Inside a hospital room a man stood by the side of the bed, his gaze filled with concern as he looked down at the sickly 4 years old boy lying there. His frail form was covered with a soft, floral-patterned blanket, and her gentle breathing echoed throughout the room. Tubes and medical equipment surrounded him, a reminder of the battle he was fighting against his failing health.
He brought out his phone and dialed his wife's number, which rang incessantly, but she wasn't picking it up.
"Pick up lucy."
After trying her contact with no avail for a few more minutes, he decided to go home to find any means to gather money for his son's medical bills so treatment could commence, knowing fully well the possibility was zero, he had spent all his life savings just to get the doctors to attend to the boy. He needed to pay at least half of $7000 and where would he get that from?
"I'm sorry daddy can't help you." He could not help but remember how his son landed up in the hospital as the memories kept flowing into his mind, how a car hit his son and ran away. He felt his world shattered.
"Daddy please stay here, don't go anywhere."
The small boy turned his tired eyes towards Ivan and weakly asked, "Why isn't mommy here, dear? I was hoping to see her, daddy. I want to see her." His voice was raspy, tainted with the struggle for each breath.
A bittersweet smile touched Ivan's lips as he gently clasped his wrinkled hand.
"I tried calling her," he said, his voice low. "But she didn't answer. I'll try again."
"Don't worry, John. I'll call Lucy again; she'll be here. She must be caught up with something important," he reassured him, his voice filled with genuine love.
The boy's smile widened, revealing the glimmer of hope she had. "Thank you, daddy, do you think I'm going to die?" John struggled to ask.
"Yes son, yes."
With a nod, Ivan squeezed John's hand gently. "I'd call your mother again."
He stepped out of the ward and quickly dialed Lucy's number, his heart pounding with anticipation. The phone rang, but Lucy didn't pick up. Ivan's brow furrowed. He dialed Lucy's number again, but it went straight to voicemail. He sighed, trying to understand why his wife would not answer his calls in such a situation.
Ivan knew that lucy hadn't been herself lately after they had a fight, and he hoped that seeing their son might help change things.
After what felt like an eternity, Lucy finally answered the call. Her voice was cold and distant, betraying her indifference. Ivan could sense the tension in her tone.
"What do you want, Ivan? I'm in the middle of a business meeting; please don't disturb me. This business trip is important to me."
"John wants to see you," he said, trying to keep his tone neutral.
Lucy sneered, almost mocking him. "You're lying," she said. "This is just another one of your tactics to make me come back to you, ha! I'll see John when I'm back."
Ivan's face turned red. He could feel the frustration boiling inside him.
He had tried to make things right with Lucy, but she always seemed to push him away. He could feel his heart racing.
"For God's sake, Lucy," he said, his voice rising. "This is not about us. This is about our son; he's dying; he needs to see you."
"Stop bothering me; I saw John and he was okay, if you want money then I have none, besides I am in Soho I can't come back because you want me to." She said, her voice low. "Get out of my phone."
Ivan's heart sank as Lucy hung up, leaving Ivan standing there, stunned and hurt. It wasn't the first time Lucy had acted this way, and each time it cut deeper into Ivan's heart.
He knew deep down that she would not come and that his boy might not make it and it was all his fault.
He wished he was the greatest doctor of all time, then he would have made sure his son was fine.
"You ain't going to do this, Lucy." After closing his eyes, he opened them and was about to dial her number again.
He could hear the high-pitched, repeating beep. He immediately turned around to see what was happening, and a sudden commotion erupted from the ward. The sound of urgent footsteps and hushed voices filled the air, and Ivan's world seemed to turn upside down.
Fear gripped his heart as he rushed back into the room, only to be met with a flurry of doctors and nurses bustling around the bed. His eyes darted between their concerned faces, searching for answers, but their silence spoke volumes.
"Oh my gosh! F**k!" He cursed, Looking at the monitor, he saw flatlines instead of wave patterns. "He's gone."
The realization struck Ivan with a force he had never experienced before. He couldn't save his son.
Ivan's emotions swirled within him, a whirlwind of grief, regret, "Oh Lucy,"
Three days had passed since Ivan bid his son a heartbreaking farewell. The funeral had come and gone, said goodbye to his son feeling emptier than ever. He stood alone in front of his son's tomb, the cool autumn breeze rustling the leaves around him. The weight of loss hung heavy in the air, but Ivan remained composed, his grief buried inside him.
Ivan's phone rang, shattering the stillness. His hand reached into his pocket and retrieved it, his eyes narrowing as he saw the caller ID: Lucy. Reluctantly, he answered the call, bracing himself for whatever awaited him.
"Lucy," he said, his voice steady.
The voice on the other end was just as icy as he had expected. "Ivan, come to my house by 3 noon don't come earlier than 3pm I'm not back. We need to talk."
"I'd be there." Ivan agreed, his mind already racing with questions. What did Lucy want? Why did she choose this moment, when he was grieving his son's loss, to reach out? He wondered how she would react when she found out that their son was gone.
He ended the call and was about to pocket his phone, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight on its screen.
A news article popped up, accompanied by a photo that sent a jolt of disbelief through Ivan's veins. It was a picture of Lucy, smiling, intimately close to another man, in a fancy restaurant. "Wait this is Westcliff restaurant."
The date on the article matched the day their son had passed away, the same day he had desperately tried to reach her.
"How dare you, Lucy? So this was your important meeting that you went to Soho for? You were in Essex! F**k you Lucy!"
Without wasting any time he went straight to Lucy' house.As he made his way up the winding driveway, his eyes fell on the car parked in the garage. It was a stylish and extravagant vehicle, one that spoke of wealth.It wasn't Lucy's car.Beside it, another Mercedes-Benz was parked. Even though he was confused as to who owned it because he had never seen Jess drive such a car, he didn't think much about it.With a deep breath, he pushed open the front door and stepped inside. The living room was well-furnished, with plush sofas and elegant decor, though it fully belonged to Lucy. It was their home.The angry look on Ivan's face vanished immediately after he entered the living room. The faint sound of moans of pleasure drifting from upstairs made him frown.The realization of what was happening hit him like a ton of bricks. Even though he couldn't hear the voice clearly, he couldn't be more familiar with Lucy's voice, so he knew it was hers."What's going on?" His mind was filled with
"Why Lucy? Why did you do it? And with my ex-boss? Don't you have any shame? Why did you have to lower yourself to that extent?" Ivan asked with an ashen expression. His skin was pale to begin with and with the distress, it became paler and he almost looked as if he was drained of blood."Ivan, y...you can't blame me...I had no choice, he promised to help me if I accepted him, he....""You pushed yourself to him because he gave you petty promises? What can does things do? It would not last you for eternity." Ivan cut her off in angry. He felt as if something stuffy was pressed against his chest and he coughed, Lucy was startled but did not help him out, she just kept her head lowered without talking. "Did you ever have feelings for me? Do you even care about the child we had together?" Ivan asked again. When he remembered what happened to his son, his eyes reddened and he clenched his fists before glaring at Lucy with despise.He had tried calling her yesterday but she did not pick a
Ivan stood rooted on the same spot, his body was shaking violently and he looked as if he was going to break down at any moment. At that moment, his emotions were very complicated, he was even in turmoil. Lucy entered the room again, but she was fully dressed. She seemed to be searching for something and did not spare Ivan a single glance. Ivan choked slightly, it was as if something was stuck in his throat, but he knew that he had to tell Lucy about their child. She might change her mind....probably. "Lucy, have you really made up your mind?" He asked instead, holding unto the last string of hope. Lucy finally raised her head to look at him, but contempt and disdain was obvious in her eyes. She looked at him as if he was a joke."Why should I change my mind? I would have left you since all this days, but when I thought of that boy, I could not do it." She said and his eyes reddened."O...our child, h...he died yesterday." He finally said.Lucy was stunned for a while, seeming to b
Ivan left the company with slumped shoulders, he carried his things on his left arm and walked slowly towards home. He would have hailed a taxi but he does not have enough money, so he could only walk.His mind kept recalling what had happened the previous night like a broken disk, everything kept flashing in his head and his nails dug into his palms but he seemed to not have noticed it.His face was filled with distraught and he kept his head lowered as he walked. It seemed as if all strength has been drawed from his body but his heart was filled with grievance, anger, hatred and self-depriciation. He let out an hollow laughter and blamed himself for everything. His son had died and it was his fault, he could not even keep his wife to himself, he felt that Lucy could only resort to that means because she was helpless. "It was all my fault." He whispered in a low voice. He suddenly did not feel like going home, the house was filled with memories of his son and his wife, when they ha
The sunlight seeped through the window and highlighted a figure on a bed, his arm and head was bandaged and you could still see the slight blood. His face was ghastly pale and his lips were chapped and dry.All in all, he looked very sick and feeble, if you did not look closely, you would not know that the figure was a 'he' because of his weak physique.The figure grunted and squinted his eyes open with difficulty, he closed them back as he was unable to adapt to the sudden brightness. Soon, he opened them again and this time, clearer.Of course, the figure was Ivan.Ivan furrowed his brows tight and looked around."Where the fuck am I? What happened to me?"He was in a luxurious room that looked like a room in a five star hotel. The room was clean and was painted white, it was very quiet and apart from Ivan's slight breathing sound, there was also a beep sound from the machine beside him. His eyes widened in realisation, he was in a hospital but the room looked different from the ro
Ivan's heart sank and he even felt as if his heart was pierced with glass shards, it hurts terribly that his face turned ashen and he stiffened. He raised his bloodshot eyes to look at Lucy, Lucy was stunned by the look on his face and she shifted uncomfortably on her seat but still maintained that uncaring expression. She felt that there was no need for her to be guilty, he should blame it all on his uselessness. She was about to talk when the man beside her stopped her."Good afternoon Mr Ivan, my name is Ben and I am Miss Lucy's lawyer, she complained that you've not been taking care of her and you are also an irresponsible Father to your child that he died. She said that you are unable to care for her and that she does not want the marriage any more. Those are the divorce papers as you've read. So, please sign them to avoid unnecessary trouble." Ben finished his speech and looked at Ivan for his response. Ivan was dumbfounded at what Ben said.Miss Lucy? He had even started to
Ivan was surprised at what Lucy said, if what she said was true then it would mean that her company would start tp grow well from then onwards.You must know that for a big corporation could agree to invest in a small enterprise, it either meant that the small enterprise had limitless potential or it has many connections.In Lucy's case, it was both possibilities.Actually, Ivan was happy for her, but when he remembered how she got her connections, he froze.Lucy thought that he was feeling bad about himself, her pride rose and his expression stroked her ego. Lana could already guess what was going on, but she sighed.The truth was that she really liked Ivan, he was a caring husband and also very polite but he was useless and there was nothing Lana could do to help someone like him."Lucy, did you get your connection by sleeping around?" Ivan suddenly asked with a tremble to his voice and Lucy's face changed drastically before flaring up."Ivan, how dare you? Do you want to ruin my im
"Did you think that we just freezed Lucy's account just for nothing? We knew how despicable you could be so we feeezed her account so that you won't live off her. But we still underestimated you, even after freezing her account, she was still the one feeding the family with her small enterprise company, are you not ashamed? Ivan, are you even a man?" Mrs Anderson questioned, her pitch getting higher and louder until it became a shriek."Ivan, I had wanted to accept the relationship with my daughter after she gave birth to your child, but when I also heard that the boy had died due to your carelessness, I was utterly disappointed. You are not worthy of my daughter from the beginning and you are even worse now, you are not even worthy of carrying her bathroom slippers." Mr Anderson also said, he was calm and collected but the rage in his eyes showed how much anger he was feeling right then.Ivan could not talk, it was not like he does not have anything to say but that he could not open