Lydia’s resolve faltered. She froze, unable to speak, and even her tears immediately stopped.
“Do you realize that today is happening because of the mistakes you made thirty-five years ago? Without your mistakes, today would never have happened.”
“Re-Reas.”
“Ah! If you can’t turn back the clock thirty-five years, what about this? Can you bring back the life of my child that Jonas took from me?”
Andreas’ composure was threatened. His voice trembled. Sadness conveyed emotions that ran through his entire body. A bitter taste appeared, the air thickened and he could hardly breathe.
Lydia froze. “Re-Reas, what do you mean?”
“Ask your child. Ask him what he did to my wife and child.”
Andreas’ defense was really on the edge. Ideally, he shouldn’t have met Bryan and Lydia. In reality, the meeting was like pouring salt on his festering wounds. The pain and agony rebelled and intensified.
Andreas stood up with what little consciousness he had left. He didn’t want to risk staying in the disgusting conversation. There was no guarantee that he could stay sane and not lose control.
“So don’t expect me to grant your request if you can’t grant mine. Besides, how could I pass up the chance to imprison Jonas?”
Bryan exploded. “Andreas! You’ve gone too far!”
“I’ve gone too far?!” Andreas replied with a similar explosion. “It’s you who’s gone too far. Even what I’m doing now is nothing compared to what you have done all these years.”
Andreas glared at Bryan. He ignored the courtesy he had never shown Bryan. Facing Bryan fearlessly, he realized that the time had come. This was the moment when he would demand retribution from Bryan for all the suffering they had endured.
“How many tears has Mom shed all these years? How much suffering has Vian and I endured?”
No one could count. But Andreas realized that he could still bear it all. He remained strong to face it, until the real catastrophe unfolded.
Andreas’ world was in chaos. It shattered into pieces and the emptiness inside him smoldered.
“Especially for Vlora and my child, who have nothing to do with this family matter. They don’t know anything, but why should they suffer because of your actions?”
Bryan’s face hardened. Various facts presented by Andreas should have made him understand, but instead he replied, “You’re just looking for excuses, Reas. You just want to use the situation to bring Jonas down. Why? Because you’ve been under Jonas all this time.”
Andreas chuckled sarcastically and then laughed. “Keep on praising and taking care of Jonas. I don’t mind, but you should realize something. We’re in the same situation now. You want to protect Jonas and Mama Lydia, right? You will do anything for them, won’t you? So, will I. I’ll protect my family. I’ll do anything for their safety and happiness, even if it means getting you out of this house and putting Jonas away for a long time.”
“No!”
Lydia’s scream sounded agonizing, but Andreas laughed even more. He enjoyed Lydia’s pain as if he were an emotionless being.
“Now I do not face you as a child facing your parents, but as the head of the household dealing with family destroyers.”
Bryan was shocked. With a stern face drenched in sweat, his emotions reached their boiling point. He couldn’t accept Andreas’ attitude. His dignity and ego were inflamed. His hands immediately clenched. He would have thrown a punch at Andreas if Lydia hadn’t shown a heartbreaking scene.
Lydia fell to her knees. Leaning on both knees, she pleaded with Amanda.
“I beg you. Tell Andreas to drop his lawsuit. I am begging you. I’ll do anything to free Jonas.”
Bryan’s face turned red. He quickly grabbed Lydia’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “What’s gotten into you, Lydia? Get up!”
“Let me go, Bryan,” Lydia refused, pulling her hand away. “If that’s the only way to free Jonas, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Amanda stayed still. She let Lydia and Bryan argue before the plea reached her again.
“I’ll leave Bryan. I swear it. I’ll leave your family as long as Jonas can be free. I beg you.”
“We will divorce soon,” Amanda said flatly. She took a deep breath, realizing it was the first time she had ever breathed with complete relief. “We don’t have a family anymore. My family now is my in-law, my children, and my daughter-in-law.”
Lydia raised her tearful face. She looked pitiful, and Amanda’s answer made her even more desperate.
“I beg you. Have mercy on me. Jonas is all I have in this world.”
Amanda smiled slowly, but there was no emotion in it. Her smile looked empty. “Do you remember? I once knelt at your feet. I also begged you to spare me and Andreas, who was still in the womb, but you ignored me, didn’t you?”
Lydia was hit by memories of the past. She screamed again and apologized repeatedly.
“I felt that way too. I only had Andreas and my husband. I didn’t want to lose them, and now you feel it too, don’t you?”
Her cries intensified. Lydia became more and more hysterical, but she didn’t give up. She turned to Andreas. She begged again, but Andreas’ words shattered her hopes even more.
“I will never allow Jonas to bother my family again, and I will make sure of it.”
Lydia’s powerlessness weakened her. She was exhausted by the fear that made her cry endlessly on the cold floor. There was nothing she could do, and the same was true for Bryan.
Andreas and Amanda showed unwavering determination. So, Bryan wouldn’t humble himself for something that wouldn’t work. He clung to his arrogance until Amanda stood up and approached him.
“It’s all over, Bryan. I hope you and your family won’t bother us anymore.”
Bryan’s jaw hardened. He stared at Amanda sharply and without blinking. “Are you serious, Amanda? You want to get divorced and leave me after all the chaos Andreas has caused?”
“Andreas has caused all this chaos?” Amanda smiled slightly, then shook her head. “You caused it all, and I deeply regret that I did not divorce you a long time ago. I was really stupid…”
Not only out of love for Bryan. Amanda endured mostly for her child, as any woman would. She endured sadness and suffering with one goal in mind: not to let Lydia and Jonas take everything away from her.
So, Amanda was determined. No matter what, they wouldn’t get divorced. Everyone and the whole world had to continue to see her as the legitimate wife. Only then would their attention be focused on the legitimate line, Andreas.
“Mama.”
Andreas’ soft voice caught Amanda’s attention. She turned with a sigh, and Andreas took her hand. Together they left Bryan and Lydia sinking deeper into despair.
Andreas embraced Amanda. He comforted his mother and said, “It’s going to be okay, Ma.”
Amanda nodded. She smiled, and the suffocation that had enveloped her for years vanished.
*