Chapter 4 Kneeling for Forgiveness
735 Words
Shawn froze. For a moment, he looked like he couldn't believe those words had come from Lydia.
Panic flashed across his face. He grabbed her hand again.
"Lyd, I know you hate me. I know I betrayed you. But for the past three years, I've done everything I could to make up for it. I've been there for you, haven't I? Just give me one more—"
"I already did."
Lydia let out a quiet sigh.
"You called Willa. You told her to bring your child here. Sign them. There's nothing left for us to talk about."
With a thud, Shawn dropped to his knees in the middle of the hospital hallway. Ignoring the stunned looks from people passing by, he grabbed the hem of her pant leg.
"Lyd..."
Curled at her feet, he looked almost exactly the way he had three years ago.
This was the third time Shawn had knelt before her. The first had been when he proposed at twenty-five, dressed in a crisp white shirt, one knee on the ground and tears shining in his eyes as he asked her to marry him with all the passion in his heart. She still remembered his trembling hand placing the ring on her finger.
The second was after his affair. Divorce had been imminent, but Lydia's cancer diagnosis changed everything. Ignoring her refusals, he had knelt, pleading for another chance, tears streaming as he swore to care for her.
Now, for the third time, Shawn was kneeling before her. Just like three years ago, he was begging for forgiveness.
Only this time, Lydia couldn't help wondering what he was really begging for.
Was it her?
Or was it Willa and her child?
"Lyd, please. Yell at me if you want. Hit me if you want. I won't fight back.
"You're my wife. You'll always be my wife. I'm not asking for anything else. I just can't walk away from them. Let me take care of them. That's all I'm asking.
"I won't abandon you again. I just want to make things right. I can take care of all of you."
He looked up at her desperately.
"I'll make sure Willa and Eli stay out of your way. I can handle both families, Lyd. You have to believe me."
Lydia had heard enough.
She tried to shake him off, but Shawn clung to her leg like he was afraid she'd disappear.
"Lyd, for the last three years, I've never walked away from you. I stayed through everything. When you were sick, I was there. I took care of you. I stayed until you got better. But Willa's situation is different.
"She raised Eli on her own all these years. She did everything by herself. It couldn't have been easy, and if she hadn't been completely out of options, she never would've come back to me.
"Eli is my son. I have a responsibility to him. And I owe Willa for everything she had to carry on her own.
"Three years... I've already failed them for three years.
"And I'm not signing those papers. I'm not letting you go."
Lydia had heard enough.
"Stop."
She grabbed the front of his shirt and forced him to his feet.
"What kind of father you want to be and how you choose to take responsibility for them has absolutely nothing to do with me. I only have one thing to say to you.
"Sign the papers."
Shawn opened his mouth, clearly ready to argue again.
Before he could, a startled cry suddenly came from down the hall.
It was Willa.
For a split second, Shawn froze.
Then his grip loosened.
The man who had just been swearing he would never let Lydia go was already running toward Willa's room.
Within moments, he was gone.
Lydia watched him disappear and almost laughed.
Even after everything, he was still exactly the same.
Three years earlier, they'd signed divorce papers once before. Lydia had never thrown them away. At the time she'd kept them without thinking much about it. Now it turned out they still had a purpose.
She gathered her belongings and prepared to leave.
Then the door burst open.
Shawn came charging out.
His eyes were bloodshot. Before Lydia could react, he grabbed her shoulders hard enough to hurt and shoved her into an empty hospital room.
"You sick woman!"
His voice echoed off the walls.
"Where's Eli?"
- Writer
