Lifeline

Chapter 43; Los Angeles.

"Nothing beats a mother's love." I love you, mom.

KENDRA'S POV.

I got myself comfortably seated on the couch beside Kenna seeing as I had been on my feet for more than thirty minutes now.

"So, Kendra, I am terribly sorry I've missed out on so much in your life already, but I promise to try to be there for the rest of the days I have left." My dad spoke before turning to Kenna.

"And Kenna, I am so sorry again, for everything I did to you in the past. I just- I couldn't stand the pain nor the loss I felt each time I looked at you. I am so sorry, can you ever forgive me?" he wheezed.

"Dad, it's okay. A wise young woman once indirectly told me to cherish and make the most of every little moment I get to spend with loved ones. I plan on actually listening to her." She smiled.

My father's wife had left us to have a moment with him, of course after she continuously apologized.

That made me realize something, she wasn't a terrible woman. No, she was a hurt woman.

A woman whom her husband cheated on, though that doesn't excuse her actions, it does give her a little justification.

My father and his wife had an arranged marriage. And a few months after, they found out she couldn't bear children.

She felt empty. Worthy to be called a woman, just not woman enough to be called mother. She was already broken, and to add salt to injury, she finds out about her husband's affair and his illegitimate child.

She needed some sort of redemption, and taking that child alongside her husband from that woman, gave her a little bit of that sense.

Nineteen years ago, she finally got pregnant, but she was just too deep into maltreating Kenna, she didn't know how to stop.

I could totally relate to her. In her hurt, she used Kenna as an outlet for her pain, whereas I used Ethan to conceal what I really felt.

And unlike her, my errors aren't that easy to forgive, neither is Ethan willing to offer me such luxury and besides, he already moved on with his life.

"Tell me about your baby dear." My father told me.

"That's not a good idea da- "

"Kenna," I stopped her. "It's okay." I turned to my dad.

"I won't only tell you about my daughter but also everything you've missed out on."

And that was how my father, my sister, and myself spent the entire night listening to stories.

My dad told us about how he fell in love with my mom, yet the circumstances of life just weren't in their favor.

Surprisingly, Kenna also had a lot to share. I guess my father had missed his fair share of his time in both our lives.

I also went through a major recovery that night. I opened up about how I began to feel after finding out I had been adopted, which was in high school, opened up about college, Luke, Belinda, Emily, Olivia, and the hardest of all Ethan.

Especially, coming to terms with his new fiancée.

"He doesn't know what he's missing." My dad spoke, placing a kiss on my forehead and going to bed, again, assisted by his wife.

"What is his prognosis?" I turned to Kenna who sighed.

"Kidney failure. That's the most I summed up from the little time I had to read the reports." I gasped as she continued. "I've been thinking Ken, I'm going to take a leave from work, spend some time with dad and Carly before she goes off to college." She told me.