You Can't Make A Mechanical Heart Now

Chapter 4

"He's lost a lot of blood during the fall, Mr. de Croie. He's leg and arm had broken, so we replaced them with mechanical ones as well as his right eye that had... popped in the process of falling on his face on the stairs.", the family doctor, Dr. Reyes, said.

"Thank you, doctor," Jonah said. He then casted a longing and regretful gaze towards his unconscious wife. It had been hours since his wife had fallen down the stairs, he was simply trying to get Alec to the baths to wash him clean and place him in more comfortable clothes that suited his position as his wife. Apparently Alec had thought the worst and thrashed violently in his arms, causing Jonah to drop him and roll down the stairs. Alec would have died due to his fatigue if Dr. Reyes hadn't come to visit to check on the children's health.

"Doctor, when do you think he will awake?", Jonah asked, walking up to his pale wife and stroking his ragged, dirty, blonde hair softly.

"The lastest will be by the end of this month. That means that the children will have to spend another New Year without their mother again," Dr. Reyes said.

Dr. Reyes, or most commonly called by the children Cat, looked at Jonah skeptically. Cat's visit the de Croie's for years and hasn't seen the wife ever since little Annika turned a year old. She remembered how beautiful Alec had looked. They were best friends - aside from Anya. But as she looked at Alec, he looked more jagged and scarred. She wondered what happened to him. Cat wasn't the most boldest of people, but she needed to know if she was right. She needed to know if she was right in the disappearance of Alec Canterbury, the wife of Jonah de Croie.

"Jonah, what happened to Alec?", she asked, her voice low and almost threatening.

"I never took you to be a bold one, Reyes," Jonah said, not liking that Cat was catching on to his dangerous scandal. Cat was more closer to the children than with him the years Alec had disappeared so she would definitely tell them what happened to their mother.

"If you love your children, de Croie, I suggest you tell them what happened to him. Now," she urged, her tone angry.

"They'll hate me,"

"That's your own fault. Hurting your wife, the most trusting and kindest person, the best wife. Lying to your children to hide a problem you started made a bigger one that affects everyone. You heard of the death of Anya le Bouff, right?"

"Yes... The friend of yours and Alec's?"

"Right. She killed herself, hiring someone else to continue the work, mangling her into tiny bits so mechanical work couldn't replace her. When Mr. le Bouff came home he was devastated though he was the one who drove her to do it. It left the children, very young, devastated as well.", Cat said.

"I know what I'm doing, Catrina," Jonah said, clenching his fist.

"I hope so, Jonah. But if I come back to tend to your dying wife, I will tell the children and file a case against you," Cat threatened before leaving the room. Jonah didn't speak a word against her, not even threatening her that he was richer and could bribe the judges out of his crime. But he knew better than to do that if he truly loved his wife.

And he hated how Cat was right.

Cat left the master bedroom, full of anguish and fury. Her expression was cold and stoic, but you could see the flame in her eyes. Her husband had did the same thing to her years ago, but she was quick in taking action, so she divorced with her husband and left the children with him, not wanting any part of her husband with her. It turned out to be the greatest decision she made and the worst mistake her husband made. She was bombarded with letters and gifts of apology, but she always refused. Cat then made the decision to move somewhere else, somewhere where her husband couldn't bother her and got the aid of Jonah de Croie. She's been happy since then.

The little pattering of feet made their way up the stairs. Agatha, Sebastian, and Annika heard the news about their mother falling from the stairs from Nicola and came up to check if their mother was alright. They encountered Cat on their run down the hallway to the master bedroom. Sebastian was the first to ask, "Is mom alright?"

"How is his condition?", Agatha asked.

"When can we see her?", Annika asked.

"Him, Annika," Agatha and Sebastian said.

"Calm down, little ones! Your mother is alright. We had to replace his leg and arm with robot parts, but he will live. You can go see him right now. Your father is in there with him," Cat said.

"Will he be joining us for the New Year's party?", Annika asked.

"I'm afraid not, dear sister," Agatha said with a sad look.

"Come on then, sisters of mine! Father must be upset to see mom in such a condition!", Sebastian exclaimed, almost jumping in his feet.

"Yes, go cheer up your father now," Cat said.

The three de Croie siblings thanked Cat for her services and rushed to the master bedroom, otherwise known as father and mom's room. Agatha pushed the door open and let aside for her younger siblings before closing the door. They saw their mother then for the first time in four years, laying sickly on the large canopy bed with a gas mask on his face and a robotic left arm. Annika was intrigued by her mother's appearance. She looked completely like her mother. Agatha and Sebastian were worried more than surprised. Their mother was a sickly pale, skinny with hollow cheeks, dark bags under his eyes, and cracked lips. They've never seen their mother this bad.