The Stolen Name, My Fiery Comeback

Althea POV:

Hudson hesitated, his eyes darting between his grandfather's furious face and Ashli's unconscious form. A flicker of indecision, a pathetic struggle, crossed his features. But it was fleeting.

"She's hurt, Grandfather!" he stammered, his voice laced with panic. "She needs a doctor. Althea has you. She'll be fine." He didn't even look at me when he said it, his words a dismissive slap across my face. My needs, my pain, my very existence, were utterly insignificant compared to Ashli's manufactured drama.

I remembered a time when he would have run to me. A time when a scraped knee, a bad day, a simple sadness, would send him scrambling to my side, his eyes filled with genuine concern. He was once my protector, my champion. He was once the only man I could ever imagine loving, the only choice. That man was long dead, buried under layers of selfishness and deceit.

My voice was calm, unnervingly so. "Go," I said, the word a soft release of the last vestiges of my hope. "Go protect her. She needs you more."

Hudson paused, surprised by my sudden, quiet acquiescence. His eyes searched mine, perhaps expecting a fight, a desperate plea, the furious wife he thought he knew. He remembered the old Althea, the one who would cling, who would beg. The memory of my past desperation, my humiliating attempts to win him back after Lily's death, after the first betrayals, burned a hot flush of shame on my cheeks. But that woman was gone.

He hesitated for another long moment, his lips parting as if to speak, then closing again. He turned and rushed out of the room, Ashli cradled in his arms, leaving me and the newborn baby behind.

The door swung shut with a soft click, sealing his departure.

A nurse, a kind woman with gentle eyes, bustled in, checking my IV and my vital signs. She efficiently cleaned the small cuts on my arm from Ashli' s flailing, her touch light and comforting. In the corner, the newborn Lily cooed softly, finally settling into a peaceful sleep.

Just as the nurse finished, my phone buzzed. A message. From Hudson.

Althea, I'm so sorry. I know this is hard. But Ashli really needs me right now. You understand, right? For the family's reputation. I have to make sure she's okay.

Another message followed, almost immediately.

I'm taking her to the family lodge in the mountains. We'll both recuperate there. Away from all the stress.

I stared at the screen, the words blurring, then sharpening, then blurring again. For the family's reputation. Always the family's reputation. Always the excuse for his cowardice, his cruelty. He was choosing her, openly, unequivocally. Taking her to their hideaway, the place he swore he would take me for our anniversary.

I remembered the countless nights he had held me, promising me the moon, the stars, a lifetime of unwavering love. He swore he would never betray me, never leave me, never make me cry. He swore those words over Lily's tiny casket, his voice cracking with what I thought was genuine grief. All lies. Every single one of them.

My thumb hovered over the screen. Then, slowly, deliberately, I locked my phone. The screen went dark, swallowing his words, his empty apologies, his broken promises. It was over. Truly, finally over.