CHAPTER 7 A Small Doubt
1893 Words
The house was unusually quiet that afternoon.
I was sitting at the dining table with my books spread out in front of me, trying to finish my homework.
Suzita was on the floor nearby, playing with a small doll.
Elizabeth was sitting in the living room, looking through her phone.
Everything seemed normal.
Until her phone suddenly rang.
She picked it up.
“Hello?”
Her expression changed almost immediately.
“What?”
She stood up.
“When?”
She listened for a few seconds.
“I'll be there.”
She ended the call.
She picked up her handbag from the sofa.
“Ma'am?”
She didn't answer.
I pushed my chair back.
“What happened?”
She continued toward the door.
“Ma'am?”
She stopped and turned around.
“What?”
Her voice was cold.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“But you look worried.”
She stared at me.
For a moment, there was nothing warm in her eyes.
Only irritation.
Then she looked away.
“It's your father.”
My heart stopped.
“Dad?”
“He's in the hospital.”
I immediately stood.
“What happened?”
“I don't have time to explain.”
“Is he okay?”
She didn't answer.
“Please.”
She reached toward the small table beside the door and picked up the car keys.
“I said I don't have time.”
My heart began beating faster.
“Can I come with you?”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly that I froze.
“But—”
“You're staying here.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
I looked at her, trying to understand.
“But I want to see Dad.”
She ignored my words and turned toward Suzita, who was still sitting on the floor with her doll.
“Suzita.”
Suzita looked up.
“Go upstairs and put on your shoes. We're going to the hospital.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
She picked up her doll and ran upstairs.
I turned back to Elizabeth.
“Please. I won't disturb anyone. I just want to know if Dad is okay.”
“You're not going anywhere.”
“But he's my dad.”
“And he's my husband.”
“I'm scared.”
She looked at me.
There was no softness in her eyes.
“You need to stay here.”
I swallowed the tears in my eyes.
“Please tell Dad I want to see him.”
She didn't answer.
A few minutes later, footsteps came from upstairs.
Suzita came back down wearing her shoes.
“I'm ready, Mommy.”
Elizabeth's expression immediately softened.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
Suzita walked toward her.
Elizabeth took her hand and checked her shoes.
“Are you comfortable?”
Suzita nodded.
“Yes.”
“Good girl.”
I stood quietly nearby, watching them.
The way Elizabeth spoke to Suzita was completely different from the way she spoke to me.
With Suzita, her voice was gentle.
With me, it was cold.
I looked down.
“Please take me with you.”
Elizabeth turned toward me.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I already told you. You're staying here.”
“But I want to see Dad.”
She sighed.
“Enough, Maya.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Please.”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she opened the door and held out her hand for Suzita.
“Come on.”
Suzita took her hand.
I followed them to the entrance.
“Please tell Dad I love him.”
Elizabeth looked at me for a moment.
Then she turned away.
She and Suzita walked outside.
The door closed behind them.
I stood there alone.
For a few seconds, I didn't move.
Then I looked at the closed door.
Why didn't she want me to see Dad?
He was in the hospital.
Something could have happened to him.
Something bad.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand.
“Dad…”
I whispered his name.
Then I ran back to the dining table.
My homework was still there.
But I couldn't think about it anymore.
All I could think about was my father lying somewhere in a hospital bed.
---
At the hospital, Edward slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he heard was the steady beeping of a machine beside him.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
His eyes moved slowly across the white ceiling.
For a few seconds, he couldn't remember where he was.
Then the memories came back.
His office.
The documents.
The glass falling from his hand.
The room spinning.
Then darkness.
He tried to move his hand and felt the tube attached to it.
He frowned.
A figure sitting beside his bed noticed that he was awake.
“Edward?”
He slowly turned his head.
Elizabeth was sitting beside him.
Her expression immediately softened.
“You're awake.”
Edward looked at her.
“What happened?”
“You collapsed at work.”
Edward stared at her.
“I collapsed?”
“Yes.”
She reached for his hand.
“Your secretary found you and called an ambulance. They brought you here.”
Edward closed his eyes for a moment.
He remembered the dizziness.
The way his body had suddenly become weak.
He let out a slow breath.
“I scared you.”
Elizabeth gave him a small, worried smile.
“Yes.”
Her voice was soft.
“I was really worried about you.”
Edward looked at her again.
Then something suddenly came to his mind.
“Maya.”
Elizabeth's fingers paused on his hand.
“Where is she?”
Elizabeth looked down for a moment.
Then she raised her eyes again.
“She didn't come.”
Edward frowned.
“She didn't?”
Elizabeth sighed.
“I told her she should come with us.”
Edward stared at her.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
She lowered her voice.
“I told her that her father was in the hospital.”
Edward's expression changed.
“What did she say?”
Elizabeth hesitated.
Only for a moment.
Then she lowered her eyes.
“She said she had homework to finish.”
Edward looked away.
“Homework?”
“I tried to explain that it could wait.”
Elizabeth shook her head slowly.
“But she insisted.”
Edward was silent.
Elizabeth watched his face.
Then she gently touched his arm.
“Please don't be upset with her.”
Edward looked at her.
“She knew I was here?”
“Yes.”
Elizabeth's voice became softer.
“I told her she should come. I really did.”
She paused.
“But I didn't want to force her.”
Edward looked toward the window.
He remembered how Maya used to run to him.
How she used to wait for him to come home.
He couldn't understand why she would refuse to see him now.
“I wanted to see her.”
Elizabeth gave him a sympathetic look.
“I know.”
She squeezed his hand lightly.
“She's probably just struggling with everything.”
Edward nodded slowly.
He didn't notice the way Elizabeth's expression changed when he turned toward the window.
The sympathy disappeared.
Her jaw tightened slightly.
She looked toward the door.
There was no concern on her face now.
Only irritation.
But when Edward looked back at her, the softness returned.
“Maybe she'll come later,” she said gently.
---
A while later, the door opened.
Richard and Vivian entered.
Vivian hurried toward her son.
“Edward.”
“Mom.”
She touched his forehead.
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
Richard stood beside the bed.
“You should have told us you were having problems.”
Edward sighed.
“I was handling it.”
Richard shook his head.
“You've been carrying too much.”
Edward didn't respond.
Vivian looked around the room.
Then her eyes stopped.
“Where is Maya?”
Edward glanced at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth answered quietly.
“She stayed home.”
Vivian frowned.
“Why?”
Elizabeth lowered her eyes.
“I asked her to come.”
Edward watched her.
“I told her she should see her father.”
She paused.
“She said she had homework.”
Vivian stared at her.
“Homework?”
“Yes.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“I told her that her father was in the hospital.”
She paused again.
“She still didn't want to come.”
Edward looked down.
Elizabeth reached for his hand.
“Please don't think badly of her.”
Her voice sounded gentle.
“She is still your daughter.”
Vivian looked at Edward.
“That girl needs to understand that some things are more important than homework.”
Edward remained quiet.
Richard spoke calmly.
“You're her father. You shouldn't have to chase after your own child for attention.”
Edward frowned slightly.
“Dad…”
Richard continued.
“She has a home. She has you. She has everything she needs.”
Vivian nodded.
“And yet she couldn't even come to the hospital when you were sick.”
Edward looked away.
Elizabeth lowered her voice.
“Please don't be too hard on her.”
She sounded concerned.
“She has lost her mother. Maybe she's just struggling.”
Edward didn't answer.
But something had changed in his expression.
A small doubt had entered his mind.
He didn't want to believe Maya didn't care about him.
But he couldn't understand why she had chosen not to come.
---
That evening, I was still sitting at the dining table.
My homework remained untouched.
I couldn't stop looking toward the door.
Every time I heard a sound outside, I thought it was Dad.
But it never was.
I hugged myself.
I was scared.
I didn't know what was happening.
I didn't know if Dad was okay.
And I didn't understand why Ma'am hadn't allowed me to go with her.
I picked up my pencil.
My hand shook.
I tried to write.
I couldn't.
A tear fell onto the page.
I quickly wiped it away.
“Dad…”
I whispered.
I wished Mom were here.
She would have taken me to him.
She would have held my hand.
She would have told me everything was going to be okay.
But Mom was gone.
And now Dad was in the hospital.
I felt completely alone.
---
Later that night, Edward lay awake in the hospital.
The room was quiet, except for the soft beeping of the monitor beside his bed.
His mother, Vivian, was still there.
She had insisted on staying with him for the night, refusing to leave him alone after what had happened. She had settled into the chair beside his bed and fallen asleep sometime earlier.
Edward looked at her for a moment.
Then he turned his eyes toward the ceiling.
He couldn't sleep.
He kept thinking about Maya.
Maybe she was angry with him.
Maybe she was having trouble accepting everything that had changed.
But one thought kept returning.
She had known he was in the hospital.
And she had chosen not to come.
Edward closed his eyes.
He didn't want to believe that Maya didn't care about him.
But for the first time, he wasn't completely sure.
And that small doubt was enough to change something between them.
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