Chapter Text
"It's morning!"
Bright green eyes flew open at the sudden flood of sunlight pouring through the room.
"Close them!!!"
"Good mooorning!"
Standing beside the bed was a brown-haired girl with her hair tied in a ponytail and the sort of smile only a morning person could wear.
"Maaay!!"
May laughed and threw herself onto the bed, yanking away the blanket.
"Oh, I love these pajamas. Look at all these bunnies!"
A groan escaped from beneath a pillow.
"Hey, it's breakfast time. Get up."
Reluctantly, the girl dragged herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Meanwhile, May gathered the empty coffee cups scattered around the room, complaining the entire time about how lazy she was.
While washing her face, the girl opened a cabinet and stared anxiously at something hidden inside.
.
.
.
.
"When are you going to start waking up at a normal hour like everyone else?"
A man folded his newspaper and looked toward the girl descending the stairs.
His expression appeared annoyed, though she knew it was mostly an act meant to give his words some authority.
"Well, considering most teenagers and young adults sleep during the day and stay awake all night these days, ten in the morning sounds pretty early to me."
She dropped into her chair with a sarcastic shrug.
"Mary, just because plenty of idiots are busy working their way toward heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and a dozen other health problems doesn't mean we should join them."her father said.
A woman in a simple maid's uniform smiled as she set the last dish on the table before taking a seat beside May.
"Thanks for breakfast, Aunt Cass."
Mary reached for the orange juice and took a slow sip.
"It looks wonderful. Thank you, Miss Riley."
William neatly cut into his bacon and inclined his head politely.
"I'm Just doing my job."
"Thanks, Mom" May grinned.
Cass smiled warmly and patted her daughter's head before the two began eating.
Mary's gaze drifted toward them for a brief
Finally, She looked away and lowered her eyes to her plate, she simply stared at it for several seconds before finally taking a small bite.
.
.
.
.
.
"What's wrong?"
"What?"
"Don't sat what, I know you. There's no way we spend an entire day shopping and you come home with only two bags. So what's going on?" May shot mary a worried look.
The two of them were seated on the restaurant's balcony, and for the past several minutes mary didn't do anything nether staring up at the sky.
Finally, she spoke. "How are things with that Jeremy guy... Jerome? Whatever his name was."
May immediately narrowed her eyes.
"His name is Johnny, not Jerome. And no, we're not together anymore."
"Why? Did he do something?" Mary's expression suddenly turned serious.
May sighed. "No... It's just that he proposed, and..."
"What?! When?"
Several heads turned in their direction.
"Just listen first." May rubbed her forehead.
"you remember when you and your dad went to the capital for work two weeks ago?"
Mary nodded.
"Well, while you were gone, he called and asked me to meet him downtown. When I got there, he looked terrified. Sweating, shaking, barely able to speak." She paused.
"Then he proposed."
Mary blinked
"And?"
"And before I could answer, police sirens started going off everywhere."
"Ha?"
"There were red and blue lights all over the street. Officers surrounded us,Even Ben was there, god ,and it turned out Jeremy had just robbed a jewelry store with some friends." May closed her eyes.
"No way .... "
"They arrested him on the spot."
"Ouch." Mary's face did not appear Any sadness at all.
May pointed at her. "Stop enjoying this."
"I'm not enjoying anything." Mary said, trying to make a serious face.
"You are."
"I'm really not."
May stared at her before she finally give up.
"But Ben asked me out afterward."
"What?"
"To the movies. Saturday."
A faint blush appeared on May's cheeks. Mary stared at her for several seconds before nodding.
" Just be careful."
"I will."
"And call me immediately if anything weird happens."
May nodded before her expression turned serious again.
"Now, stop dodging the question."
Mary sighed.
"So... do you remember when Dad and I went to the capital two weeks ago?"
May crossed her arms and nodded to Mary to continue.
"We attended one of those ridiculous rich-people parties."
"And?"
"And I met a that handsome guy how named Richie." Mary said, staring at a pot of roses on the balcony railing.
"Hmm."
"And Some things happened... "
"I'm afraid to ask"
"May."
"What?"
"You're not a child, you know what I mean," Mary said wearily.
"Yes, I know, but I know you're the type of person who, when you act rashly and then regret it, it doesn't take more than a day for the regret to subside and for you to get over it... and it's been two weeks, so either you've fallen in love with that guy or there are certain consequences..." May looked at Mary suspiciously.
"Maybe you're right," Mary scoffed.
"Mary," May said, her voice filled with concern.
"May," Mary gasped and looked May in the eyes, serious.
"I'm pregnant."
May closed her eyes.
Then she opened them and spoke with complete seriousness.
"Your dad is going to kill you."
"I know."
"Damn."
"I know."
"......"
"......"
.
.
.
After a week of arguments with May, Mary finally told her father everything before May do it for her.
And yes, it was a complete disaster. William had lost his temper the moment he realized that his daughter who was only a year away from starting college had gotten herself into this mess.
After that, he simply stopped talking to her.
Completely.
"Look on the bright side," May said, trying her best to sound optimistic. "At least you're not grounded."
Mary tapped her pen against the table.
"Should I... get an abortion?" she whispered.
"Mary..."
The door opened.
Mrs. Cass entered carrying two steaming mugs. She set them down on the table and looked at Mary with obvious sadness.
"Mabel, I'd like to speak with Mary alone for a moment."
May glanced between them before nodding.
"Sure."
She quietly left the room and closed the door behind her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Cass took a seat.
"Mary, you know how your father has been ever since your mother passed away. He's worried about you."
"I know."
Mary stared down at the table.
"But why won't he punish me? He could take away my credit card. He could stop me from going out. He could even throw me out of the house if he wanted."
Her fingers tightened around the pen.
"But this... refusing to speak to me? Pretending I'm not even here..."
Cass sighed.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Her expression softened.
"Your father is scared."
The older woman was quiet for a moment.
"Do you know how I met your mother?"
Mary shook her head.
"It was raining that day. The weather was awful."
A bitter smile crossed Cass's face.
"My worthless husband had abandoned me and one-month-old Mabel. As if that wasn't enough, he canceled the lease on our apartment before disappearing."
She laughed humorlessly.
"We ended up sleeping in a public park."
Mary looked up.
Cass rarely talked about her past.
"Then she appeared."
A genuine smile finally reached her face.
"She was wearing the strangest little tiara across her forehead. Honestly, she looked like she'd stepped straight out of a fairy tale."
Cass chuckled.
"She loved wearing that thing everywhere."
"She visited the park regularly, I think. Most of the homeless people seemed to know her. She brought food, blankets, clothes—anything people needed."
Her eyes grew distant.
"Then she asked if anyone needed anything else."
"I don't know where the courage came from."
Cass laughed softly.
"But I stood up and told her I wanted a job."
"What did she say?" Mary asked quietly.
"She walked over and asked if I could cook."
Cass smiled.
"I told her I'd worked in a small restaurant before."
"And?"
"And she smiled and said I was hired."
"She brought me here. Gave me a room better than the apartment I'd lost. Paid me twice what most housekeepers earned."
A warm look entered her eyes.
"Sometimes she even helped me look after May."
Silence settled between them.
"She was a wonderful woman, Mary."
Cass's voice softened.
"Everyone loved her."
She paused.
"Especially your father."
The smile faded.
"Losing her broke him."
Mary lowered her eyes.
"And now he's afraid."
Cass leaned forward slightly.
"He's afraid something will happen to you."
The last words were almost a whisper.
"But I'm not sick."
"No."
Cass nodded.
"But fear comes in many forms."
She wrapped both hands around her mug.
"Even if he's not afraid of losing you the way he lost your mother, he may be terrified of what this could do to your future."
Mary stared into her cup.
The steam curled upward between them.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
"Did she know?"
Cass frowned.
"Know what?"
"Did my mother know she might die if she had me?"
The question hung heavily in the room.
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
"She knew."
Mary swallowed.
"Then why didn't she give me up?"
She stared down at the fabric of her shirt as she spoke.
Cass looked at her for a long moment.
Then she answered.
"Because she said she wouldn't."
Mary blinked.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Just that ... no explanation?"
Cass smiled.
"None that she ever gave me."
The room fell silent once more.
Finally, Mary tightened her grip around the warm mug.
"Thank you, Aunt Cass."
Cass smiled.
And as Mary stared into the swirling steam, a quiet certainty settled inside her.
'I won't do it either.'
.
.
.
.
Her father still hasn't spoken to her yet, even though he's wearing the tie she brought him as a gift tonight, but he continues to remain silent towards her.
She had wanted to talk to him today, but the men who had been constantly coming and going from his office over the past few weeks had all been thrown out by an increasingly irritable William. Approaching him afterward had seemed like a terrible idea.
Before long, everyone was seated inside the family's luxury sedan. Even Cass had dressed for the occasion, wearing the expensive gown Mary had given her as a gift.
They had two events to attend. The first was an unveiling at STAR Laboratories a particle reactor, or something equally uninteresting as far as Mary was concerned. After that, they would be attending a private event hosted by the university May would soon be joining on a scholarship.For an institution known for producing some of the country's finest graduates, having William Fitzpatrick attend at all was considered an honor.
Universities regularly begged him to give lectures He rarely accepted. Research interested him but teaching freshmen did not.
Mary understood why people admired him. She admired him too. He was her father at the end although That didn't mean she shared his passion.
Science had never been her world. Its true, she had graduated near the top of her class and ranked among the highest-performing students in the city, but success and interest were not the same thing, She earned good grades because she could not because she cared.
In truth, very little interested her and according to her father, she would probably never find something that did as long as she remained as lazy as she was now As a result, her life often felt strangely empty.
The driver's-side door opened.
Mary blinked.
William was getting behind the wheel himself, that was unusual, Apparently Cass thought so too.
"You're driving today, Mr. Fitzpatrick?"
"Yes." William fastened his seatbelt.
"The driver called this morning. His wife is sick, and he couldn't make the trip."
No one questioned it further.
Several minutes later, they merged onto the highway.
Mary was absentmindedly spinning a bracelet around her wrist when May suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Am I imagining things..."
May pointed toward the rearview mirror.
"...or is that truck following us?"
Mary looked up.
A large truck sat several car lengths behind them.
She frowned.
"Dad."
He didn’t answer.
"Dad, I think someone's following us."
This time William glanced toward the mirror, His expression tightened slightly.
"Maybe it's a coincidence," Cass said, though her voice lacked conviction.
"It doesn't look like that."
William's eyes remained on the road.
At the next intersection, he changed lanes, The truck followed.
Silence filled the car.
"Dad..." Mary whispered.
The tension inside the vehicle became almost unbearable.
A moment later, the truck accelerated, everything happened at once.
The deafening scream of an engine followed by a violent impact.
There was metal bending and glass flying and Someone screaming.
The car kept flipping then finally slammed into a streetlight with enough force to leave the world spinning.
Mary opened her eyes.
For a second she couldn't understand what has happened
Cass was lying on top of her.
"Aunt Cass?"
She gently shook her shoulder.
The was no response.
"Aunt Cass...?"
Her trembling fingers found the woman's neck.
Nothing.
No pulse.
Panic surged through her.
Mary pushed herself upward for a better look .. And froze.
Cass's neck bent at an impossible angle, the kind no one survived.
A strangled gasp escaped her throat.
"N-no..."
A weak sound came from nearby.
"Mmm..."
Mary's head snapped toward it.
"May?"
"Ma...ry..."
Blood covered May's face.
"May!"
Mary tried to move closer.
"Don't move. Don't move, okay?"
Then she saw it.
A jagged piece of metal protruding from May's abdomen.
Mary felt the blood drain from her face.
"It's okay." Her voice shook.
"It's okay, May...... You're going to be fine."
"Mom..."
May's eyes drifted toward Cass.
"She's sleeping." Mary swallowed hard.
"She's just sleeping. Don't worry."
"Good."
May relaxed slightly, then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
"You know..."
Her voice was growing weaker.
"I think Peter is a nice name." A sob caught in Mary's throat.
"Yeah."
She nodded desperately.
"It is."
May smiled again.
"Take care of little Peter for me, then..."
A faint laugh escaped her lips.
"And yourself too of course."
Slowly, May's smile began to fade, and then Her head slumped forward.
"May?"
"May?!""
"May?! May wake up!..." Mary's voice cracked.
"Mabel Riley, wake up now!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"Please..."
"Mary..."
Mary gasped and turned towards the sound.
"Dad!"
"Mary..."
William's voice sounded wet.
As if every word hurt.
"You need... to get out of the car."
"Dad..."
"Now."
"Dad, May and Aunt Cass ...."
"Mary."
His tone became sharper despite the pain.
"You need to leave before the truck driver gets here."
She froze.
The truck, This hadn't been an accident.
"You need to go."
His breathing hitched.
"Leave the city."
A blood-covered hand reached backward.
Holding a wallet.
"Take this."
Mary couldn't even see his face from where she was trapped.
She had no idea how badly he was hurt.
"I can't go and leave you here.....I can't.”
Tears blurred her vision.
"Listen to me."
"I can't live without you!"
The words tore themselves from her throat.
For a moment, William was silent, Then he spoke calm and gentl.
"I'll always be with you, Mary."
That only made her cry harder.
"Take the wallet......"
His voice grew weaker.
"Withdraw everything you can. You already know the password ."
His breathing faltered.
Then continued.
"Go to safes one-ten and eighty-one. Take everything inside. The keys are here."
Blood dripped onto the floor.
"Withdraw all the money from your account, and never ...... never use it again."
Another breath.
"Dad..."
"Leave the city before they come."
Mary stared at him.
"Who are they ?"
He didn’t answer jast said one final word.
"Go."
The wallet slipped from his hand.
"Dad?"
"Dad?"
Nothing.
Mary lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
The words barely escaped her lips.
After several shaking breaths, she stuffed the wallet into her handbag. she climbed through the shattered opening in the roof and pulled herself free.
People were already gathering around the wreck.some shouted for help and others tried approaching her, she barely noticed any of them.
Then she looked up, And saw him walking toward her.