Leilani blinked her eyes for a moment before gently opening them.
“Lani,” Nelson’s soft voice called out, as he drew closer and took her hand. “Are you feeling better?”
Leilani looked up at Nelson’s concerned face and suddenly gasped. “I had a terrible dream about Trevor, Nelson. Where is he?” she asked, her expression full of worry as she sat up in bed and tried to get up.
“Please, Lani, calm down,” Nelson pleaded, gently holding her back.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Nelson. In my dream, he was poisoned. I need to know where he is right now,” Leilani’s voice rasped, her heart racing as she didn’t want to believe that her dream was true.
“Lani,” Nelson sighed, unsure of how to explain the situation to her. She had only been unconscious for an hour, so he didn’t expect her to react like this when she woke up.
“Nelson, tell me where Trevor is! Please, tell me it was all just a dream. Tell me Trevor didn’t eat the pasta instead of me. Tell me he’s not dead,” Leilani begged, tears streaming down her face as she cried uncontrollably.
“Please, stop crying, Lani,” Nelson choked out, tears streaming down his own face.
But Leilani didn’t hear him as she continued to cry.
“Trevor!” she screamed, struggling to break free from Nelson’s hold.
The sound of the door opening caught their attention and they looked up to see Susan entering the room. Her eyes were red and swollen, it was clear that she had been crying since they broke the news to her.
As she walked towards the bed and saw Leilani’s breakdown, her own tears started to flow again. But she had to be strong for Leilani. Everyone knew how close Leilani and Trevor were, so it was natural for her to react this way.
“It’s okay, honey. Please, don’t cry,” Susan consoled, allowing her own tears to fall freely.
Two weeks had elapsed, yet Leilani remained in a state of endless numbness, unable to recover from the loss of Trevor. Her mind was clouded, her senses dulled.
At times, she would sit in a trance, her gaze fixed ahead but seeing nothing, her ears wide open but hearing nothing.
This behavior deeply troubled Nelson, leading him to call upon Hannah in the hopes of easing Leilani’s pain. However, her condition only seemed to worsen.
Nelson’s thoughts were consumed by Leilani’s well-being, rendering him unable to go to work. She was a mere shell of her former self, eating and smiling solely out of obligation, devoid of any care for her surroundings.
Her solace was confined to the comfort of Trevor’s bed, spending her days in his room, enveloped in the scent of his clothes and playing with his toys.
One day, Nelson found her alone in Trevor’s room, talking and playing as though he were still there. The pain of this realization felt like a thousand invisible knives tearing at his heart, blurring his vision with tears.
Unable to contain his anguish, he fled the house, grabbing his car keys in a rush and driving straight to the police station. In under an hour, he arrived and demanded to see Ariel.
Waiting in the visiting room, Nelson was soon met with a cuffed and disheveled Ariel. Her hair was carelessly thrown into a bun, a few strands hanging loosely around her face. Her face was pale and lips cracked from the dryness, she looked like someone who had given up on life.
“Are you satisfied now?” Nelson’s voice was grave and strained after a long silence.
His nostrils flared with anger, “You took my son away from me, and my wife may as well be dead.”
Hearing these words, Ariel slowly met his gaze with a look of confusion etched on her forehead.
“Why the surprise? Is this not what you wanted? To get rid of Leilani? You may not have been able to dispose of her body, but her spirit has joined Trevor’s because she has not been the same since Trevor’s death!” he spat at Ariel.
But her expression remained unchanged, a blank slate as she continued to stare at him.
“It was evident that she would never be able to move past his passing. That was the extent of her love and care for him while he was alive. She loved him like her own child, but you-”
His voice faltered, and he wiped his tears miserably.
“You wanted her gone, and in the end, your malicious actions returned to haunt you. And now, I’m certain you will never be able to forgive yourself, because you know what? Even though you may not have loved Trevor enough as a mother should love her son, you would never wish to be the one to end his life,” Nelson’s tears streamed down his cheeks violently, but he couldn’t stop speaking.
“I hope you suffer in the depths of hell, Ariel. I pray you never find relief from this pain, that is if you you feel any, and I pray you die a painful death with no one by your side,” he gritted through clenched teeth and immediately stood up, leaving.
As soon as he was gone, Ariel was left alone once again, drowning in tears. “Forgive me, Nelson. Please forgive me,”
When Nelson returned home, he saw Susan and the cook coming out of the kitchen with a tray of meals and fruits in their hands.
Without Nelson having to ask, he knew they were taking them to Leilani’s room.
“Can we talk, Mom?” he exhaled, his voice shaking.
Susan told the cook to go ahead and then she took her son’s hand and led him to a settee in the living room.
“Mom, what do you think I can do to help Lani heal? She’s not ready to move on. What can I do? I’m tired of seeing my energetic and playful Lani like this,” Nelson’s voice trembled, tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes.
Susan patted his back tenderly for a moment before breaking the brief silence. “Will you consider the solution I have in mind?”
“Absolutely, Mom. As long as I can have my Lani back. I’ve already lost Trevor, I can’t bear to lose her too,” Nelson lamented.
“Impregnate her, son,” Susan declared. Nelson’s eyes widened in disbelief, but before he could speak, Susan continued.
“Have faith, my son. She will gradually revive her spirit during pregnancy,” Susan confidently stated, causing a spark of understanding to light up Nelson’s expression.
‘Prepare yourself, Lani!’ he joyfully exclaimed inwardly.