Chapter 90: The Weight Of The Day
Regina cried.
For the first time in Eryx’s thirty-year life, his mother, whom he had always believed had buried her emotions somewhere unreachable, cried.
The whole living room was filled with the quiet sound of her breaking. Not loud. Not messy. Just raw. As if every tear had waited years for permission to fall.
She sat down slowly, her shoulders trembling as she tried to hold herself together, but failed. Eryx didn’t say a word at first. He couldn’t. He had no memory of this woman ever cracking, not when his father died, not when his brother’s body was returned home, not even when Matilda tore her down in front of everyone.
But now, she cried.
And somehow, that hurt more than anything Matilda had said.
Naomi, who had been standing frozen by her side, finally moved. She crouched down in front of Regina, her arms reaching out to wrap around her mother.
Regina didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away. Instead, she clung to Naomi like a lifeline, her sobs muffled against her daughter’s shoulder. Naomi’s hands trembled as she held her, her own eyes welling up.
Eryx stood in the background, his fists clenched at his sides. He couldn’t bring himself to approach them. This wasn’t how he imagined confronting his mother, yet here they were, surrounded by the remnants of what Matilda had done to their family.