PART 3: THE SON WHO STOPPED OBEYING
“Daniel.”
My mother said my name softly.
Almost like nothing had happened.
Almost like she was still in control.
“You’re awake.”
I looked at Anna.
Her hands were trembling.
Her body was exhausted.
She was carrying our child and had been treated like a servant in her own home.
Then I looked back at my mother.
“How long?”
She frowned.
“What?”
“How long has this been happening?”
Silence.
My mother released Anna’s hair.
Then she fixed her robe and tried to regain her dignity.
“You don’t understand.”
“No.”
My voice was quiet.
“You’re right.”
“I don’t understand how you could do this.”
Her face changed.
“You’re choosing her?”
I looked at Anna.
The woman who had never asked for anything.
The woman who defended my mother even when she was hurt.
“Yes.”
My mother laughed bitterly.
“After everything I did for you?”
I stepped forward.
“Love is not control.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“She came between us.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You pushed yourself between us.”
For years, my mother had convinced me she was protecting me.
But now I saw the truth.
She wasn’t afraid of losing her son.
She was angry she couldn’t own him.
Anna slowly stepped away from the sink.
I moved immediately to her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
But she was crying.
Not because of pain.
Because someone finally believed her.
I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Then I looked at my mother.
“You’re leaving this house tonight.”
Her mouth opened.
“You can’t do that.”
“I can.”
The confidence in her face disappeared.
May you like
Because she realized something.
Her son was no longer the boy who always obeyed.
