Her Lonely Grey Eyes

Chapter 14 - She called me a good mother

𝘾𝙀𝘾𝙄𝙇𝙀 𝙁𝙊𝙓 (𝘿𝘼𝙎𝙃𝙒𝙊𝙊𝘿)

I stopped at the edge of the hallway.

For a second, I couldn't move.

"What is it?" I asked quietly.

Odessa didn't answer right away.

And that alone made my stomach tighten.

When she finally spoke, her voice wasn't playful like usual.

It was careful.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I can't be selfish anymore."

I frowned. "What do you mean... selfish?"

She exhaled shakily.

"I want you to be my daughter. You are the child I raised. I gave you my name, my life, everything—but I can't keep you away from them."

That made me pause.

"...Them?"

Odessa looked away for a second.

"Your biological family."

Silence dropped between us.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

Wrong.

"I don't want to lose you," she admitted, her voice breaking slightly. "But I also can't keep pretending you don't have a family who's been grieving you your entire life."

My chest felt tight.

That word—grieving—didn't sit right in my head.

I didn't know where to put it.

Odessa wiped at her face quickly, like she was annoyed at herself for crying.

But it didn't stop.

"For years they thought you were gone," she said. "Not abandoned. Not forgotten. Gone."

I stared at her.

Not knowing what expression I was supposed to have.

Not knowing what I was supposed to feel.

"They never stopped," she continued. "They never moved on from you."

That part landed differently.

Heavier.

Like it wasn't just information—it was something I was supposed to understand emotionally, but couldn't yet.

I swallowed.

"...Were you ever serious about me?" I asked quietly.

Odessa looked at me immediately.

Like I had just said something wrong.

"What?"

"Taking me in," I clarified. "Was it always temporary? Or... were you serious about keeping me?"

Her expression changed instantly.

Offense. Shock. Then something worse—hurt.

"Of course I was serious," she said firmly. "The moment I held you, I knew I wasn't letting you go."

She stepped closer.

"I raised you," she continued. "I gave you everything I could. Everything you asked for. Everything you didn't even ask for."

Her voice rose slightly.

"If I didn't love you, why would I give you my clan? Why would I trust you with my life's work?"