“I love you too, Jo,” he replied easily. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
I nodded, even though my throat had closed tight, denying me the ability to respond more.
As the medical team started wheeling him out, I walked alongside him until I could no longer follow… until the forbidding doors stopped me.
Just like that, he was gone.
The moment those doors sealed shut, everything inside me fractured. But I didn’t fall apart, because Domino was right there beside me. His hand slipped around my waist, pulling meagainst him silently, and I allowed myself to lean into him, my fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt as if it were a lifeline.
“He’s good,” he murmured low against my temple, his voice soothing.
I nodded against him, even as my eyes remained fixed on the closed doors, willing them to open again and bring Kyrin back to me.
Kyrin had been in surgery for just over an hour, but every tick of the clock felt stretched thin, like time itself was dragging just to mess with me. My father maintained a composed exterior, pacing occasionally by the window and taking calls quietly. Lainey sat beside me, her presence a comforting anchor, holding my hand at times and engaging me in quiet conversation whenever I needed a distraction from the fear gnawing at my heart. And Domino? He stubbornly refused to leave my side. I tried with all my might to suppress my thoughts; after all, thinking led to fear, and fear… well, I simply couldn’t afford that in that moment.
Suddenly, the double doors to the waiting area swung open with a force that caught my attention. I expected it to be one of the staff members, but to my astonishment, it was Vanessa. Her hair was slightly disheveled, as though she had just dashed in from who knows where, and her breathing was labored, eyes wide with urgency, like she had been running late for something critical.
I stood up slowly, disbelief hitting me first, then anger right behind it.
“Oh, you got some nerve showing up here,” I spat out, unable to mask my contempt.
Her eyes landed on me, relief flashing across her face like she was glad to see me, like nothing had happened.
“Where’s Kyrin?” she asked quickly, scanning the room. “Did they take him back already?”
A dry, humorless laugh escaped my lips, a bitter sound that echoed in the sterile air. “Yeah, he’s already in there.”
The relief on her face evaporated in an instant, replaced by an expression of despair. “Oh, my God."
Something hit me.
“Wait… how did you even know we were here? No need to ask how you get the money to get here, though.”
That’s when my father stepped in. “Ajori, I had her brought here,” he stated calmly, as if that explained everything.
My head turned, confusion clouding my thoughts. “What? Why?"
“After you told me what happened, I had my people find her.”
My brows pulled together. “Why? I told you—”
“When they did,” he continued, cutting me off slightly, “I spoke to her, told her everything.Andshe explained why she took the money.”
I looked back and forth between them, processing, disbelief morphing into sheer incredulity. “At this point, I don’t even care what she did with the money. I’m more stuck on the fact that you thought bringing her here today—of all days—was a good idea."
My father’s expression didn’t change, but his tone firmed up just enough to be felt.
“Regardless of how you feel, she’s still Kyrin’s mother… and yours too.”
I let out a sharp scoff. “Mother?” I repeated, incredulity heavy in my voice. “That’s what we calling her now?”
Vanessa stepped forward, her face pleading. “Ajori, can we talk? Privately?”
My instincts kicked in, and I shut her down immediately. “No!”
“Please,” she implored, her voice quaking slightly. “Just five minutes.”
“I saidno,"I repeated, my resolve hardening.
