Chapter 22
Lorraine returned to Lucio’s hospital room and found Lucian reading a vocabulary book to his brother, who was starting to drift off to sleep.
She paused at the door, staring at her two sons lying side by side on the bed, sharing the same pillow and blanket. Their closeness was undeniable, almost as if they were one soul in two bodies. The thought of breaking any news to them tightened her chest.
At the end of the day, she knew they’d figure it out. They weren’t as naive as they looked.
From what she heard from Cady and Mona, it seemed her boys already had an inkling of what was going on, even though she hadn’t told them anything directly.
Cady was right. She couldn’t let her emotions get the better of her now. She had to be smart and composed in front of her sons, especially since she didn’t want them to worry about her.
“Sweeties,” she called out as she approached them, a smile on her lips. She sat at the edge of the bed next to Lucio.
“Mommy,” Lucio murmured sleepily, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Mom.” Lucian stretched out his hand, and she pulled both of them into her embrace.
In five years or so, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to hug there like this anymore. They were growing taller and bigger each day, and soon they wouldn’t fit in her arms like they did now. The thought made her sad and lonely
“Mom. have the police arrested that bad guy who attacked you yet?” Lucian asked, assuming that was what had happened. She stroked his hair and smiled. “Do you hate that bad guy, baby?”
He nodded emphatically. “I hate him! I wish he’d get life in prison so he could no longer harm you again!” Her heart warmed at his words. “I wish that too, baby. But unfortunately, that’s not how it’s going to work”
He pouted, disheartened. “I know. Then his eyes filled with determination as he looked up at her. “But don’t worry, Mommy! Lucian will protect you and Lucio! I’ll never leave your side so that bad guy can no longer harm you again!” “1-1” Lucio, now more awake, turned to Lucian. “I should be the one protecting you and Mommy from that guy! I was heroic when I bit his arm and it bled!”
“Lucio, you’re still weak now. You can’t protect us if you just keep biting him. What if you get more bacteria from him? We don’t know how dirty that man is.”
“Well, I learned other skills too, not just biting!”
Lucian sighed at his twin brother. “Sometimes I really doubt if you’re as smart as me or not.”
“What!” Lucio exclaimed. “What I did was heroic!”
“And that was why you lost more blood and the nurses had to keep checking on you
you yesterday!”
“Well, at least I protected Mommy while you weren’t around!”
Lorraine couldn’t help but laugh as she watched her boys bicker She hugged them tighter and showered their smooth faces
with kisses
“Mommy! That’s ticklish” they complained in unison, giggling.
Chapter 22
“You know what? Mommy would love it if you both protected her! But she’d love it even more if she’s the one protecting you from any harm!” she said emotionally.
“Oh!” Lucian said, alert. “Mom, are you saying that there’s harm coming our way?”
Lorraine’s smile faded slightly. Both boys looked up at her with angelic faces, waiting for an answer.
She took a deep breath and tried to keep her tone gentle. “Lucian. Lucio. would you hate me if I
I wasn’t honest with you
both and lied a few times??
The boys flinched and looked at each other for a minute before looking up at her again..
“There’s no way we could hate Mommy, Lucio said. “Even if Mommy is a secret agent or spy from North Korea, we’ll always love you!”
“Yeah! No matter what Mom did, because she loves us and takes very good care of us, there’s no way we’ll hate her!” Lucian agreed. “We’d only hate the people who try to take us away from Mommy!”
Lorraine’s eyes filled with tears. A sense of relief escaped from her mouth as a sigh. Her heart was filled with warmth and she couldn’t help being emotional.
She laughed through her tears. “What should fido? My boys are so mature and intelligent. How could someone like me deserve you as your mother?”
“Mommy, don’t say that!” Lucio wiped her tears. “You’re the best mother ever! I love how you tuck us in bed every night, read us bedtime stories, and in the morning you always prepare breakfast for us before you leave! You never forget to feed me my medicine and Lucian’s vitamins! You always come home with pasalubong, always remember our favorites and never fail to spend time with us no matter how busy you are! Mommy even if it’s only a minute with you, we always love every single moment of it!”
Lucian nodded at his twin brother’s long speech. “That’s right, Mom! You always do your best to protect us too! And I’ve seen how worried you are when it comes to us! I’m pretty sure you only lied to protect us and because you’re too worried nå mapapahamak kami o masasaktan.” Lucian said with a sweet smile. “But Mom, Lucio and I are brave and tough like you! When we’re together, it feels like there’s nothing we can’t handlet As much as we believe in you, Mom, we want you to believe in us too.”
“Yeah!” Lucio agreed. “Be honest with us, Mommy, that’s okay, because we will
not blame you or hate you.”
Lorraine’s lips trembled. She adjusted her position and caressed their cheeks. “So you both already knew, didn’t you?” She took a deep breath and continued. “Okay, let me tell you still. The truth is, your biological father is alive. He’s not dead. His name is Callisto Avellino. I was once married to him and had a deep relationship for about ten years. After he found out about my pregnancy, he divorced me, so I made a decision not to tell him and instead hide you away from him.”
The boys listened quietly, showing no reaction, proving they already knew the story and were not surprised by it.
“I moved to this city with Mona and raised you in silence. I wished our life would be peaceful, but Her eyes filled with tears as she looked down at their small hands in hers. “Lucio’s health is at risk. He has severe aplastic anemia, which requires blood transfusion from someone with a rare blood type. And I’m so sorry that I lied and told Lucio–he’s fine because he’s
not.”
Lucio, upon hearing this, leaned his head into his mother’s shoulder. “We already know, Monimy, Actually, Lucian sneaked into Doctor Cady’s office to check my condition…”
“Y–You did what?” Lorraine’s eyes widened as she processed their confession.
Lucian scratched his head and avoided her gaze. “Lucio asked me to though.”
“Right” Lucio smiled. “Because I saw how tad you were, Mommy, so I was curious about my condition. It turns out that it’s because I developed that disease, but worse than the usual case because I have a rare blood type.
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ruthless father is here, Mommy? Because Lucio needs his
Lucio pretended to be nauseated.
COMMENT
After divorce he wants[/caption]
