The Pretender and The Prince novel Chapter 4

Seth watched until she was gone before his gaze finally drifted away. A moment later, his phone rang. It was his friend.

“Hey, what’s taking you so long? Did you get lost or something?” the voice on the other end boomed.-

Seth’s tone was cool and measured. “Something came up. I’m not going to make it tonight. You guys have fun.”

“Are you serious? You’re bailing on me again? What could be so important?”

“Something very important.”

…

Ondine ran all the way to the elevator and up to her apartment. Inside, her mother, Yvaine Sterling, was sitting on the sofa, her face pale and drawn. Their neighbor, Wanda, sat beside her, offering quiet support.

“Mom, what happened?” Ondine asked, breathless. Wanda had only said there was an emergency, without giving any details.

Wanda sighed. “Yvaine, I think you should be the one to tell her.”

“Ondine…” Yvaine started, her voice faltering.

“Mom, what is it?” A knot of dread tightened in Ondine’s stomach, a heavy, suffocating premonition.

Yvaine looked at her, her expression a mask of anguish. “I have stomach cancer,” she said, her voice raspy.

A loud ringing filled Ondine’s ears, and her mind went completely blank.

“Ondine, you have to talk some sense into her,” Wanda urged. “She’s only in her forties. She can’t just give up. If I hadn’t stopped by tonight to drop something off and seen the hospital report, she was planning to keep it from you.”

“Mom, I’m begging you,” she pleaded, her voice breaking with grief. “Please? For me? I can’t do this without you.”

Yvaine let out a heavy sigh, the fight draining out of her. Finally, she relented.

That night, Ondine slept in her mother’s bed, something she hadn’t done in years. She curled up against her, just like she did when she was a little girl.

“Mom,” she whispered into the darkness, “you’re the only family I have in this world. Please don’t leave me.”

Yvaine stroked her daughter’s hair tenderly. “Ondine, you have to promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”

Ondine clutched her mother’s shirt. “I will. And I’ll take care of you, too. You’re going to be okay.”

Ondine barely slept, terrified that if she closed her eyes, her mother would be gone when she woke up. In the dead of night, she bit down on her lip and cried until she had no tears left.