The Widower's New Bride

Four

Kent, Elliot's Secretary carefully arranged the boxes in his study room.
Keeping a particular box apart he slowly unloaded the contents.
Files and more files he needed to work on. Last three days, he received a call from his mother notifying him of her intentions to accompany his father to the annual international conference held for major companies.

Which equals leaving Ivan completely under his care. Ivan had no Nanny, courtesy to his mother and his distrust in those self-acclaimed baby carers.
Since he became a father, he had enormous protective tendencies for his son, he worried about the little things that affects Ivan. An example was when he had a fever, he forgot every other thing he was working on and left to attend to him.

One of the fears he shared with Audrey was he might not be the perfect father.
His goal was to ensure all of Ivan's needs are met.
He never lacked anything.
But he failed terribly at ensuring his son's needs of a mother was met.
He failed at ensuring the life of his wife continued.

He wished he had the power of life to bring her back.

He closed his eyes to stop the pain gnawing at his heart, the heart that no longer beats, the heart that died along with Audrey as he held her hands in the hospital bed.

Her pale skin revelling her bones.

Flashes of her hollow eyes stared back at him lacking the green lustre that accompanies them.
They lacked life.
Her lips were cracked and grey probably from dehydration, he thought.
But that's was him being delusional ignoring the signs that marked her as a dying person.
Dark shadows circled her eyes with her strained effort to speak.
He tried stopping the tears falling at seeing looking very close to lifeless.

"I am sorry, " her death-like whisper echoed in his ears.
It tore his very being to see her apologising. It dipped him in anguish at how he failed terribly as a father and husband.
He felt responsible for her constant pain and suffering during the course of carrying Ivan for nine-month.

Her sickly looking fingers clasped his face, "Ivan is your son," she spoke in a very little voice, veins literally wrying out of her thin skin.

He cupped her face staring deep into her eyes, "Ivan is our son. Not only mine."

A tear slipped from her eyes, "I birthed him but can't mother him."
His breathing hitched at her unguarded statement, he placed his fingers on her lips hating how she projected an irreversible doom.
She projected his ultimate destruction, "Audrey stop saying that. I promise we would walk out of here with you healthy."

"Stop, " she whispered, he noticed her tears drying slowly, a firm look graced her sunken cheekbones.
"Don't deny the fact I am dying, I can feel life slipping out of my hands. I can't make it, " she breathed heavily, her words tearing his world apart.
Threw him to rocked reality.

"You deserve happiness, you do. Don't punish yourself after my death. Ivan-" she paused, struggling with speech.

"Ivan ensure he has it all, make sure he doesn't miss his mother."

"Don't talk anymore you looked stressed, rest now."

She gave a little nod, her eyes not focused on him.
She grasped his hands tightly, "Kiss me on my forehead. I want to feel you it would put me at rest."

He found her request highly disturbing, but he did hope she would relax a bit. His lips rested gently on her forehead, he felt the tense grip of her hand gently relax, her breathing now gentle as he could no longer hear it.
After a few seconds passed he found it odd she wasn't breathing at all, his heart skipped he drew from her observing her.
She looked asleep, her lashes resting peacefully on her cheekbones.