"You're gonna break up with that boyfriend of yours." He uttered with a deadly calm voice.
"I am not gonna do any such thing." I gritted.
"Don't make me lose my temper." He moved his face closer to mine.
"Or what?" I challenged.
"Or I will slide...
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"Please understand that I'm trying my hardest my head's a mess but I'm trying regardless."
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I hear the sound of my mother's sobs as soon as I enter the mansion. Concern fills my veins, my heart beats fastening as I follow the sound to her bedroom.
I open the door and find my mother sitting on the floor, her face buried in her hands, her body shaking with the force of her grief. She's holding a framed photo in her lap, the picture facing downwards, so I can't see what it is.
My heart lurches in my chest at the sight of her in so much pain.
I cross the room in a few quick strides and drop to my knees beside her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. Her body is shaking with sobs, her hands still clutching the photo in her lap.
I hold her tighter, feeling the weight of her body shaking against mine, and suddenly, it all becomes clear. This is one of her panic attacks again, just like the ones she's had before. I run my hand soothingly over her back, trying to soothe her, my heart aching at the sight of her in so much distress.
Her voice is choked with tears, the words coming out in broken sobs, but I can still make out what she's saying through the sound of her breathing.
"I can't live without him, Saad. I just can't."
My heart clenches in my chest at her words, the pain and heartbreak in her voice almost too much to bear. This is my mother, strong and resilient, but at this moment, she's broken, devastated by the loss of my father, and I feel helpless to ease her pain.
She lifts her face from my shoulder, her face streaked with tears, her eyes red-rimmed and bruised. Her voice is stronger now, despite the emotional turmoil in her chest.
"I can't pretend anymore, Saad. I can't keep living like this, pretending everything is okay. It's not okay, it's not okay at all."
I don't even try to hold back the tears in my own eyes, feeling them well up, threatening to spill over. It's hard to see my mother like this, raw and vulnerable, her usual strength shattered by grief.
