Chapter Twenty-nine.

'Not so long.' Lina spoke eventually. 

'Not so long?' Natalie puzzled, twitching her eyebrows. 

'How long is not so long to you, Lina.' She shot.

'Mom, you really don't have to bother yourself so much.' Lina retorted, trying to change the topic.

Natalie's eyes, etched with worry, searched Lina's face for any sign of distress. But Lina's expression remained stoic.

'I'm fine, mom.' She voiced flatly, as she reassured her mother.

Natalie's brows furrowed, her concern deepening.

She had been on edge since the previous night, when Lina had passed out without warning.

Now, as she tried to coax information out of her daughter, she felt frustration rising up.

'You're fine?' She repeated, her tone incredulous.

'Lina, you passed out last night! You can't just brush that off.' She pointed out.

Lina's shoulders shrugged, a nonchalant gesture that only heightened Natalie's anxiety.

'I'm okay, mom. Really.' Lina countered. 

'You need not worry about me.' She added.

Natalie's eyes welled up with tears, her mind racing with worst-case scenarios. Why wouldn't Lina open up to her? What was she hiding?

'I need not worry?' She fired.

'How dare you say that to me, when all I have been all these years after you disappeared, is worry about you?' She threw a rhetoric at Lina.

'You have no right to tell me how to feel for my child. You may not care about anyone's feelings, Lina, but at least have the decency not to make their feelings invalid.' Her voice broke.

'I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.' Lina's words was infused with warmth and concern.

'I didn't want you to worry about me. That was the reason I didn't speak about being in therapy in the first place.' She further explained. 

'And mom, you really have nothing to worry about. Trust me, I've got this.' She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. 

'My therapist says I'm doing great. I just...I think nana's death brought up a lot of old emotions, and that was probably the reason why my state of mind was detected during the analysis. But I'm working through it, okay? I'm not falling apart.' She added, springing up her grandmother to make her excuse more valid.

'Are you sure, Lina?' Natalie sidled up to Lina's bedside, hint of skepticism in her voice.

'I am sure, mom.' Lina spoke.

'I am doing everything possible to be better.' She added.

'Just let me know if you need anything. Anything at all. I will do all I can to be here for you.' Natalie eyes locked onto Lina's, her tone reassuring.

'Of course, mom.' Lina chuckled and nodded. 

A comfortable silence fell between them, their smiles lingering in the air.

The only sound was the steady beeping of the monitor, a rhythmic heartbeat that filled the silence.

The hospital's distant hum and muffled chatter receded, leaving only the chill of the air-conditioned room.

Time seemed to hold its breath, until Lina's voice broke the stillness.

'Is Catherine at home with....' He voicing trailing off, as the word "dad" seemed to stick in her throat.

'Yes.' Natalie responded, oblivious to Lina's hesitation. 

'They left this morning to freshen up and get change of clothes.' She went on.

'Catherine also desided to make some thing for you to eat before you woke up.' She concluded. 

Just then, the clicking sound of the door handle interrupted their conversation.

The door swung open, and Catherine walked in with her father.

'You're awake?!' Catherine words escaped her mouth as she walked in.

'I am.' Lina said, with a warm smile.

Catherine moved closer to Lina's bed, setting the small bag she packed down on the drawer beside the bed.

Her eyes filled with regret, as she enveloped Lina in a tender embrace.

'I'm so sorry, Lina.' She said softly.

'I didn't mean to send you to a sick bed. I shouldn't have bothered you.' She added still closely knitted in Lina's embrace. 

'It's fine, Catherine.' Lina voiced.

With an IV drip attached to her hand, Lina wrapped her frail arm around Catherine, the medical equipment momentarily forgotten in the warmth of their embrace.

'I should be the one saying sorry to you, Catherine.' Lina stated, as Catherine pulled away from the hug gently. 

'I disappeared from your lives and cared less about how it made you all feel. I was selfish, and I hurt you.' She admitted.

Catherine's eyes welled up with tears, her face a reflection of the pain and longing she had endured.

'I had no idea that my absence made you feel neglected and abandoned. If I has known, I would have come home regularly even if it's just to see you. Or called from time to time just to assure you that I love you so much.' Lina spoke in all sincerity. 

Making Catherine's eyes brim with tears as she gazed at her.

'You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say those words to me,' She whispered, her voice trembling.

'To acknowledge how your leaving affected me, to validate my feelings... it means everything to me, Lina.' She flung herself into Lina's arms, seeking another comforting hug.

Natalie, standing across the room, felt a surge of relief and hope.

'I am so grateful to see you girls hugging each other again.' She took a step forward, her eyes shining with unshed tears. 

But amidst this moving moment, one person stood apart.

Nathan, his expression inscrutable, seemed caught in a web of conflicting emotions.

His eyes, clouded with regret and self-doubt, betrayed the weight of his past failures.

He had failed to defend Lina when she needed him most, and now, he wondered if she would truly be able to stay, to overcome the pain and memories that had driven her away for so long.

As he stood there, frozen in his thoughts, Nathan felt the sting of Lina's past resentment, the unspoken accusations that hung in the air like a challenge.

He knew that rebuilding trust would be an uphill battle, that Lina's wounds ran deep and would take time to heal. And yet, he held onto the hope that somehow, someway, they might find a way to redeem their fractured past and forge a new future, one built on forgiveness, understanding, and love.

'I'll do better now,' Lina's gentle tone drifted across the room, snapping Nathan back to attention. 

'I'll be here for you, and for mom, and for... everyone.' Her words, though heartfelt, conspicuously left out one person: her father, who stood silently in the room.

Nathan cleared his throat, declaring his presence. 

'I'll go get Lina's discharge papers,' He said, his voice neutral.

'Okay, hon.' Natalie acknowledged him.

With a nod, he turned to leave, using the task as a convenient excuse to escape the awkwardness.

As he walked away, he felt Lina's gaze on him, but he didn't look back, unsure of what he might see.