Chapter 113: He Is My Father’s First Son
The sterile scent of antiseptic hung heavy in the air, a constant reminder of the stark reality that had become Levi’s world. It had been ten days since Lyse had slipped into the coma, ten days of agonizing waiting, ten days of clinging to the fragile hope that she would open her eyes again.
The vibrant, sunny essence of her presence had been abruptly replaced by a suffocating silence, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of the machines that sustained her.
Levi had left the hospital only once and he had hurried back, fearful that she would wake up and be scared to be surrounded by all the machines. He had barely left Lyse’s side since then. The small, uncomfortable chair beside her bed had become his makeshift home.
He existed in a haze of exhaustion and despair, his world shrinking to the four walls of the intensive care unit. The once impeccably dressed and groomed Levi was now a shadow of his former self. His hair was unkempt, his beard unshaven, and his clothes bore the creases of days spent in the same position. He had stopped eating properly, subsisting on the occasional cup of coffee or a hastily grabbed sandwich, his appetite lost in the overwhelming grief that consumed him.
He had also stopped going to the office. The business empire his father had painstakingly built and which he had fought to keep, the responsibility that had always been his driving force, now held no meaning for him.
The thought of attending meetings, making decisions, or even simply answering emails felt utterly pointless in the face of Lyse’s condition. His world had stopped turning the moment he saw her in the ICU, and he could not fathom the idea of moving forward without her.
His mother, Lily, had been informed of his absence from work. Initially, she had tried to be understanding, attributing his absence to understandable grief. However, as the days stretched into a week, and then into ten days, her concern grew, tinged with a growing sense of alarm.
It was especially not the time to be absent from work, and Levi’s absence could have serious repercussions. Finally, driven by a sense of duty and a deep-seated fear for her son, she decided to take the trip and visit him at the hospital.
She found him exactly as she had feared: a broken man. He sat beside Lyse’s bed, his hand gently clasped in hers, his eyes fixed on her face as if willing her to wake up. He didn’t even register her presence until she spoke his name.
"Levi," she said softly, her voice filled with concern.
He turned his head slowly, his eyes dull and lifeless. "Mother," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper.