, I needed to believe that this wasn’t goodbye for us.“Veronica!” Lyrek’s voice yelled my name as I turned to wait in the waiting room.I didn’t get a chance to turn on my own before he grabbed my arm and spun me around. Looking into his face, I could see he was in a panic. The last thing anyone needed right now was for him to be panicking over anything right now.“What is wrong?” I asked him while doing my best to keep my voice steady.“How do you feel about me?” He rushed out the words so fast that I couldn’t register what he was asking.“Huh?” I l

Veronica-What was I supposed to do now? During the time I had been waiting for Andrew to get out of surgery, I had tried to think of anything but the outcome. Lily had distracted me by talking about Lyrek, which caused me to think about him instead.As time passed, I started to think about what had happened before Lyrek went into surgery. The more I thought about it, the more I started to regret my words. I should have told him how I felt beforehand.Even though at the time I still was unsure about my feelings, I should have at least told him what was going through my mind. Even if I couldn’t tell him that I was in love with him, perhaps he would have understood that it was complicated for me. All of this was just a big misunderstanding.I had no one to blame but myself. When Lily left to go back to work, I couldn’t stand waiting in the waiting room by myself. I alerted the staff to let Lyrek know where I was if he came out looking for me. Unable to wait in the waiting room, I chose

Veronica-It has been six hours since Andrew has been stable, yet there weren’t any signs of him waking up. Lily had left already, which left me alone to wait. Lyrek has come and gone a few times, only saying that they were still looking for a solution.The longer I waited, the more frustrated I became. At least I haven’t had a chance to think much about Lyrek, although I was glad, he was back to help with Andrew. He didn’t appear to want to talk to me right now, so I didn’t press him to do so.I figured if he didn’t want to talk, I wouldn’t make him, at least not right now. Just being able to see him was more than enough for me. For now, I was just going to focus on Andrew.Sitting next to him, I have been holding his hand. This wasn’t the first time I saw him with a tube down his through, but it was just as scary as the first time. Thinking back to when he was first diagnosed, I had been terrified that he was never going to wake up.When he had fallen ill, he had gone into a month-l

Lyrek-“I take it you found out that I ended things with Veronica?” I asked, even though I already suspected the answer.“It is big news all over the hospital. Even reporters have been contacting me trying to find out if the rumors were true. Lucky for you I was able to put a stop to them from leaking anything. I have half a mind to take your inheritance and give it to her.”“I don’t care about the money. This has nothing to do with it. If you want to give it to her then I will agree to it.”The words barely left my lips before my grandfather grabbed his cane that was leaning against the bed and hit me in the arm with it. I won’t lie, it hurt like hell, but I didn’t show him any weakness. It may have something to do with the fact that I felt like I deserved to be hit.“You damn well know she won’t take the money and that is the problem. I already told you that I offered her money, but she refused. If you thought she only stayed with you because of what you were offering, then you are