Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 207

Chapter 207: Learning To Live
Alex lowered the phone slowly, his pulse racing. He looked at Emma, who was still watching him, her hands gripping the edge of her chair.

“What is it?” she whispered.

He hesitated before answering. “The police… They found Vanessa.”

A silence fell over the group. Ivy sucked in a breath, Claire tensed, and Chris straightened.

Emma swallowed hard, her fingers tightening. “Are they going to arrest her? Are they sure she won’t escape or get tipped off like the last time?”

Alex nodded. “They’re on their way now. I hope they catch her for good tonight.”

No one spoke for a moment, but the weight in the air shifted. This wasn’t over yet—but it would be soon.

A short while later

The hospital hallway remained eerily silent except for the occasional footsteps of passing nurses and the distant beeping of medical machines.

The weight of everything that had happened hung heavily in the air. Emma sat beside Alex, her fingers entwined with his, though she barely felt his touch. Claire leaned against Chris, her eyes red and swollen, while Ivy sat quietly, lost in her own thoughts.

Because it was getting dark, Ivy had gone home, promising to check on Emma from time to time. She had also tried to talk more to Emma so she could stop blaming herself for Jake’s death.

Thankfully, Emma had taken a little heed to Ivy’s words this time, telling herself that if neither Alex or his family were blaming her then there was no need to blame herself. Though she tried to stop, she still couldn’t deny that the feeling was still there.

While they sat there, the door to the waiting room creaked open and a doctor stepped in, his expression grave but composed.

“Mr. Sterling?” he addressed Alex.

Alex immediately stood, followed by the others. “Yes?”

The doctor folded his arms. “Margaret is awake now.”

A sharp breath left Emma’s lips, and Claire stiffened. No one spoke for a moment, all exchanging hesitant glances before Alex nodded. “We’d like to see her. Can we?”

“Of course. She could leave today if you want except you’d just want her to stay here till tomorrow morning,” the doctor said and Alex cast a quick glance to Claire before turning to the doctor.

“We’d like her to stay,” he said and the nodded.

“That’s fine. You can go see her,” The doctor said before stepping aside, and motioning for them to follow.

They moved as one, their steps measured, as though each footfall carried the weight of their grief.

When they entered Margaret’s hospital room, she was sitting up, her frail hands resting on the white blanket draped over her legs. Her face was pale, her eyes dull as she gazed at the window. But the moment she heard the door open, she turned.

The moment she saw them, her expression changed. Her breath hitched, her lips parted, and her voice came out in a shaky whisper.

“Please…. tell me all this is a dream,” she said weakly but no one answered.

The silence stretched, suffocating and deafening. No reassurances. No soft lies to shield her from the truth.

Margaret’s fingers clutched the blanket as her gaze darted from one face to another, desperately searching for any sign that this was some cruel nightmare she would soon wake up from. But all she saw was pure grief, pain, and pity.

Tears welled up in her eyes as reality sank in, crashing down on her like a tidal wave. Her breath turned ragged, and she shook her head, her voice breaking.

“No… No, no, no… My Jake…” Her trembling hands flew to her mouth as a strangled sob escaped.

Emma stepped forward, tears blurring her vision. “Margaret—”

But Margaret let out a wretched cry, her body shaking violently as she broke down. “My baby boy is gone…” Her sobs filled the room, each one cutting deeper than the last.

Claire covered her mouth, her own tears falling freely. Alex clenched his fists, looking away, while Chris held Claire’s hand.

Margaret clutched her chest as though trying to hold her shattered heart together. “I—He—He can’t be gone. He can’t…”

Emma knelt beside the bed, taking Margaret’s shaking hands in hers. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m so, so sorry…”

Margaret gripped Emma’s hands tightly, her nails digging into her skin as she cried harder. “He was all I had left…” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried the weight of immeasurable loss.

Emma pressed their joined hands to her forehead, her shoulders shaking. There were no words that could make this better. No comfort strong enough to mend what had been broken.

Margaret’s cries echoed in the small hospital room, a sound of a mother’s heartbreak—raw, agonizing, and irreversible and all they could do was sob with her while being each other’s comfort.

The Next Day

The sun rose reluctantly, its golden rays struggling to chase away the lingering darkness of the previous day. The hospital remained quiet, yet the weight of grief still hung in the air. It was a new day, but the wounds were still fresh and too raw to be ignored.

Alex, Emma, and Claire had spent most of the morning handling Margaret’s discharge papers. The process was slow, each signature a reminder of why they were there in the first place. None of them spoke much, and when they did, it was only to discuss the necessary paperwork.

Emma stole glances at Margaret, who sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her hands clasped in her lap. She looked smaller than before, as if the weight of losing Jake had drained the life from her. She hadn’t cried again after yesterday’s breakdown, but the silent grief in her eyes was more painful to watch.

Once the final signatures were done, Alex turned to Margaret and cleared his throat. “Margaret… I was thinking… You shouldn’t go back home. Not yet.”

Margaret lifted her gaze, tired and questioning. “Where else would I go?”

Alex hesitated, then reached for Emma’s hand before speaking again. “Come with us—to my house. I don’t want you to be alone right now. You have to be with family.”

Margaret parted her lips as if to argue, but no words came. The thought of going back to an empty home, one that now carried the ghost of her son’s absence, was unbearable since Jake now wouldn’t occasionally come and visit her again. He was gone.

After a long pause, she exhaled heavily and nodded. “Alright… Thank you.”

Claire, who had been quiet until now, took a step forward. “I’ll come too,” she said firmly.

Margaret blinked, surprised. “Claire, you don’t have to—”

“I want to,” Claire interrupted gently. “You’re my sister, and I need to be there for you.”

Margaret’s lips trembled slightly, and for the first time since waking up, her eyes softened with gratitude. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Emma squeezed Margaret’s hand. “You’re not alone, okay? We’ll get through this together.”

Margaret gave a small nod, though the pain in her eyes remained. She wasn’t sure how she would get through this—how she could move forward without Jake—but for now, she would lean on the people who still stood by her.

A nurse soon arrived with a wheelchair, and with slow movements, Margaret settled into it. As they wheeled her out of the hospital room, Emma walked beside her, Alex pushing the wheelchair, and Claire keeping close.

By the time they reached the car, Margaret looked up at the sky, as if searching for something beyond what the eye could see.

Jake was gone. But she wasn’t alone. She knew their presence wouldn’t ever make up for the void inside her, she would just have to learn to live with them and be happy knowing that her son died playing hero.

As they drove through the quiet streets, the tension inside the car was heavy. The sound of the engine hummed softly, but no one spoke for a while. Margaret stared out of the window, her face pale and drawn, lost in thought.

After a long silence, she finally turned to Alex. “What about Vanessa?” Her voice was quiet, yet laced with a desperate need for closure. “Did they catch her? I have to know my son’s killer was arrested and my son didn’t die for nothing.”

Alex tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his jaw clenching for a moment before he nodded. “Yes. The police got to her last night.”

Margaret exhaled, her shoulders dropping slightly as if a weight had been lifted off her. “At least… at least the killer was caught,” she murmured. “I’m glad she doesn’t get to walk away after everything she’s done.”

Emma reached over and placed a comforting hand over Margaret’s, squeezing gently. Claire, sitting beside Margaret, watched her with quiet concern, ready to offer any support she needed.

Margaret stayed silent for a moment before she looked at Alex again. “Can we go to Jake’s house first?” Her voice trembled slightly, but her determination was clear. “I just… I want to feel his presence again. I need to be there first before going to your house.”

Alex exchanged a brief glance with Emma before nodding. “Of course. We all need to feel his presence one last time.”

Without another word, he changed the direction of the car, heading toward Jake’s house.