Chapter 22:
Truth, Lies, and a Mother's Desperation

"Come in!" Olivia called out, her voice crisp and composed as she glanced up from the stack of glossy business files spread across her expansive mahogany desk. She adjusted the sleeve of her tailored blazer, her posture perfect, every inch the poised, powerful woman she had worked so hard to become. "What is it, Daisy?" she asked, her tone calm yet authoritative, though a flicker of impatience crossed her features as she set down her pen.

Her assistant, Daisy, stepped carefully into the office, her expression hesitant and uneasy. She paused near the door, glancing over her shoulder briefly before speaking in a soft, cautious voice. "Mrs. Lorenzo... there is a woman waiting outside hoping to speak with Mr. Lorenzo. We informed her that he is not in the office today, that he is attending a meeting at one of our branch sites out of town..." Daisy hesitated again, wringing her hands slightly. "But she insisted, ma'am. She said she would wait all day if she had to, but she needs to speak to someone in charge. Specifically... she asked to speak to you."

Olivia frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion and mild irritation. This was unusual. If it was a business matter, her staff would have handled it or at least given her a name or a company reference. This felt personal, and that immediately set her nerves on edge. "What is her name?" she asked, leaning back slowly in her chair, her heart beginning to beat just a little faster against her ribs. "And why does she think I can help her if Harry isn't here?"

Daisy took a small breath before answering, her voice clear but careful. "Her name is Kathalina Suarez, ma'am."

The world seemed to stop turning for Olivia. The air left her lungs in a silent rush, and she felt as though ice‑cold water had been poured directly over her head, freezing her blood in her veins. Her hands, resting flat on the desk, curled into tight fists beneath the surface, her nails digging painfully into her palms. Every muscle in her body locked up, rigid with shock and instant, overwhelming panic.

Kathalina Suarez.

That name... the name she had prayed she would never hear again, the name she had spent four years trying to erase from existence, from Harry's memory, from her own life. The ghost she thought she had successfully buried was suddenly standing right at the gates of the life she had stolen, the life she had fought and lied and manipulated so hard to claim.

What does she want? Olivia's mind screamed, chaotic and terrified. We are happy now. Harry is mine. We are married, we have everything we ever wanted. She has no right to be here! Why can't she just stay gone? Why can't she let me be happy? I worked too hard for this!

She forced her face to remain blank, masking the storm of emotions raging inside her with years of practiced control, though her heart hammered violently against her chest, threatening to choke her. She took a slow, steadying breath, straightened her spine, and spoke in a voice that was deceptively calm, though laced with a sharp edge of warning.

"Let her in."

Daisy nodded quickly, turning on her heel and hurrying out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

As soon as they were alone, Olivia could no longer hold back her frustration and fear. Her fingers curled into the documents in her hand, crinkling the expensive paper into sharp, angry folds. She stood up from her chair, pacing behind the desk, her mind racing. She was terrified, yes - but she was also furious. How dare she come here? How dare she show her face after disappearing without a word all those years ago? Olivia told herself she had nothing to worry about. Harry loved her now. He had chosen her. The past was dead.

But deep down, in the darkest, most secret part of her heart, she knew. She knew that if the truth ever came out - everything she had done, every lie she had told, every step of the deceit that had torn them apart - everything would crumble. And Kathalina Suarez was the only person alive who held the power to destroy it all.

The door opened again, and Olivia froze in place, her eyes locking onto the woman stepping across the threshold.

"Olivia... we need to talk."

The voice was familiar, yet changed - deeper, heavier, worn down by time and struggle. Olivia looked up, and her breath caught painfully in her throat.

There she was. Kathalina.

She was wearing a simple, clean nurse's uniform, white and crisp, identifying her profession instantly. And even now - even after years of hardship, even with dark circles of exhaustion under her eyes and lines of worry etched onto her forehead - she was still breathtakingly beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled back neatly, her posture straight despite the obvious weight she was carrying, her figure still soft and curvy in the way that had always drawn attention.

A wave of bitter, ugly insecurity washed over Olivia instantly. No wonder, a cruel voice whispered in her head. No wonder Harry was so obsessed with her. No wonder he couldn't see anyone else. She is still radiant. She looks kind, capable, soft... everything I am not. Everything I pretended to be.

Olivia stood frozen, her mind spiraling. Guilt began to gnaw at her insides, sharp and biting. She knew exactly what she had done. She knew she had lied, schemed, and broken hearts to get exactly where she was standing right now. She knew she had taken something that never belonged to her. And seeing Kathalina here, standing tall despite everything, made Olivia feel small, pathetic, and terribly afraid.

"What is it, Kathalina?" Olivia asked, her voice coming out colder and sharper than she intended. She sat back down slowly, crossing her legs and resting her hands calmly on the desk, doing everything in her power to play it cool, to look unbothered, to look like the wife, the owner, the victor. Inside, however, she felt ready to shatter at any moment. She wanted to scream, to ask why, to demand she leave. She knew what she had done was wrong, yes - but she told herself she regretted nothing, because in the end, she had gotten exactly what she had always wanted. She had him. Harry was hers.

Kathalina stood near the center of the room, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her, her eyes red‑rimmed and swimming with tears she was fighting desperately to hold back. She looked around the lavish office, at the luxury and security surrounding Olivia, before her gaze settled back on the woman who had once been her best friend, and who had become the source of all her pain.

"I just want you to know this, Olivia," Kathalina said, her voice stern, trembling slightly with emotion but firm and clear. "You don't have to worry. Not for a single second. I am not here to steal your husband away from you. I am not here to ruin your marriage or take anything you have. Because honestly? He is nothing to me now. Whatever we had... whatever I felt for him... it died a long time ago. I moved on. I built a life. I love someone else. Harry Lorenzo means absolutely nothing to me anymore."

Olivia blinked, taken aback by the directness and the cold certainty in Kathalina's tone. It should have been a relief, but somehow, it only made her feel smaller, more insecure.

"Straight to the point, Kathalina," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes, leaning forward slightly. She refused to let her guard down. "If you aren't here for him... then what do you want? Why are you here? What could you possibly need from Harry?"

Kathalina's face crumbled. The stern expression melted away, replaced instantly by raw, naked desperation and heartbreak. Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, tracking paths through the worry on her face. She took a step closer, her voice breaking, cracking under the weight of her agony.

"First of all... I don't need anything from him for myself," she choked out, her hands pressing against her chest as if trying to hold herself together. "I am not here for me. I am here for my son. I am here because my son needs his father - in every way that matters."

The words hit Olivia like a physical blow. She felt all the blood drain from her face, leaving her pale and cold, as if someone had just pulled the ground out from under her feet. My son.

It was her worst nightmare spoken aloud. The fear that had haunted her dreams for years, the secret she prayed would never surface. His child. Harry's child.

A crushing wave of realization and guilt crashed over her. Who am I to keep a father from his child? she thought, her mind reeling in panic. I am his wife, yes... but what is a marriage compared to blood? Compared to a child? Once Harry knows... once he finds out I knew... that I lied... that I hid his own flesh and blood from him... he will never forgive me. He will leave me instantly. Of course he will. Who would choose someone like me? A pathetic, desperate woman who stole her best friend's place, who lied and manipulated just to be near the man she loves, even though he never loved her back.

It was all so complicated, tangled up in lies and betrayal and years of deception. She felt trapped, cornered, stuck in a dead‑end street with nowhere left to run and no way to escape the consequences of her actions.

"You... you had a son with him?" Olivia asked, her voice sounding stupid and hollow even to her own ears. She felt tears prick her own eyes, hot and stinging. Why is this happening? Why now? I finally have everything... She felt sick. I deserve happiness too... don't I? Or is this just the universe slapping me in the face for everything I did?

But deep down, she knew. She knew this was worse than a slap. This was her worst reality. The man she loved, the man she had fought wars for, the man she had convinced herself was hers... was already a father. He had a child with the woman he had always loved. Nothing could ever hurt more than that. It felt like she was drowning in the web of her own lies, sinking deeper and deeper with no one to reach out and save her.

"Yes, Olivia," Kathalina whispered, her voice cracking, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. She wiped her tears roughly with the back of her hand, her eyes pleading now, begging for understanding, for help. "I didn't plan for this. I never wanted to come here, to step foot in this world again. I wanted to protect my son from everything related to his father. But I have no choice now... I am desperate... I have nowhere else to turn."

She took a ragged breath, her professional knowledge mixing with her mother's fear as she tried to explain, her voice trembling with every word.

"My son... Ethan... he is three years old. He was admitted to the hospital today with a severe aplastic anemia crisis. His hemoglobin levels dropped dangerously low - way below the safe threshold. His red blood cell count is critically depleted, and his bone marrow function is currently suppressed. The doctors explained it to me in detail... his body simply cannot produce enough oxygen‑carrying blood cells on its own right now. He is suffering from severe hypoxia; his organs are at risk because his blood volume is too low to circulate properly. He is pale, weak, barely conscious... and he needs an urgent blood transfusion or he might not survive the next few hours."

Kathalina looked Olivia straight in the eye, her gaze heavy with the gravity of the situation.

"And here is the thing, Olivia... medically speaking, when a patient - especially a young child - is in critical condition and requires massive or urgent transfusion, the best possible, most compatible source of blood is always immediate biological family members. Specifically, parents. Genetically, parents share the closest possible tissue and antigen match to their children. This drastically reduces the risk of transfusion reactions, complications, incompatibilities... it is the safest, most effective way to save them. It is standard medical protocol because it gives the patient the highest chance of survival and recovery."

She paused, swallowing hard, her voice breaking again.

"I am O Positive. I donated immediately... but it didn't work. It wasn't compatible. Ethan... Ethan has AB Positive blood type. It is the rarest blood group there is - less than three percent of the population has it. The blood banks are empty. We cannot find a donor anywhere in the city. But... I know where it came from. I know exactly who gave it to him. It is his father's blood type. It is Harry's blood type."

Kathalina sank slightly, leaning against the edge of the desk, looking utterly defeated, hopeless, and exhausted - a mother pushed to the absolute limit of her endurance.

"And it's not just the blood, Olivia. I wish it were that simple. The treatment... the hospital stays, the specialized medication, the ongoing care he will need for months, maybe years... the costs are staggering. Luke and I work hard, but we earn modest wages. We live paycheck to paycheck. We have no savings for a crisis this big. No wealthy family to fall back on. I've tried everywhere - payment plans, charities, government assistance - but the waiting lists are long and the coverage is limited. They will not release the medication or schedule the procedures without deposit or proof of funds. My son's life shouldn't depend on how much money I have in the bank... but right now, it does."

She looked up, her eyes red and swollen, stripped of every last shred of pride.

"I don't want your life, Olivia. I don't want your husband. I don't want your money for myself. But Ethan needs his father's blood to survive... and he needs the medical care that only his father can afford to provide. That is all I am asking for. Just the blood that runs through his veins to save the child he helped create... and the means to keep him alive and cared for. Once Ethan is stable, once he is safe and recovering and his treatment is secured... I swear to you... I will disappear again. I will never bother you or your perfect life ever again. You won't have to worry about me ruining your marriage. I am done with all of this. I have suffered enough pain. I am happy with Luke... I am contented... I just need to save my baby."

She took a step forward, tears streaming freely down her face, raw and honest.

"I am a mother now, Olivia. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I spent four years protecting Ethan from the truth, from this man... but I can't protect him from death. Maybe... maybe you aren't a mother yet. Maybe you don't understand what it means. But one day... when you carry a life inside you, when you hold your child for the first time... you will realize exactly how painful this is. You will realize that there is nothing, nothing you wouldn't do for them. And you will know the agony of standing there... helpless... knowing that the only person who can save your child is the same person who doesn't even know he exists... the person you swore you would never ask anything from."

Olivia sat there, frozen, stunned into silence. She listened to every word - the medical facts, the biological reality, the desperate reality of their financial struggle, the sheer desperation in Kathalina's voice. She knew pain too. She knew what it felt like to be hopeless, to want something so bad it hurt. She wasn't entirely heartless. She understood the fear.

But beneath that understanding, another thought echoed loudly, one that broke her heart all over again.

No, Kathalina... Olivia thought silently, tears spilling over her own lashes now, If things hadn't gone the way I made them go... if I hadn't lied... if I hadn't kept you apart... Harry would never have abandoned you. He never would have let you leave. He wouldn't have given me a single chance to be near him, to love him, or to be his wife... because he was so deeply, so hopelessly, so fiercely in love with you. He loved you so much he didn't even notice I existed. He only ever saw you. He only ever wanted you.

It was the hardest, most painful truth she had to admit.

It was only ever you, Kathalina. You are the only woman he has ever loved. Not me... never me...