Linda's search led her through the hospital's quiet corridors, her footsteps echoing against polished floors as she checked the cafeteria, the family waiting areas, even the small chapel.

Nothing. No sign of him.

Her anxiety grew with each empty space, each unanswered call of his name.

Then a thought struck her: maybe he went back to their room. Maybe he needed a moment to rest, to process everything.

Determined, she retraced her steps to the family rooms.

Her hands trembled slightly as she slid the card and pushed open the door to their assigned space.

The small room was dim, lit only by the filtered afternoon light coming through a single window. And there, sitting on the edge of one of the narrow beds, was Alex.

He sat perfectly still, his shoulders curved inward, staring at something only he could see.

His hands hung loosely between his knees, and Linda's heart clenched when she noticed the telltale tracks on his cheeks... evidence of tears he'd shed in private.

He didn't even notice her enter.

Linda closed the door softly behind her, her earlier panic transforming into something deeper... concern mixed with a fierce protective instinct she'd never felt quite this way before.

He's been crying, she realized, her chest tightening with guilt and tenderness. Because of me. Because of what I did.

She moved closer, her footsteps quiet on the institutional carpet. Alex remained motionless, lost in whatever internal storm was consuming him.

The sight of him like this... strong, capable Alex reduced to silent suffering... broke something inside her.

Carefully, gently, Linda sat beside him on the narrow bed. The mattress dipped slightly under her weight, but still Alex didn't react.

"Alex?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Her hand came up slowly, tentatively, until her fingers touched his cheek. The skin was warm and slightly damp, and she brushed away the moisture there with infinite care.

At her touch, Alex's eyes snapped open, focus returning to them like someone waking from a dream. For a moment, he looked disoriented, surprised to find her there.

Then awareness crashed over him—the tears, his vulnerability, the fact that she'd found him like this. He quickly blinked them away, straightening his posture as best he could, forcing his expression into something neutral.

She'll think it's because of her, panic shot through him. She'll blame herself for this.

"Mom...," he started, but the words died in his throat when he saw her expression.

"Alex?" Linda's voice was soft, vulnerable, carrying all the fear she'd been suppressing. "What happened to you?"

"It's nothing," Alex said quickly, the automatic response of someone accustomed to shouldering burdens alone. "Just... processing everything. The stress with Nina, the situation at college..."

"Don't." Linda's voice carried quiet authority. "Don't lie to me. Not now. Not after what happened between us."

He opened his mouth, swallowed hard, but no words came... only ragged, uneven breaths betraying everything he couldn't say.

"Is it because of the kiss?" she asked directly, her heart hammering but her voice steady. "Are you disgusted with me? Angry?"

"No," Alex said immediately, the word torn from him with desperate sincerity. "No, I'm not angry. I could never be angry with you."

Relief flickered across Linda's face, but it was quickly replaced by something more complex.

She studied his features... the redness around his eyes, the tension in his jaw, the way he seemed to be holding himself together by sheer force of will.

"Then what?" Linda pressed gently. "Talk to me, Alex. Whatever it is, we can face it together."

The question hit him like a physical blow. After everything... after the system's impossible demands, after Lilith's manipulations, after his own moral crisis... she was worried about his anger?

"But something's wrong," she observed quietly. "Something's hurting you."

"It's complicated," Alex said, looking away from her searching gaze. "There are things you don't understand. Things I can't..."

He trailed off, unable to explain supernatural systems and impossible choices without sounding insane.

How could he tell her that her kiss had triggered a countdown to his destruction? That powerful entities were using her feelings as a weapon against his conscience?

"You're right," Linda said softly. "I don't understand. But Alex..." She shifted closer, her knee brushing against his. "I want to. I want to understand what's happening between us."

Her proximity made his pulse quicken despite everything. Even now, even with his world falling apart, his body responded to her presence with traitorous warmth.

"I need to tell you something," Linda said, her voice gaining strength. "Something I should have said already, instead of letting it build up until I... until I kissed you like that."

Alex looked at her then, seeing the determination in her eyes, the way she was gathering courage for something difficult.

"You want to know why I've been different lately?" she continued. "Why I've been looking at you differently? It started when Nina got sick."

Her hand found his, fingers intertwining with startling naturalness.

"When you saved her, Alex. When you moved heaven and earth to get her the treatment she needed, when you became our hero... something changed in me."

Linda's thumb traced across his knuckles as she spoke, the simple touch sending electricity up his arm.

"At first, I thought it was just gratitude," she admitted. "Overwhelming, desperate gratitude to the man who'd saved my daughter's life. But then I started noticing other things."

Her free hand came up to rest against his chest, over his heart, and Alex's breathing grew shallow.

"The way you carry yourself. The confidence you've gained. The way you handle problems that would break other people. You're not the uncertain boy I used to know, Alex. You've become something... magnificent."

The word hit him with unexpected force. Magnificent. The same word Lilith used to describe what he'd become with her enhancements.

"And I started having thoughts," Linda continued, her voice dropping to an intimate whisper. "Thoughts I told myself were wrong, were inappropriate, were impossible."

"Do you know how many sleepless nights I've had?" Linda's voice trembled with remembered pain. "How I blamed myself for everything I was feeling? The guilt was eating me alive, Alex. I thought there was something fundamentally broken in me."

Her eyes met his, raw honesty blazing in them.

"I researched it, you know. Late at night when everyone was sleeping. I found stories... women my age attracted to younger men, especially those who'd become important to their families. It's not as rare as I thought."

Alex's enhanced hearing picked up the acceleration of her heartbeat, the slight breathlessness that meant she was approaching something crucial.

"And slowly," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "I started to realize something… something I can't ignore anymore."

She met his eyes, steadying herself. "Alex… I like you. Not just as someone important to my family, but as a man."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.