“Does Noah know what you’ve remembered?”
“He doesn’t know.”
“…”
Samantha fell silent, frowning as she paced back and forth for a while before asking her, “Aren’t you going to tell him?”
“Not for now.”
Samantha sighed heavily and sat down in a chair. “When you were injured, the doctor checked you and said there was nothing serious, but you remained unconscious. Noah thought you were going to commit suicide. He was afraid you would wake up and not be able to cope, so he decided to divorce you. Later, thinking you were fine, he let me take you back directly, planning to bring the divorce agreement to you for your signature when you woke up. He thought you would be a bit happier seeing that you weren’t in that house.”
Thelma nodded; it was about what she had guessed.
“I remember that after I got injured, he seemed to have coughed up blood. He’s okay, right?”
“The doctor said it was due to anger.”
Anger? Thelma smiled bitterly; it seemed she had indeed angered him quite a bit in the past.
“What did the doctor say? Was it serious?”
Samantha said, “At that time, he was entirely focused on you. I still advised him to get checked. He underwent all the tests, and there were no major issues. The doctor prescribed some medication, and he hasn’t had any problems since.”
Hearing this, Thelma felt relieved.
After Thelma came down from upstairs, she got into the car with the father and son. Along the way, Sam Noah didn’t ask her what she had talked about with her sister, and Thelma also acted very calmly, no different from usual.
After arriving home, Tyler took out a storybook and said to Thelma, “Mommy has been away for so many days. The story I was telling last time isn’t finished yet. Can I tell it to Mommy?”
Thelma nodded, “Sure.”
Thelma sat on the carpet, and little Tyler sat cross-legged in front of her, flipping open the book and pointing at the words one by one as he read.
Tyler was very early in his literacy; he could recognize some common words.
“There, one day, a little fox…”
He read each word slowly, not very fluently.
He used to like doing this, sitting far away, either telling her stories or playing with his blocks. Knowing that Mommy didn’t like him getting too close, he would obediently keep his distance but still wanted to be with her, so he would sit quietly far away.
At that time, she would lie in bed, facing away from him, listening to him struggle to read the story he wanted to tell her, one word at a time.
“Is it because Tyler didn’t do well enough that Mommy doesn’t like him?”
He had once asked her this. That day was her birthday, and he had made her a small gift with his own hands. She felt a mix of emotions but told him not to make such gifts for her anymore, and then he asked her that question.
Guilt filled her heart, as if a hand was tightly gripping her heart, causing her pain.
Too many emotions surged up at once, and she couldn’t hold back. She reached out and hugged him, letting him sit on her lap. Tyler was confused and told her, “Mommy, I haven’t finished reading yet.”
“It’s okay, you can read it later.”
He noticed her voice had changed and asked, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”
She held him and kissed his face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Do you know, Tyler, when I first gave birth to you, I was really so happy. I couldn’t believe I had given birth to such a cute child. You were so small and tender back then, and suddenly, I wanted to become a warrior, a warrior who could protect Tyler. I wanted to keep you safe in my arms forever. I really love you so much, truly. But later on, I went through some things, I was shaken, and I became so insecure, insecure to the point where I felt I didn’t deserve to be Tyler’s mother. Because I was so insecure, I wanted to hide far away. I thought it would be better for Tyler if I left sooner rather than later, rather than letting him feel sad about me later. I was really so foolish and silly back then.”
Thelma held her son’s face, “Why did I have to hurt my child like this? I was really too foolish.”
The little guy looked at her in confusion, uncertainly calling out, “Mama?”
Sam Noah was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee. Upon hearing her words, he trembled, and the coffee cup fell to the ground with a clatter, instantly staining the white carpet with a puddle of brown. Yet, he was completely oblivious, as if struck by lightning, his gaze fixed on Thelma, instinctively standing up.
