Fractured Realities

Esmeralda

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The sedative dragged her into dreams—fragments of memories mixing with present fears. Alex at their secret wedding, his eyes soft with unspoken feelings. Luca's first steps, taken toward a photo she'd hidden away. The gala, Alex's voice carrying across the ballroom. Their son asking about the knight in his stories...

When she surfaced again, the room was dimmer, afternoon light casting long shadows through the windows. The first thing she saw was Alex, awake and watching her with an intensity that made her breath catch.

"Your heart rate's increasing again," he observed quietly. "Should I call the good doctor back to chain us to our beds?"

Despite everything, a small laugh escaped her. "You're the one who never could follow medical advice."

"And you're the one who always made me rest anyway." His voice carried a hint of their old intimacy before hardening slightly. "Though I suppose that was before you decided to disappear with my child."

And just like that, the momentary warmth shattered.

"Alex—"

"Three hours of mandatory rest are up," he cut in, his tone controlled but trembling with something deeper. "Your vitals are stable. Mine are... acceptable." He shifted to face her fully. "Now, we're going to talk about our son, and you're going to tell me everything I've missed. Starting with why you really left that night."

Esmeralda pushed herself up slightly, grateful that the dizziness had passed. "It's not that simple."

"Then make it simple." His voice was quiet but intense. "Did you know? When you left that night, did you know you were pregnant?"

"I... suspected." The memory of that night crashed over her—the text from Juliette, the crushing belief that she'd never been more than a replacement, the terror of possibly carrying his child. "I hadn't confirmed it yet."

"And when you did confirm it?" The monitors beside his bed beeped faster, betraying his controlled exterior. "Did you consider, even for a moment, telling me?"

"You made it clear from the beginning that our marriage was to be private. Hidden." She forced herself to meet his gaze. "A child would have complicated that arrangement."

"Arrangement?" Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Is that what you thought our marriage was?"

"Wasn't it? You needed a wife for appearance's sake, someone to play the perfect partner behind closed doors while you built your empire. And I needed..." She swallowed hard. "I needed to save my family from bankruptcy."

"Is that what you really believe?" He leaned forward, wincing slightly at the movement. "That everything between us was just an arrangement?"

"What else could it have been? You never—" She stopped, fighting to keep her voice steady. "You never said..."

"I never said I loved you?" His laugh was harsh. "No, I didn't. Just like you never said you loved me. But I thought..." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I thought you knew anyway."

The monitor beside her bed began beeping faster.

"Knew what?" Her voice came out sharper than intended. "That I was convenient? That I fit whatever role you needed until—"

"Until what, Esmeralda?" He cut in, frustration evident. "Until your stepsister's lies convinced you to run? Did you ever once ask me directly about this supposed 'first love'?"

"Juliette told me you were at the jeweller's!" The words burst out before she could stop them. "That day, before I left. She said you were looking at rings, and that your first love had returned, and I—"

"I was designing your ring." His voice dropped low, intense. "A proper one, not the simple band from our hasty wedding. Emeralds, to match your eyes. I was finally ready to..." He stopped, something raw crossing his face. "I was going to announce our marriage publicly. Everything was prepared."

The monitors beside both their beds picked up speed.

"You're lying." But her voice wavered. "You always insisted on secrecy. You never wanted—"

"I never wanted you hurt!" The words exploded from him. "My father's enemies, the corporate vultures, the press—I'd seen what they could do to someone I..." He stopped, visibly collecting himself.

"I needed to ensure you were protected before making our marriage public. Every secret meeting, every private arrangement was about securing your safety."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Her voice cracked slightly. "Why keep me in the dark?"

"Because you never asked." His eyes held hers, storm-grey and intense. "You accepted every boundary I set, never questioned, never pushed. I thought I was protecting you, but instead..." He laughed bitterly. "Instead, I drove you away. Into a life where my son calls me 'the knight' in bedtime stories, never knowing..."

The pain in his voice made her chest tight. "Alex..."

"Three years, Esmeralda." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Three years of his life I can never get back. First steps, first words..." His hands clenched on the bed rail. "Did he ask about me? Did he ever wonder..."

"He asks about his father," she admitted softly. "Not directly, but... that's why the knight stories started. He wanted tales about heroes, and I..." She swallowed hard. "I couldn't help but describe you."

Alex's breath caught audibly. "The knight with storm-grey eyes."

"Who was brave and strong," she continued, the words coming easier now. "Who protected everyone in his kingdom..."

"But was lonely," Alex finished, recalling Luca's words from earlier. "Until he found the princess with green eyes." His gaze met hers, intense and searching. "You made me a hero in his eyes, even while believing I'd betrayed you?"

The monitors betrayed both their racing hearts.

"I couldn't bear for him to think..." She stopped, fighting for composure. "He has so much of you in him. The way he thinks through problems, how he tilts his head when he's curious about something. Even the way he..." Her voice broke slightly. "The way he runs his hand through his hair when he's frustrated."

"Like father, like son," Alex murmured, and the raw longing in his voice made her chest ache. "What else? Tell me everything. Please."

The 'please' undid her. Alexander Vale never begged, never showed vulnerability. Yet here he was, asking to know about the son he'd just discovered.

"His first word was 'book,'" she found herself saying. "He loves stories, just like..." Just like both of us, she didn't say.

"And now?" His voice was hoarse. "What does he love now?"

"Dragons," she said softly. "He's obsessed with them. Storm was a birthday gift—he chose the name himself because..." She hesitated.

"Because of the eyes," Alex finished, something flickering in his expression. "Does he... is he happy?"

The simple question, loaded with three years of absence, made her throat tight. "He's the happiest child I know. Curious about everything, always asking questions, always wanting to understand how things work."

"Like you," Alex said.

"Like us," she corrected before she could stop herself. "He has your focus when something interests him. Yesterday, he spent hours trying to figure out how the hotel key cards worked."

A ghost of a smile touched Alex's lips. "Already interested in security systems? Definitely my son." The pride in his voice was unmistakable, even as pain shadowed his eyes. "What else did I miss? First steps? First..."

He trailed off as the door opened, and Penny appeared with Luca in tow. The boy's face was smeared with chocolate, and he clutched a half-eaten cookie along with his ever-present dragon.

"Sorry," Penny said quickly. "He was worried about Mama's heart going too fast."

Luca's grey eyes—so like his father's—darted between them. "Are you better now, Mama?"

"I'm better, darling," Esmeralda managed, watching as Alex drank in every detail of their son's chocolate-smeared face. The raw longing in his expression made her heart clench.

"The nice doctor said you were sleeping," Luca continued, taking a small step forward. "Like when I have a fever and need special medicine."

"Something like that," she said softly.

Luca's attention shifted to Alex, curiosity overtaking his usual shyness. "Did you need special medicine too?"

Alex's voice, when he answered, was gentler than she'd ever heard it. "I did. But I'm better now."

"Because you crashed your car?" Luca asked innocently. "Mama says we should always be careful in cars, especially when it's raining."

Something flickered across Alex's face—guilt, perhaps, at his reckless driving. "Your Mama is very wise."

"She tells the best stories," Luca agreed, warming to the conversation. "Especially about the knight. Do you want to hear one?"

The monitors beside Alex's bed picked up speed, but his voice remained steady. "I'd like that very much."

Esmeralda watched, her heart in her throat, as their son—still clutching his dragon and cookie—moved closer to Alex's bed, ready to share the stories she'd crafted from her memories of his father.

"The knight lived in a tall tower," Luca began, settling into his storytelling voice. "Higher than all the other buildings in his kingdom. And he was very strong, and very smart, but also very..." He scrunched his face, searching for the word.

"Lonely?" Alex supplied quietly, his eyes flickering to Esmeralda.

"Yes!" Luca beamed, pleased that Alex knew the story. "Until he found the princess with green eyes like Mama's." He paused, studying Alex's face with sudden intensity. "Your eyes look like Storm's." He held up his dragon for comparison.

The monitors beside Alex's bed betrayed his composure. "They do, don't they? Just like yours."

Penny cleared her throat softly. "Luca, sweetheart, maybe we should let your Mama and... and Mr. Vale rest some more."

"But I haven't finished the story!" Luca protested, turning those storm-grey eyes pleadingly toward his mother. "Mama, can I stay? Please?"

Esmeralda caught Alex's expression—the careful hope, the fear of her denial, the desperate need to know more of his son. She remembered how it felt, those first precious moments with Luca, the overwhelming love that had changed everything.

"A short story," she conceded softly. "But then—"

"Mrs. Moreau?" A nurse appeared in the doorway, holding a phone. "There's an urgent call from your lawyer about some papers..."

The word 'papers' hung in the air like a physical thing. Alex's expression shuttered instantly, the tender openness he'd shown Luca replaced by something harder.

"Your divorce papers, I assume?" His voice was carefully neutral, but the monitors gave away his elevated heart rate. "Perfect timing."

Luca looked between them, picking up on the sudden tension. "Mama?"

"Take the message," Penny said quickly, moving toward Luca. "Come on, little man, let's go find more cookies while Mama takes her call."

"But my story—"

"No, darling," Esmeralda managed. "The knight isn't angry. He's just..." She glanced at Alex, finding his storm-grey eyes fixed on her. "Sometimes grown-ups have complicated feelings."

"Like when I'm happy and sad at the same time?" Luca asked, his innocent wisdom making both his parents' breath catch.

"Exactly like that," Alex said softly. Then, to Esmeralda: "Take your call. But when you're done, we need to talk about... everything."

Penny gently guided Luca toward the door. "One more cookie run?"

"Can I bring one back for..." Luca hesitated, looking at Alex with shy curiosity. "For the knight?"

The monitors beside Alex's bed spiked again. "I'd like that very much."

Once they were alone, the silence stretched taut between them. The nurse still hovered with the phone, uncertain.

"One year," Alex said suddenly, his voice low but firm.

"What?"

"Give me one year." His eyes held hers, intense and determined. "One year to prove that everything I did—the secrecy, the protection, all of it—was for a reason. A reason I should have explained back then." He paused, his jaw tightening. "And now... now our son deserves to know his father."

"Alex..."

"If after one year, you still want those papers signed, I'll do it. No questions, no fights." His voice remained steady, but the monitors betrayed his elevated heart rate. "But I think we both know Luca deserves a chance at a real family. At understanding where he comes from."

Through the window, she could see Luca in the hallway, animatedly telling Penny something while gesturing with his dragon.

She watched their son through the window—his animated gestures, the way he tilted his head just like Alex did when making a point. For three years, she'd guarded him fiercely, built a life around protecting him. But seeing him light up while telling Alex his stories...

"A year is a long time," she said finally, her voice careful.

"Not compared to the three I've lost." His tone wasn't accusatory, just matter-of-fact. "I'm not asking for everything back, Esmeralda. I'm asking for a chance to know my son. To understand what I missed." He paused, something flickering in his eyes. "To prove that not everything was what you thought it was."

The nurse shifted uncomfortably, the phone still waiting.

"And after a year?" she asked. "If I still want..."

"Then I'll sign whatever you put in front of me." His voice was firm, though the monitors showed his heart rate climbing. "But I think you know as well as I do that Luca's stories about his knight deserve a chance to be real."

Through the window, Luca had managed to get chocolate on his dragon's wing. He was attempting to clean it with such serious concentration, that familiar crease between his brows that was all Alex.

Esmeralda's throat tightened at Alex's words, the raw sincerity in them leaving her momentarily speechless. She glanced toward the window, where Luca stood in the hallway, animatedly explaining something to Penny with his dragon held high. His small, innocent world had no idea how much had changed in a single day.

"We start with small steps," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "And if—if it ever feels like too much for him—"

"It won't," Alex interrupted, his tone resolute but not unkind. "Because we'll do it together."

The weight of his words settled over her like a fragile promise. She didn't trust it—not fully. Not yet. But the conviction in his storm-grey eyes, so much like their son's, made her want to believe. Just this once.

She looked back at him, her voice steady despite the turmoil in her chest. "One year, Alex. That's all I can promise."

His gaze softened, a flicker of gratitude passing across his face. "One year is all I need."

Through the window, Luca waved enthusiastically, holding his dragon high as if it were the banner of a kingdom yet to be united. Alex's lips twitched, the faintest hint of a smile breaking through the tension.

For the first time in three years, Esmeralda allowed herself to hope.

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