Chapter 19
Sienna:
The moment my feet touched the cool floor outside the infirmary, I hesitated. It felt surreal. It was almost impossible for me to process the fact that I was out of there, that I was free to roam around without anyone monitoring me the way that they did.
For days, that sterile room had been my prison, the walls closing in with every passing second, suffocating me. But now, here I was, free to walk, though I knew that freedom was an
illusion.
Within this pack, within these grounds. I knew that freedom was going to be something that I
was going to be looking for. It was going to be something that I was deprived from. And no
matter how hard I wanted to deny it, I was not going to be able to do so. Each one of them
wanted something from me and that’s something was very obvious and clear. Damon wanted
me to leave, to give him my daughter. His father, however, believed that I was wrong with what
I was doing. And then there was his mother, who I knew would do anything to stop me from
doing anything that would be stupid, or at least something that you would deem or believe to
be stupid.
And finally, there was Lysandra. I knew that she would do anything to see me dead, and I knew
that she would do anything in her power to stop me from being here. Even my presence here
right now was one of the key did not like and she’s not doing anything to try and hide it.
Her leaving told me that she was going to put an ad towards Damon, she was going to do her best to get what she wanted and it was only a matter of time before he gave in to her. Nevertheless, had it been up to me, I would have left. However, with my daughter on the line
with her being here, I was not going to give them that advantage.
The nurses hadn’t even questioned my request to leave. They simply nodded and moved aside, as if I was no more than a ghost passing through the halls. I wasn’t sure if they pitied me or if they just didn’t care. Perhaps both. Either way, I knew better than to ask.
I just walked. Leaving that room that I was locked in, Leaving the place that I believed I should not be in, empty. They could use it for another patient. Right now I did not need to be one of
them.
Each step felt heavier than the last as I followed the familiar path, my body moving before my mind had even registered where I was going. And before I knew it, I stood before the large window of the incubation room, my hands trembling at my sides as I looked through the
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glass. I wrapped my arm around myself. It was the only comfort that I could have as I looked
at her.
My daughter.
The little Angel that I fought to make sure she survived. The baby girl that I carried for months
trying to protect, trying to find a way to sustain myself for her own sake, only to find myself failing miserably at that. Being back here was one of the proofs that I had to show how much I
had failed myself and her.
Isla’s tiny body was curled up beneath the warmth of the incubator, her chest rising and falling
in small, shallow breaths. The sight of her should have brought relief, but all I felt was a
crushing weight on my chest. It felt like I was being locked up in some kind of game that I did
not know how I was going to end up dealing with.
I had barely fought for her.
I had barely managed to say anything to them. I didn’t even have it in me to try and fight back.
I had let them take her from my arms without resistance.
Not because I didn’t love her. Not because I didn’t want her.
But because I knew that if I had tried, I would have lost anyway.
They would have taken her from me either way. Giving her to them to put inside this incubator
was going to be the better option.
I had nothing. No leverage. No power. Not against Damon.
I swallowed hard, my fingers pressing against the cold glass as I whispered, “I’m sorry, baby. I
should have been stronger for you. I did not mean to fail you this way, but I know that I had no
other option.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. I refused to break. Not
here. Not now.
But then I felt it.
The weight of a presence behind me.
The
presence of the one person that I did not want to see, that I did not want to look at, and
that I did not want around me. And I knew that he understood that very well. I understood that
he was the last person that I wanted to speak to or look at.
The room was silent, save for the faint hum of the machines, but I could still feel him. Damon.
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I didn’t have to turn to know he was there. His scent, a mix of cedarwood and something darker, filled the space around me. His energy was suffocating, pressing against my back like a heavy storm ready to unleash its wrath.
I stayed still, keeping my eyes fixed on Isla, willing myself not to react.
A moment passed before he spoke.
“You left the infirmary.” His tone was unreadable, but I could hear the restraint in his voice. If anyone knew when he wanted to control himself, when he wanted to try and avoid conflicts, then it would be me.
I didn’t answer.
His footsteps were slow, measured, as he closed the distance between us. When he finally stopped beside me, he exhaled sharply, like he was trying to keep himself from saying something he’d regret.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he muttered.
I turned my head slightly, just enough to meet his gaze. His green eyes were guarded, but beneath the surface, there was something else. Something I couldn’t quite place.
“She’s my daughter,” I said simply. “I can stand here if I want to. I doubt that there would be a rule to stop me from doing so.”
His jaw tightened. “You should be resting. There needed to be a rule for you to actually know that you need to rest.”
I let out a humorless laugh.
“Resting?” I turned back to the glass, shaking my head. “How can I rest when my child is in
there, alone?”
“She’s not alone,” he shot back. “She’s being monitored. She’s safe. The number of nurses that
are around her are countless. You don’t need to worry.”
“Neither one of the nurses are her mother.” I said as I let his words settle between us, feeling
the weight of what he was really saying.
She’s safe here. Without you.
I clenched my fists, willing myself to stay calm. “Safe or not, she’s still my daughter.”
“And what exactly do you plan to do, Sienna?” His voice was lower now, sharper. “Are you planning to run? Take her and disappear? Because if that’s what you’re thinking, you’d better
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get it out of your head now.”
I turned fully to face him then, my eyes meeting his without hesitation. “You’ve already made
it clear that I have no choice in the matter.”
His gaze darkened, but he said nothing.
For the first time, we stood there, staring at each other, the weight of everything unsaid
hanging between us.
Finally, he spoke again, his voice quieter this time. “She’s strong. She’s going to be able to
make it.”
“She’s just a baby. You claiming that she is strong does not make her strong, Damon.” I said,
and he hummed in response as if it was the most normal thing to do.
I blinked at his words, caught off guard.
“She’s small, but she’s strong,” he continued, looking at Isla through the glass. His expression softened for just a fraction of a second before he forced it back into its usual unreadable mask. “Baby or not, you can tell who is strong and who is not.”
A part of me wanted to cling to that moment, to the way he had looked at our daughter as if, for the briefest moment, he actually felt something.
But I knew better.
Damon wasn’t capable of softness. Not for me. Not for anyone.
The man that I believed to be kind was nothing more than a lie. He had played me like a fool to simply get what he wanted, and that was not something that I could just easily let go of.
So, I turned back to Isla, ignoring the way my heart ached.
“I should go,” I murmured.
I didn’t wait for him to respond.
I took one last look at my daughter, at the fragile life I had brought into this world, before stepping away from the glass.
And without another word, I walked past Damon, leaving him standing there alone.
