Chapter 4 - Evie’s Innocent Question Shatters Ethan’s Illusion Of Perfection
Back at the hospital room, the sterile white walls seemed to close in around Ethan as he replayed Evie’s quiet words.
“Mommy… did you sleep because I was bad?” the little girl had whispered while stroking Mara’s limp hand.
The question echoed relentlessly in Ethan’s mind, cutting deeper than any physical blow ever could.
Evie believed her own normal childhood behavior had somehow caused her mother to collapse into a deep, unresponsive sleep.
Ethan looked over at his daughter, who was sitting quietly in the vinyl armchair, coloring in a small notepad.
He walked over, kneeling beside her chair and gently taking her small, warm hands into his own.
“Evie, look at me, sweetheart,” Ethan said softly, forcing a reassuring smile across his trembling lips.
“Mommy didn't fall asleep because of anything you did or said.”
Evie looked up with big, watery hazel eyes that mirrored Mara’s exhausted expression from the night before.
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“Then why won’t she wake up and talk to me?” the little girl asked, her voice cracking with heartbreaking innocence.
Ethan swallowed hard, unable to find an answer that wouldn't terrify his daughter even more.
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