Chapter 292: Facing the Truth
Easter~
The door closed with a soft, final click, sealing Jacob out of my room... out of our lives. I pressed my back against the wood, sliding down until I sat curled on the thin carpet, trembling with confusion and exhaustion.
"Mommy?" Rose’s tiny voice wavered, breaking through the tangled mess of my thoughts. I turned to see her standing by the window, her little body framed by the soft morning light. She clutched Donut to her chest so tightly, it was a wonder the poor cat didn’t protest – but he just lay there, limp and quiet, as if he somehow knew she needed him to stay still.
Tears spilled freely down her pink cheeks, each droplet carving a glistening path as her lower lip trembled. Her big eyes, wide and glossy with sadness, searched my face for something – comfort, reassurance, maybe answers I wasn’t sure I could give. Seeing her like that, so small and broken-hearted, made my chest ache with a tenderness so fierce it almost knocked the breath out of me.
"Rosie... baby, come here." I opened my arms, and she rushed into them, burying her face in my neck. Her sobs came out in tiny hiccups.
"Mommy... why did you send Daddy Jacob away? He wasn’t bad... he wasn’t... he loves you... and me..." Her voice cracked, and she clung tighter, shaking.
My throat tightened painfully. I stroked her wild brown curls, inhaling her sweet scent—baby shampoo and strawberries. "Shh, sweetheart... it’s okay... I’m here."
But my words felt empty. My chest ached at her tears. What was I supposed to say? That her mommy was scared out of her mind because of visions she didn’t understand? That her mommy’s head was a mess of memories that didn’t fit together, like shattered glass?
She sniffled and pulled back, staring at me with those innocent emerald eyes so much like mine. "Mommy... Daddy Jacob isn’t bad. He loves you. He told me stories about wolves and magic... and he said I’m brave like a wolf cub."
I felt something crack inside me. I cupped her damp cheeks and kissed her forehead softly. "I know, baby. I know. Mommy just... Mommy doesn’t know what to think right now."
Rose’s tiny brows knitted together, and her little lips quivered as she frowned up at me. "You’re being mean to him," she whispered, her voice so soft it almost disappeared into the quiet room. She hugged Donut closer, as if his warmth could give her courage. "You didn’t even let him tell you why he came," she continued, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He told me that he came because he missed us, mommy." Her words wobbled on the last syllable, breaking my heart with how fragile and honest they were, spoken with all the innocence only a child could hold.
But her words pierced deep. Tears burned my eyes. Was I being unfair? Judging him without knowing him or letting him explain? All because of blurry visions I didn’t understand... visions that made no sense but filled me with dread.