CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 8
HE OPENED HIS EYES... BUT THE FIRST PERSON HE ASKED FOR WASN'T HIS WIFE
Three long hours passed.
Connor never left the waiting room.
The coffee in his hands had gone cold.
The blood donation bandage was still wrapped around his arm, but he barely noticed it.
His eyes never left the ICU doors.
Every time they opened...
His heart stopped.
Every time they closed...
His hope faded a little more.
Finally...
Dr. Andrew Latham walked out.
Connor jumped to his feet.
"Doctor?"
The surgeon smiled for the first time that day.
"Your mother is awake."
Connor's knees nearly gave out.
"Can I see her?"
The doctor nodded.
"But only for a few minutes."
Connor rushed into the recovery room.
Margaret looked pale, but she was breathing steadily.
The monitors beside her beeped in a calm rhythm.
She slowly opened her eyes.
"Connor..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Connor immediately held her hand.
"I'm here, Mom."
Tears rolled down Margaret's cheeks.
Then she asked the question Connor never expected.
"...Where's Robert?"
Connor lowered his head.
"He..."
"He's still unconscious."
Margaret closed her eyes in pain.
"I told him not to do this..."
Connor frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I begged him to let me stay on the waiting list."
"He refused."
"He said..."
"...he couldn't bear watching me suffer anymore."
Connor felt another wave of guilt crash over him.
His mother already knew.
She had known all along.
"Mom..."
"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
Margaret looked at him sadly.
"Because Robert asked me not to."
"He said you deserved the right to decide how you felt about him."
"I thought..."
"...one day you'd see the man he really was."
Connor couldn't hold back his tears anymore.
"But I never did."
"I treated him like an enemy."
Margaret gently squeezed his hand.
"He never blamed you."
Connor looked up.
"What?"
"Every birthday..."
"When you refused to come home..."
"He still bought your favorite chocolate cake."
"When you ignored his phone calls..."
"He'd tell me..."
'Give him time.'
"He always believed..."
"...one day you'd come back."
Connor buried his face in his hands.
He remembered every birthday he had skipped.
Every family dinner he had avoided.
Every cruel word he had thrown at Robert.
Yet somehow...
Robert had never stopped waiting.
Just then...
A nurse hurried into the room.
"Mrs. Hale..."
"Mr. Hale has regained consciousness."
Margaret immediately burst into tears.
Connor looked up in disbelief.
"He's awake?"
The nurse smiled.
"He just opened his eyes."
Connor felt hope rushing back.
Without another word, he ran toward the ICU.
Through the glass window...
He finally saw Robert.
His face was pale.
An oxygen tube rested beneath his nose.
Several monitors surrounded the bed.
He looked years older than he had that morning.
But he was alive.
Connor slowly stepped inside.
Robert turned his head.
Their eyes met.
For several seconds...
Neither of them spoke.
Connor had rehearsed a thousand apologies in his mind.
Now...
Not one of them would come out.
Instead...
Robert smiled.
The same gentle smile Connor had seen his entire childhood.
"You donated blood?"
Connor nodded.
"Yeah..."
Robert chuckled weakly.
"Thank you."
Connor couldn't believe it.
Even now...
Robert was thanking him.
After everything Connor had done.
After every insult.
Every accusation.
Every moment of rejection.
Robert's first words...
Were gratitude.
Connor's voice trembled.
"I'm..."
Before he could finish...
A nurse interrupted.
"We need to let Mr. Hale rest."
Connor nodded and slowly stepped back.
As he reached the door...
Robert spoke again.
"Connor."
He turned around.
Robert looked at him with tired eyes.
"Has your mother smiled yet?"
Connor froze.
Robert wasn't asking about himself.
He wasn't asking whether the surgery had been worth it.
He wasn't asking if he would recover.
His only concern...
Was Margaret.
Connor finally understood.
This man had never been trying to win anyone's love.
He had simply spent twenty-two years...
Loving them anyway.
Connor's eyes filled with tears.
For the first time since he was nine years old...
One word escaped his lips.
Almost too quietly to hear.
"...Dad."
Robert's smile froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
A single tear rolled down his cheek.
Before he could answer...
The heart monitor beside his bed suddenly began beeping faster.
Doctors rushed into the room.
A nurse quickly guided Connor outside.
The ICU doors slammed shut once again.
Standing alone in the hallway...
Connor could only pray...
That he hadn't spoken that word...
May you like
Too late.
To be continued...
