Chapter 4: The News

I can barely process the words on the screen, the image of Callum standing next to Emelia, both of them glowing with happiness, the life I thought was mine now a cruel mockery of what I had once hoped for.

The tears start to fall again, slow and heavy, each one a reminder of how completely I was deceived, of how utterly meaningless my love for him was.

I hear my mother’s voice, sharp and protective, cutting through the haze of my disbelief.

“Look at him! Look at how he’s throwing you away, just like that,” she hisses, barely able to contain the fury in her voice.

I don’t respond. I can’t. My throat feels tight, as if every word I might speak would be a betrayal of the reality I can no longer deny.

With a sharp exhale, my mother crosses the room and sits beside me, her presence warm despite the storm of emotions she’s holding back. I know she’s angry, but I also know she’s heartbroken for me.

“Listen to me,” she says gently but firmly, wrapping her arms around me.

"I don’t care what he does or who he marries. I care about you. You’re my daughter, and this—this is not your fault. It’s his loss, not yours. You deserve better, so much better, Athena."

I press my face into her shoulder, letting the warmth of her embrace offer some comfort against the cold ache in my chest. Her voice, soothing and strong, is the only thing that keeps me from falling apart completely.

“You’re right, mom” I manage to say, the words breaking free from my lips like a confession.

“But… it still hurts. It feels like I’m not enough. Like everything we had—everything I believed in—was just a lie.”

She strokes my hair, her fingers moving gently, a quiet comfort.

“You were enough. You always were. He wasn’t. Don’t you dare let him make you doubt that. People like him—men like Callum—they don’t know what real love is. You don’t need someone who can throw you away so easily.”

I lift my head, my eyes meeting hers. “What if I never find someone else? What if this is it for me?”

Her eyes soften, filled with love and an unshakeable confidence in me.

“Sweetheart, there is a world out there full of men who would treat you with the love and respect you deserve. Callum isn’t the last man in the world. I promise you, you will find someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

I look at her, my chest still aching, but I can feel a flicker of hope sparking somewhere deep inside, like a small flame in the cold.

“I’m so mad at him,” I admit, the anger bubbling up, twisting with the hurt and betrayal. “I hate him for what he did.”

My mother holds me tighter. “It’s okay to be mad. You have every right to be angry. But don’t let that anger consume you, sweetheart. Don’t let him win by letting it break you.”

"I will never forgive him. I swear!"

I close my eyes, pushing the image of Callum and Emelia out of my mind, focusing instead on the woman sitting beside me, on the love she’s always shown me, on the support I can count on no matter what.

Just as I start to find some peace in my thoughts, we hear a loud thud from the hallway. My mother’s head snaps toward the sound, her expression instantly concerned.

“Ryan?” she calls out, a thread of panic creeping into her voice.

I spring to my feet, the unsettling sensation of dread sinking into my stomach.

We rush to the hallway, and there my my younger brother, Ryan, is, lying on the floor, his eyes closed, his body limp. Panic floods me as I kneel beside him.

“Ryan?” I shake him gently, my voice trembling.

“Ryan, wake up. What’s wrong?”

But he doesn’t respond. His skin is pale, too pale, and he’s breathing shallowly. My mother’s face twists with fear as she drops to her knees beside him, her hands already reaching for her phone to call an ambulance.

“Stay with us, Ryan. Come on, sweetheart. Please, wake up,” she pleads, her voice cracking.

I don’t know what to do. I want to scream, to cry, but I force myself to stay calm, to help her get him up and into the car.

The emergency room is a blur of flashing lights and chaos as we rush through the doors. Nurses and doctors move quickly, taking Ryan from us, hooking him up to machines, and asking questions we can’t answer.

My chest tightens with every second that passes. The minutes stretch into eternity.

Finally, after what feels like forever, the doctor emerges from the treatment area. He’s wearing a grim expression, and my stomach sinks.

“Are you the mother of Ryan Scott?” he asks, his voice kind but heavy with a weight that immediately makes me uneasy.

“I am,” my mother answers, her voice shaking with barely-contained fear. “What’s happening to him? Is he going to be okay?”

The doctor takes a deep breath, and the world around me seems to fade as he speaks.

“Ryan has leukemia. We’ve confirmed it with the blood tests,” he says, his words a hard blow to the chest.

“It’s a type of blood cancer, and we need to start treatment immediately. We’ll need to run more tests, but right now, it’s crucial that we begin chemotherapy as soon as possible.”

My mother gasps, a look of absolute disbelief crossing her face. Her hands fly to her mouth as tears start to fall. I can’t breathe. I’m frozen in place.

“Leukemia?” I whisper, my voice hollow, like it doesn’t belong to me. “But… he’s just a kid. He’s only twelve.”

The doctor nods gravely. “I know this is difficult to hear. But we’ve caught it early, and that’s important. The sooner we start treatment, the better his chances.”

I can’t process the words. My little brother. Leukemia. It’s too much. It’s too unreal.

The weight of the doctor’s words hangs in the air, thick and suffocating.

"Ryan needs to stay in the hospital," he says, his voice calm but heavy with concern.

"We need to monitor him closely for the next few weeks. The treatment will be intensive, and we'll need to run regular tests to ensure the chemotherapy is working."

I nod numbly, my thoughts swirling in a haze of disbelief and confusion. I can’t seem to wrap my head around this—around the fact that my younger brother, the sweet, energetic boy who’s always been the light of our family, is now battling something this terrifying.

"But—" I stutter, my voice faltering. "But the bills... how are we going to pay for this? The treatments, the hospital stay, everything..."

The thought of how much this will cost sends a fresh wave of panic through me. The financial burden on top of the emotional one feels overwhelming.

I glance at my mother, who looks just as lost as I feel. Her hands are tightly clasped in her lap, her eyes red from crying, her usually steady demeanor cracked by the weight of everything happening so quickly.

The doctor gives a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid the hospital bills will add up quickly, but we can discuss payment plans. Don’t worry about that right now. Focus on getting Ryan well. We’ll figure the rest out later.”

"Payment plans?" I repeat, the bitterness creeping into my voice.

How can I even think about payment when my brother’s life is on the line? How can we afford to keep him here, to keep him alive, when my own heart is already drained by the aftermath of Callum’s betrayal?

For a moment, it feels like everything is crashing down on me. The heartbreak of losing Callum, the overwhelming fear of what’s happening to Ryan, the pressure of paying bills that keep piling up—it feels like punishment. But what did I do to deserve all this? Why is it all happening at once?

My best friend, Lia bursts into the room, her expression concerned but with an urgency that makes me feel a little less alone. Her bright eyes scan the room, landing on me immediately, and she crosses the space quickly, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Hey," she says softly, her voice comforting and steady.

"I heard. I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now. How is Ryan?"

"He's not okay. I don’t know how to do this, Lia," I cry, my voice cracking.

"I... I can’t keep going like this. First, Callum, and now Ryan. Is this some kind of punishment? Why does it feel like everything is falling apart all at once?"

Lia holds me tighter, her hands smoothing over my hair as I tremble in her arms.

"What about Callum?" she asks, her voice cautious yet filled with confusion. "Where is he?"

"He's dead!"I snap, my anger rising.