Page 336 of Hateful Games

The unreturned phone calls and texts.

Most of all, the secrets she’s kept over the years. I’ve been hurt by her inactions and ignorance way deeper than this incident. I’m over keeping it all inside for fear of popping the bubble she lives in.

“I was worried sick. Who would hurt you like this?” she cries out, tightens her hand. “Where is Nova?”

His name brings another pang of emptiness, longing, and pain. I thought he had left last night, only to learn from Iris that he’s in the waiting room. She revealed that he asked Nathan to bring him a change of clothes and used the restroom at the hospital. I should’ve known he wouldn’t make it easy for me to move on. However, I stand by my decision.

There’s a sense of freedom in my chest and I have to explore it.

Bianca and Iris rise. “We’ll give you both some privacy.”

“What happened, Rosa?” asks my mom as soon as they leave. “How did this all happen? Is it true? Your father was blackmailing you? The police called me as soon as I landed.”

“When are you going to stop pretending, Ma?” The pent-up rage I’ve kept inside me bursts out, making her pale even more. “Don’t you get tired? Aren’t you even going to acknowledge the article about you and Danish. Were you ever going to confess to Jasmine? I know everything!”

“Please, love. Calm down.”

It only enrages me more. “Seriously? I almost get killed and you’re telling me to calm down. How are you so cool and collected while your daughter survived abuse from her father and uncle? Or are you that scared of him, huh?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How? Were you ever home for longer than a few days before you were off again in some part of the world?” I taunt. “Should I have called you? Oh wait, I did. Except they went to voicemail and unanswered. I was a kid, Ma, and I was scared. Half the time, I was kept locked like an animal in the room. I begged you to take me with you. Didn’t that clue you in? Or maybe think to check in on me?”

“You’re right, I was responsible as your mother and I should’ve.”

“You knew Dad was a harsh man yet you didn’t protect me. I had to learn to lean on myself. Jasmine tried but he would send her away. She was a kid herself yet she was more of a mother than you.”

“I thought as long as I did your father’s bidding, he would stay away from you and Jasmine. I also should’ve told you about Danish being Jasmine’s father but it was before my marriage, Rosa. I simply wanted to move on and when Teresa came with a proposal to marry you with her son, I said yes because I knew his family could protect you from your father.”

I jerk back in shock and confusion. “I thought you proposed the idea?”

“No,” she confesses with a sad smile. “Teresa was insecure and thought I was having an affair with Danish. She thought if we married our kids off, it’d effectively put an end to a relationship that never existed. She didn’t realize she gave me a lifeboat.”

Maybe Teresa wasn’t so perfect, after all.

Nova must know this too, but I no longer care if he hid it from me.

“I am deeply sorry and ashamed for being an awful mother, Rosa.” Taking my hand, she kisses it, and says, “I hope you can forgive me one day. You never met your grandparents, but they weren’t good at confrontation either and swept everything under the rug. It’s what I was taught.”

“The damage is done.”

She breaks down in tears, muttering, “I’m sorry.”

“I filed a case against Dad,” I inform her coldly. “If you still want to be with him—”

“I could never, Rosa. I’ll be by your side. I’ll make this right.”

The next hour, she sits beside me quietly while I rest. During my nap, I swear I hear Nova’s voice and feel the brush of his hand but when I wake up, there’s no sign of him.

Jasmine comes by later and the air is tense between her and my mother. They hold back on exchanging words for my sake but my eyes convey all the regret and sorrow when our gazes connect. She cries upon seeing my state, mumbling apologies for not being there to help. Regret is all everyone’s left feeling. I almost become sick with the feeling.

At the end of the day, the doctor comes by to inform me they will keep me under observation for a few more days before I can go home.

I start to count them down.

***

After three more agonizing days, I’m finally discharged. The bruises on my face have healed, the color almost faded, and my ankle has healed while my broken arm is still in a cast. It’ll take a few months to heal. Mentally, though, it’s going to be a long journey.

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