Chapter 466 Her Very Own Promise
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CHAPTER 466
"No... It cannot be. I... I–I did not fall for anyone's scheme, right? There must be a good reason," Zheng Ying muttered to herself. "I haven't lost, right? No!"
Scanning around like a deranged soul in search of something but never truly finding it, Zheng Ying's mind tried to work around the situation when the soft sound of her son's voice reached out to her.
"Mum?"
She gulped.
Her eyes landed on her son, Zheng Ling, with his fragile frame and tired eyes, who was standing in front of the bed in the hospital room with a bewildered expression playing on his face.
The thin, blue hospital gown seemed too big for his frail frame, making him appear even more delicate. The monitor wires trailed behind him, suggesting he'd hastily unplugged himself from the medical apparatus.
Zheng Ying's heart ached at the sight of him. Whatever she had done, however misguided, had always been in what she believed to be his best interests.
"Yes, Ling?" Her voice was soft, filled with pain and regret.
"Why are you here alone, mum? I heard voices... and... shouting," Zheng Ling inquired, his eyes scanning the surroundings as if trying to piece together the situation.
She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Just... just a minor disagreement, Ling. It's nothing for you to worry about."
He looked at her with those innocent eyes, eyes that seemed too mature for his age, reflecting the hardships he had endured. "Is it about dad? Did he come?"
Zheng Ying's heart ached even more. "Yes, he was here," she admitted.
"Did he... did he ask about me?" Zheng Ling's voice was soft and yet hopeful.
She couldn't lie to him but she could not break his heart further. All his life she took his father from him because she could not bear the shame and loathing from Liu Xueyi.
He was true to her in their relationship and she messed up. Thanks to that, she fled the country completely and did not associate with the real father of the child either.
But upon coming here, she gave her son hope for once, bringing him closer to a father figure but even that's he had failed woefully by deceiving both of them.
"He did. He's worried about you. He always has been," she admitted. Another lie told.
Zheng Ling's face brightened slightly, "Then, will he come to see me again? This time, I promise I would be awake."
The joy that danced in his eyes made Zheng Ying's heart clench further. How could she break that joy and take his hope from him? Still, there was no one to blame but herself.
She hesitated for a moment, grappling with the right words, "I... I don't know, Ling. But he has always cared for you, remember that."
Zheng Ling looked down, biting his lip, trying to hold back tears as he hid his true emotions from his mother. "I just... I just wanted to be a family again, mum."
His words had been the straw that broke the camel's back. Immediately she rose to her feet and scurried over to him.
The cold, sterile smell of the hospital lingered in the background as Zheng Ying swiftly cradled her frail son.
His small frame felt delicate and light, like holding onto the most precious of porcelain.
She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, "I know, sweetie, I know. But sometimes things don't go as we want them to. All we can do is to stay strong and keep moving forward."
After a few moments, Zheng Ling looked up at her, "But mum, if dad is not my real dad, then... who is?"
Zheng Ying hesitated, torn between protecting her son from more heartbreak and telling him the truth. She took a deep breath, "Your real father is someone I knew a long time ago. He's a good man, Ling. And he wants to be there for you."
Zheng Ling blinked back tears, "But why wasn't he there before?"
She sighed deeply, "It's complicated, Ling. There were misunderstandings, and I made some mistakes. But he's trying to make things right now."
Zheng Ling hugged her tightly, "It's okay, mum. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine."
Zheng Ying hugged him back with even more fervour, silently promising herself that she would do whatever it took to ensure a better future for her son.
She maneuvered him back into his bed, brushing away the strands of hair that had fallen on his pale face.
"Sleep now, Ling," Zheng Ying whispered, her fingers tracing soft patterns on his forehead, attempting to lull him into a deep slumber.
His eyes, however, remained fixed on hers — deep pools of innocence, searching for an assurance only a mother could give. "I just hope everything will be okay, Mum."
With a quiver in her voice, she responded, "Mum will make it right. I promise." Leaning forward, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, sealing her vow.
Once she had managed to get him to sleep, Zheng Ying did not spare another moment and left the hospital, her resolve as unyielding as tempered steel.
Since it has come to this, she was willing to get things fixed and have Gao Yuemi answer her.
Gao Yuemi's lavish residence was bathed in an opulent aura. The golden ray of the rising sun reflected against the ornate carvings of dragons and phoenixes in the open courtyard, the rays casting dancing shadows across the finely laid bricks.
But Zheng Ying was barely aware of this. Her fury clouded her vision, reduced the world to a mere tunnel with only one focal point: Gao Yuemi.
With every step Zheng Ying took, memories of laughter, shared secrets, and moments of trust between the two women replayed in her mind from six years ago, only to be overshadowed by the recent revelations.
Pushing open the ornate doors without bothering to knock, Zheng Ying's heels clicked sharply against the marble floor, breaking the silence that enveloped the grand living room. Her heart raced, and each step felt heavy, burdened with the weight of betrayal and hurt.
Gao Yuemi lounged on her chaise, bathed in the dim amber glow of a solitary lamp, a glass of red wine in her hand, her demeanour the epitome of ease.
The soft hum of a melancholic tune playing in the background only added to the room's eeriness.
It wasn't dark yet but Zheng Ying wondered the reason for the mood. At a corner in the living room, Gao Yuemi's silhouette, a mix of shadows and light, gave her an ethereal, almost haunting presence.
Her lips curled up in a half-smile as she watched Zheng Ying approach, like a lioness observing its prey.
Disregarding whatever it was she was hoping to achieve, Zheng Ying's voice cut through the tension.
"Is it true, Yuemi? All those words, were they just... just lies?"
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