Lahat ng Kabanata ng 185 Days Bound To The Mafia Lord : Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 106

The fluorescent lights in the hospital corridor made my head ache almost immediately. I tried to ignore it, gripping the small bag Clear had handed me. The smell of antiseptic and faint, underlying illness clung to the air like a permanent reminder that this was not a place for comfort. My stomach fluttered uneasily, but it wasn’t just the physical discomfort gnawing at me. It was everything else—the tension I had carried for years, the frustration, the pain of feeling invisible to someone who was supposed to be my mother.Clear walked beside me, quiet and steady as always. Her hand brushed mine once, a soft, grounding touch, but I barely acknowledged it. My mind was elsewhere. Focused. Determined.My mother’s hospital room came into view. I could see her reclining slightly in the bed, looking perfectly calm, perfectly indifferent. Her eyes flicked toward us as we entered, and I felt that familiar knot tighten in my chest. The one I had carried for years. The one that had never truly

Aspen The morning was quiet, almost unnervingly so. I woke to the soft hum of the mansion, sunlight filtering through the curtains in golden streams across the floor. The faint flutter in my stomach reminded me that the fainting spell from the other night was more than just exhaustion. I pressed my hand against it briefly and forced myself to sit up, ignoring the wave of nausea that threatened to overtake me. I had to be strong today. For myself, for Clear, and for the fragile thread connecting my relationship with my mother.Clear had already been up, I could tell from the faint clatter of dishes in the kitchen. She had prepared breakfast, and from the smell drifting into the bedroom, she had done more than just make toast. I took a deep breath, swung my legs over the side of the bed, and forced myself to stand. My knees wobbled slightly, but I ignored it, focusing on the plan for today.We were returning to the hospital. Mother was being discharged. I had rehearsed what I would say

Aspenhad told myself it would be a simple trip. Just a short ride from my mother’s house to the matrimonial home, a routine journey I had made countless times before, and yet today, my stomach refused to settle. Every flutter of nerves reminded me that life had a way of turning the mundane into the catastrophic. Clear had fussed over me as I locked the door, her hand lingering over mine for a moment longer than usual, and I had smiled weakly, brushing off the unease that had been gnawing at my chest all morning.The Uber arrived early, pulling up with the soft hum of the engine. I slipped into the backseat, the leather cold against my skin. The driver, a man I did not recognize, gave a polite nod but did not speak much. I had been on autopilot, scrolling through my phone to distract myself, trying to calm the flutter in my stomach.Killian called just as I buckled my seatbelt. The phone rang in my hand, and I swiped to answer, relief flooding me at the sound of his voice.“Aspen?” Hi