Chapter 5 Crack in the Lie

Chapter 5

Crack in the lie

What?

Those few simple words left me stunned for what felt like an eternity.

I stared at Peter in utter disbelief.

Hadn't he said he'd sent Paul to stay with his mother?

Grandma knew about Paul's health condition...

She would never have fed him anything questionable.

So why was Paul in the hospital?

And more importantly...

How did Martha Janet know about Paul's medical situation?

"Which hospital?" Peter hastily grabbed his fallen jacket off the floor, struggling to put it on in his panic.

Through her sobs, Martha Janet told him the hospital name over the phone.

My heart ached for my child, so I had no choice but to follow Peter out.

Only then did he seem to notice my presence.

I knew my face must have looked terrible-like I was on the verge of exploding-but somehow I managed to hold it together.

Without a word, he yanked open the car door and slid inside.

I climbed into the passenger seat.

The entire ride passed in silence.

The jumbled thoughts swirling through my mind gradually settled into clarity over those twenty-some minutes.

So this was the truth...

Peter had promised to cut ties with Martha Janet and raise our child together.

Yet behind my back, he'd sent our child to her.

To keep me from suspecting anything...

He'd even gone so far as to use the excuse of wanting a second child with me-sacrificing himself, in a way-just to throw me off the scent.

I turned my head to stare out the window.

Turns out, I was the only one in this family who actually wanted to go back to the way things were, to live a peaceful life.

Their hearts had long since tilted in Martha Janet's favor...

...

When we arrived at the hospital, I rushed straight to the IV treatment area.

The vast space held only one small, solitary figure-Paul.

His head lolled to the side as he leaned against the wall, fast asleep.

I strode over to him, gazing at his peaceful sleeping face with a mix of heartache and frustration.

My heart ached because he was still so young-too young to understand what was good or bad for him. Yet the very adults who should know better, fully aware of his delicate stomach, had indulged him recklessly, landing him in the hospital time and again.

And what infuriated me most was...

The one responsible for putting him here hadn't even bothered to stay by his side, leaving him all alone in this sterile room.

Did they even care if he was scared?

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. Then I settled carefully beside Paul, gently cradling his small head against my chest, careful not to disturb his rest.

"Mary, my son pampers you-letting you stay home as a full-time mother to take care of the child. And this is the result?"

A sharp, accusatory voice sliced through the air from the doorway.

I turned to see Natasha, Peter's mother, striding in. She had just arrived, yet instead of acknowledging her own neglect, she lashed out first to cover her tracks.

"Under your so-called 'careful' watch, Alexia stomach issues flare up every other day..."

So now she was trying to pin the blame on me?

Whenever conflicts arose with Peter's family, I'd swallow my pride-for his sake, to spare him the trouble. Most of the time, I could endure it. But this... this was too much.

But Paul is my bottom line.

When it comes to Paul, I will never back down!

Afraid of waking the sleeping child, I kept my voice low, but the anger still seeped through. "Mom, you know better than I do who's responsible for ruining his digestion."

"Of course I know!" Natasha sneered. "Mary, Paul spends most of his time with you. If you had taken proper care of him, his stomach wouldn't be so weak that even the slightest thing lands him in the hospital!"

I lifted my head and met her gaze.

The frustration I'd bottled up all afternoon surged to the surface, and I finally snapped in a hushed growl, "But when I was the one taking care of him, Paul never once had to be hospitalized for stomach issues."

Natasha faltered. "You-"

I wasn't done. "It wasn't until you said you missed him and had Peter bring him over after work that-"

"His digestion started failing constantly."

"Afterward, I even reminded you not to feed him whatever you wanted."

"So what did you do?"

I wasn't without resentment toward my in-laws.

Before, I'd always told myself it wasn't a big deal-that they loved him, and a simple reminder would be enough.

Surely they'd be more careful next time.

Turns out, I'd given them too much credit. "Not only did you ignore me, but you even sent him to Martha Janet!"

"Making my child bond with that homewrecker Martha Janet who tried to come between us!"

"Even today was the same!"

"Peter came home and told me he'd sent our child to his grandmother's house."

"But just a few hours later, he's at Martha Janet's place, vomiting and having diarrhea so badly he had to be hospitalized!"

"And then what?"

The scene I witnessed when I first arrived at the hospital still breaks my heart:

"She just walked away without a second thought, leaving little Paul all alone here."

Natasha opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out.

"Mom," I said with difficulty, "I know you've never approved of me."

"And I understand that the only daughter-in-law you truly accept is Martha Janet..."

"But if you hate me, if you want to torment me, then take it out on me!"

"Paul is still your grandson after all, and he's so young..."

"He can't handle this kind of treatment!"

Natasha was taken aback. Her usually obedient daughter-in-law had never dared talk back before. As the shock wore off, she was just about to unleash her fury-

To teach this insolent woman a proper lesson.

Before I could even get a word out, Peter came jogging over and cut me off. "Mom, could you just drop it already?"

Whenever conflicts arose between me and his family, Peter had always taken my side without hesitation. That was one of the reasons I was so devoted to him.

Natasha, silenced by her son, only grew angrier. "You ungrateful brat! Didn't you hear how your wife just scolded me?"

Peter stood beside me, his expression icy. "Was she wrong?"

Natasha choked on her words.

He continued, his voice firm, "I've made it clear to you-I won't be in contact with Martha Janet anymore. Yet you went behind my back and sent our child to her."

"This has already affected our marriage."

Hearing this, I turned to Peter in surprise.

Wait-so he hadn't known about this either?

Natasha seemed to have a lot more to say, but in the end, she held back, settling for shooting me a venomous glare.

My focus was entirely on Paul, leaving me no room to spare any attention for her.

After a moment's thought, I decided to lay it out plainly. "Mom, from now on, I won't be sending the child to you."

I had no idea exactly when Martha Janet had started getting close to my son.

But I hope...

Starting today, there will be no further contact between the two of them.

At the same time, I'll make more time to be with Paul and guide him...

As long as I'm patient enough, I'm sure he'll go back to being that healthy, well-behaved boy he used to be.

Natasha immediately objected without hesitation, "No way!"

But I wasn't asking for her opinion-whether she agreed or not wouldn't change my decision.

When Natasha didn't get a response from me, she turned to Peter instead.

Peter simply said, "I support madison."

"You two-!" Natasha was furious, but there was nothing she could do. After a long standoff, seeing that neither of us would budge, she had no choice but to leave.

The spacious IV area was now just the three of us-our little family.

I held Paul in my arms.

Peter sat beside me.

Paul slept soundly, only waking abruptly when the nurse removed the IV needle. His eyes blinked drowsily as he looked up at me.

I gently patted his back and whispered, "Don't be scared, sweetheart. Mommy's right here."

Paul pouted, clearly annoyed. "It's all your fault. Why did you have to come to the hospital?"

Maybe it was because I was his mother, but even though he was sulking at me, I still found him utterly adorable.

"You didn't want me here?"

"Nope," he answered without missing a beat. "If you hadn't come, Aunt Janet would've stayed with me."