His Other Half

Sixty-nine

Omniscient

"What happened with your first husband?" Taj asked Mia. "He was in a car accident," Mia said wiping her face. "Oh, wow I'm sorry to hear that," Adrian said. Mia nodded her head.

"The whole thing was just bizarre." She said. "How so?" Adrian asked her. "Isaac was sick." She said. "Why was that weird?" Dalia asked.

"Because Isaac was never sick. None of my kids ever really get sick, but Isaac was throwing up and running a fever." She explained shaking her head.

Ahsha and Isaac glanced at each other. "I couldn't leave work early, so his dad had to pick him up. I had just gotten off the phone with my husband as they were heading to the doctor. It was all of maybe 10 minutes—maybe a little less." She said mumbling towards the end.

"I got another call from my husband, and I thought maybe he was calling to update me, but it wasn't him. It was some man calling to tell me that my husband and child were in an accident." She let out the most painful laugh as she shook her head.

Malik listened to Mia speak and for the first time in a while, he started to see her differently. He always saw her as an awful person, but he never imagined what she would've been like before she lost the love of her life.

He looked at Ahsha and thought back to how he felt when he lost her. He shook his head blinking back tears. He couldn't imagine losing her permanently.

"My entire world stopped." She said as a tear rushed down her cheek. Isaac motioned for one of the guards to give her a tissue.

"I got to the hospital, and I was told that both my son and husband were in surgery. All I could do was wait. By some miracle Isaac only had a broken leg with a couple of cuts and scratches, so he was out first. Bastien's side of the car took more of the impact, so his injuries were so much worse. It got to the point that the doctors had to stop and let him rest before continuing." Mia said.

"I had called my mother-in-law to pick up Ahsha and bring her to the hospital. If the worst happened, I wanted them to be able to say their goodbyes. Sadly, before either of them made it to the hospital he seized and was rushed back into surgery. He didn't make it out." She said.

Ares looked at Ahsha and Isaac seeing them both look at their mother with zero emotion. Although Ahsha's face looked stone cold, he could feel every emotion and it hurt.

"I am very sorry for your loss," Andy said looking from Mia to Ahsha and Isaac.

"So, your husband is dead, and your son is injured—please tell us what do you do next? How does a mother and wife proceed after something like that?" Ahsha asked.

The mother and daughter stared at each other before Mia had to look away. "Ahsha I'm sorry." She said.

"What did you do next?" Ahsha repeated her question. "I'm not proud of it but I prioritized Isaac over my daughter." She said.

"Please elaborate, mom," Ahsha said. Mia looked away from Ahsha unable to handle her stare. "I—" She paused.

"I wasn't the best mom at the time. Isaac needed more help considering his injuries and I didn't have enough mental energy to handle two children on top of losing my husband. Ahsha I am so sorry." She said.

The room all looked toward Ahsha whose face gave nothing away Adrian cleared his throat before speaking.

"So, you abandoned your daughter," Adrian said. "I didn't abandon her," Mia said.

"Abandonment would've been better. At least if you had abandoned me, I could've gone to stay with nana." Ahsha said. Resentment filled the air at her words.