Part 64; Where were you when I lost Belinda and my child

Joel swallowed the slap and saw Canary's smirk.

Lucy's eyes locked onto Canary, her expression firm. "Canary, I need to speak with Joel alone," she said, her voice low and even.

Canary nodded, rising from his seat. "I'll leave you two to discuss this further," he said, his eyes flicking between Lucy and Joel before he turned and exited the room.

As the door closed behind Canary, Lucy turned her attention back to Joel.

Joel stood his ground and chuckled in disbelief.

" So you just slapped me because of that son of youd ?" he asked, his voice cold and calculated.

Lucy's face twisted in anger, her eyes flashing with fury. " Yeah, You went to far."

" You're willing to destroy your own family to get what you want ?" she demanded, her voice rising.

"You're willing to sabotage your own nephew's reputation, to hurt the people who care about you most?"

Joel chuckled in disbelief.

" You are talking about care ?" He asked.

His eyes narrowed, his voice taking on a bitter tone. "Tell me, Lucy, have you ever even cared about me?" he asked, his words laced with hurt and accusation.

Lucy's expression faltered, her eyes dropping as if she couldn't meet Joel's gaze.

She seemed to hesitate, as if searching for the right words to say.

"Of course, I care about you, Joel," she said finally, her voice softening.

"You're my brother, my sister only family ."

Joel's laughter was harsh and mocking.

"Save it, Lucy," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You've never really cared about me. You've always been too busy with your own life, your own family, to worry about me. I've always been just an afterthought to you."

Lucy's face twisted in pain, her eyes welling up with tears.

"That's not true, Joel," she said, her voice shaking.

"I've always tried to be there for you, to support you. But you've pushed me away, time and time again. You've made it clear that you don't want my help, that you don't want my love."

Joel chuckled again his eyes wetting up. Heblazed with pain and anger as he turned to Lucy.

"If you really care about me, where were you when I lost my wife and child?" he demanded, his voice cracking with emotion.

Lucy's expression faltered, her eyes widening in shock.

"What are you talking about, Joel?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Joel's laughter was bitter and mocking.

"You didn't even know, did you?" he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

"You didn't even know that Belinda died. That I lost my child as well."

Lucy's face went white, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Joel, I had no idea," she said, her voice shaking with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were going through that."

Joel's expression twisted in pain, his eyes welling up with tears.

"You never knew because you were never there," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.

"You were always too busy with your own life, Your husband and his son." muttered.

" And I'll never forgive you for not being there for me when I needed you the most."

The room fell silent, the only sound the heavy breathing of the two combatants. Lucy's eyes were filled with shock and regret.

"You want to know why I'm so bitter, why I'm so angry?" he asked, his voice trembling with emotion.

"It's because of what you did to me, Lucy. You destroyed my life, my happiness."

Lucy's expression faltered, her eyes dropping as if she couldn't meet Joel's gaze.

" Joel…I…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Joel's laughter was bitter and mocking. "You know exactly what I'm talking about," he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

"You forced Belinda to break up with me, didn't you? You knew she had cancer, and you didn't want me to be burdened with her illness. But what you didn't know was that she was pregnant with my child."

Lucy's face went white, her eyes filling with tears. "Joel, I...I was trying to protect you," she stammered.

Joel's expression twisted in pain, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Protect me?" he repeated, his voice cracking with emotion.

"You call destroying my life, my happiness, protection? I found out about the pregnancy after Belinda left me, and I went to look for her. I promised to be with her, to take care of her and our child."

He told her.

" But she said she couldn't be with me, not because she didn't want to, but because of you. You were against our relationship, and she didn't want to come between us."

Lucy's eyes dropped, her face filled with shame and regret. "Joel, I...I did it for own good " she whispered.

Joel's voice was laced with bitterness. " My own good ?"

" You mean the sick don't deserve love ?" He asked and Lucy kept silent.

" You always said that I left you behind. Yeah, I left everything behind, including to be with Belinda." He confessed.

" I stayed with her until she gave birth to our daughter. But after she died, I was left alone, with a newborn baby to care for."

All this was new to Lucy.

" I tried to ask you for help, but you refused. You told me that if I wanted your help, I had to return to the Andersons family." He said these words in pain.

" So I got a maid to take care of my baby, and I went abroad to try to get a job. I hustled for three months…." He said.

" But when I came back to Annertoz, three months later, I was told that my baby had died of fever."

The room fell silent, the only sound the heavy breathing of the two combatants.

Lucy's eyes were fixed on Joel, her expression filled with shame and regret.

She knew that she had made a terrible mistake, one that had cost Joel dearly.

She didn't know what to say, or how to make things right. All she could do was stand there, frozen in shame and sorrow, as the truth about Joel's past finally came to light.

"Do you think I should forgive you for what you've done to me?" he asked, his voice low and even.

Lucy's face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't expect you to forgive me, Joel. I was wrong to interfere in your life. I can only imagine the pain I've caused you."

Lucy mumbled in tears.