The Flower Bloomed Sixty Times

Xena’s eyes were bloodshot. Her hand braced against the doorframe. Her knuckles turned white, and her nails dug into the wood.

Her throat was dry from thirst, and her voice sounded frighteningly hoarse. Even so, it was sharp and firm. “Do you know what you’re saying? You’d better tell the truth!”

Zayden and Yannick were frightened by the look on her face. They quickly hid behind Moon.

“Enough!” Julian stood up abruptly. He seized Xena’s wrist and dragged her inside. His grip was so strong that it felt as if her bones might break.

His gaze was sharp and full of disgust. “Xena, is this how you act as a mother? You hurt your own children out of jealousy, and now, you want to threaten them into lying for you?”

“I didn’t!” Xena shouted. Her body shook violently. Her eyes burned red, and tears slipped from the corners.

Julian froze. It was as if he had touched something hot, and his grip suddenly loosened.

Moon suddenly said, “Julian, you’re scaring Ms. Xander.”

Julian snapped out of it and looked at Xena. His voice was cold and sharp. “You’re still denying it! Xena, they’re only ten years old. Do you really think they’d lie on purpose to frame you?

“Xena, you’re not fit to be a mother.”

‘Not fit to be a mother…’ she thought.

Xena staggered. A bitter smile tugged at her lips, and she slowly closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her face.

“Dad…” Zayden and Yannick suddenly began to cry. “That warehouse was so dark. We were so scared…”

Julian quickly turned to them. His face softened with concern. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

“Dad, we don’t want to live with Mom anymore. I don’t want to see her. I’m scared!”

“Dad, Mom did something wrong. She should be punished. We should lock her in the warehouse, too!”

Xena looked at the two faces in front of her, and a chill spread through her chest.

She turned to Julian. The iciness in his eyes made her feel frozen in place.

“Fine! I’ll make sure she’s punished.”

He grabbed Xena’s wrist, dragged her outside, and shoved her into the car.

The car drove off at high speed. The silence around him was suffocating, and the air inside the car felt heavy and still.

At the warehouse on the western outskirts, he pushed her inside.

“Xena, think carefully about what you’ve done! I hope this is the last time this happens.”

The door locked behind her, and Xena fell into complete darkness once again.

She felt no resentment and no fear. Pain and anger washed over her and then faded. Only complete silence remained.

She let out a quiet laugh and lost consciousness.

Xena dreamed all night.

In her dream, she had been sick from the very start of her pregnancy. She threw up constantly and felt miserable.

In the middle of her pregnancy, she had to stay in the hospital to prevent a miscarriage because her cervix was too small. She spent three months there alone. Every day, she received injections to stop her contractions. Her arms were covered in needle marks.

The injections made her allergic. Her whole body broke out in rashes, but she could not take medicine because of her pregnancy. Her whole body itched so badly that she could not sleep for nights.

When it was time to give birth, her blood pressure rose to a dangerous level. She had to undergo an emergency C-section and spent ten days in the ICU.

Zayden and Yannick were born and weighed less than four pounds each. They were weak and sickly from the start.

She went through endless days and nights alone and wore her body out completely to take care of them.

Even when she was sick and running a fever, she cared for her two sick children.

She had brought her children into the world at the risk of her own life and raised them with love and care and all the nurture she could provide. It was a pity they treated her in this manner.

Xena felt pain like nothing she had ever known. Her heart felt torn to pieces, thrown into the air, and crushed underfoot.