Her Last Plea✨

Chapter 41

Around half past five in the afternoon, Delphina sat on a chair in front of the desk in her room as she drank some tea and reread the five letters she had finished writing a few moments ago - three for each of her children, one for Mike and one for Alexis. Letters for them to read after she was gone. Her mind kept replaying the words the doctor had told her this morning, knowing that she probably wouldn't be around for much longer now. Controlling her tears, she took a long sip of her beverage just as she heard the doorbell ring. Confused, she stood up, knowing that Mike and the kids wouldn't be back home so soon. And in any case, Mike wouldn't ring the doorbell, he'd simply use his key.

Stowing away her letters, she made her way towards the front door with her mug in her hand. However, she got quite a surprise when she saw through the peephole that her parents and sister were the ones who were waiting outside. Taking a few deep breaths, she placed a neutral expression on her face as she slowly opened the door.

Her family entered the house without a single word. Her parents sat down together on the sofa, her sister in the chair next to them. Delphina took an armchair facing them, watching as her parents eyed her appearance while her sister opened up a small compact mirror from her purse to touch up her nose with some powder.

"Mike will be home any minute, and I'm sure he will not want to deal with you after a long day at work so please don't have the assumption that you will be here long enough to meet and talk to him......Cordelia."

Cordelia closed her compact and looked at her sister, feigning ignorance. "Delphi, whatever are you talking about?"

"Michael told us this morning about your hospital visit," Esther blurted outright, interrupting whatever spat that could have brewed between her daughters. "Sweetheart, your illness…."

"If you're asking me if it's that serious, Mother, then the answer is yes," Delphina said, her voice quiet but firm. "I'm going to be gone soon..…sooner than expected."

Her father cleared his throat, sitting up straighter as he looked at his youngest daughter. "Michael mentioned that you had a plan, and we should ask you about said plan," Steven said, his voice plain as day. "While we are thrilled that you two did not proceed with that ridiculous divorce -"

"It wasn't ridiculous, Father," Delphina cut him off, scoffing slightly. "We were miserable together. We don't love each other the way we are supposed to love each other. We never have."

Esther laughed at that and said, "That's so silly, Delphina! There's only one way to love your husband."

Delphina shook her head. "No, Mother, there isn't. I love him because he loves my children - the children I should have been grateful for and loved the moment I laid my eyes on them. And I wouldn't even call it love so much as I would call it admiration….and maybe adoration. He loves me because I'm the mother of his children. That's the extent of it."

"Delphi," her mother said with a sigh. "Your father and I -"

"And I," Cordelia interjected.

"And your sister," Esther amended, "We spoke with Charles today and with your blessing, we believe we can arrange it so that our families continue to be….connected."

"We would like to have Michael court your sister after your passing," Steven continued. "And after a respectable amount of time.…eventually marry."

Delphina arched her eyebrow, looking at her parents, then over to her seemingly over-satisfied sister and stifled a laugh. "If you think my husband is going to marry Cordelia, you've seriously - all of you - have gone completely mental. He won't do it. Mike did what was asked of him when he married me. And Charles had been able to arrange this marriage by blackmailing Mike regarding his mother. Mike knew his mother was far too manipulated to ever leave Charles, no matter how much he beat her or did whatever else.....and so, Mike married me without complain. Anyway, that's over and done with. When I'm gone, Mike will be free to pursue whatever makes him happy, whoever makes him happy."

Delphina paused slightly and smirked at her sister, saying, "And I promise you, Cordelia, that you do not make my husband happy. Nor my children, for that matter."

"Well, Charles believes he can convince Michael -"

"Mother," Delphina curtly interjected. "Charles can not make Mike do anything. With Ariana no longer here Charles has lost any and all blackmail material against Mike."

Huffing, clearly exasperated by her daughter's insolence, Esther rose to her feet and stared down at her daughter. "Well tell us then, Delphina. Tell us what your plans are for when the inevitable happens. Who will care for the children? Who will make sure they are brought up correctly? With the proper values and traditions?"

"Well, I'm not sure if we have the same values and traditions in mind, but Alexis Miller has done an alright job with my children this far, so she may as well complete the task," Delphina replied with a stoic expression on her face.

Cordelia exploded out of her chair, standing in line with her mother with her mouth agape. "That's your great grand plan? To let that....that bitch raise your children! You must be ill - no sister of mine would ever come up with such a preposterous idea!"

Delphina took a sip of her tea, holding the mug in her hand as she stared up at her mother and sister. "Do not speak of Alexis in that way in this house ever again. I may not be her biggest fan, but she loves my children like I should have always loved them. She is good for them. None of you were ever overly involved until I had a son, but she has been here since the beginning, much to my dismay at times. She is the reason my daughters are kind and loving, why they don't hate me despite having all the reasons to. She is the reason why my son will grow up with a sense of dignity and compassion. As for my husband….." Delphina trailed off, trying to gain control of her voice as it began to waver ever so slightly. "My husband doesn't understand my choice, but when he does, it will have been worth it."

"What about us?" Steven asked gruffly. "You're willing to cut your family out of their lives once you're gone?"

"You can make the choice to be involved," Delphina said, wiping a stray tear from her eye with the back of her hand. "But Mike is their father and you will have to abide by his wishes. You don't need to get Cordelia married to Mike to keep this absurd connection you desire to have with the Watsons. Mira, Ara and Marv have already done that for you."

"This is preposterous," Steven hissed. "I'll be speaking to my lawyer about filing for custody. We're the grandparents and Michael is a single father.....who's planning to keep his little mistress in the children's lives after our daughter's death. I'm certain we'll get the kids."

Delphina narrowed her eyes and said, "Alexis is not Mike's mistress. This plan wasn't even Mike's. It was mine. And I'm warning you for the last time, do not speak about Alexis like that in front of me. She's, after all, the new mother of your grandchildren."

Delphina watched with a hint of satisfaction and a smirk as her parents' and sister's faces turned different shades of red.

Finally her sister growled, "That woman is not the children's mother. Just because you have lost your mind and asked her to step in, doesn't make her the mother."

"See, that's exactly where you're wrong, Cordelia," Delphina replied, her smirk growing. "I had a feeling that Father would threaten legal action and try to take the kids away using Mike's status as a single father. So, I decided to sign over my legal rights to the children and actually, had Alexis adopt them."

"What?" Her mother and sister screeched at the same time.

"Oh yes," Delphina said, enjoying this far more than she should be. "You can't do anything now. Legally, Alexis is the children's mother now. It's done."

"Enough," Steven snapped. "Esther, Cordelia, let's go. I'll contact our lawyer and see what can be done. I can not believe you'd be this much of a fool Delphina."

With that, her parents and sister strode out of the house, Cordelia glaring at her younger sister. "And I cannot believe you would be so cruel," Cordelia hissed.

"That's rich coming from the girl who has wished to steal my husband away from the moment you found out he was betrothed to me," Delphina replied with a laugh. "He doesn't love you. He never will. Do yourself a favor and find someone else to make you happy."

Cordelia scoffed and stormed out, slamming the front door roughly behind her.