Chapter 43
Tarquin’s eyes were bloodshot, alarmingly so, and Elysia shivered at the sight, rushing to explain, “I have to apply acupuncture to him to help him sleep deeply. He’s in too much pain right now. His body craves rest, but his mind is fighting it. It’s like he’s at war with himself, and this kind of struggle could seriously harm him, maybe even lead to something catastrophic.”
Tarquin glared at Elysia for a long moment, searching her face for any hint of deceit. Finally, convinced she was telling the truth, he released his grip.
Elysia let out a silent sigh of relief and quickly carried out the acupuncture.
Before long, Elijah’s heartbeat stabilized.
“Thank God,” Benjamin exhaled with relief. “His heart rate’s normal again.”
After removing the needles, Elysia said, “Now we just wait for him to wake up and assess his condition. I’ve heard he and Corbin are in a similar boat, both dealing with bipolar disorder. Corbin’s was triggered by a kidnapping scare when he was young, but what about him?”
“This kid,” Benjamin sighed, “he’s got an obsession with his mother. It’s excessive longing. that’s done this to him.”
Elysia was puzzled. “Excessive longing for his mother? Where is she?”
Benjamin shrugged helplessly and glanced at Tarquin before saying, “Not here.”
Elysia misunderstood and asked, “When did his mother pass?”
Before Benjamin could reply, Tarquin snapped, “Who told you his mother’s dead? She’s alive and well! Healthier than anyone!”
Tarquin’s sudden outburst took Elysia by surprise. She glared back, annoyed and on the verge of snapping herself, but she held her tongue.
Realizing he had lost his temper with her again, Tarquin’s lips moved, but no sound came
out.
Lost for words, he lowered his gaze to Elijah.
Jumping in to smooth things over, Benjamin said, “She’s not dead; she just disappeared after giving birth to Elijah. We don’t know if she’s alive or not.”
“She’s alive!” Tarquin intercepted without even looking up.
Benjamin could only echo, “Yes, yes. She’s alive and well.”
Clearly, there was no way to continue this topic normally with Tarquin around. Thus, Benjamin decided to bring Elysia to the corridor.
20.05
Here’s how it is. After giving birth to Elijah, she disappeared. The father and son have been searching for her ever since. They both miss her terribly, it’s clear to see–both the young and the old are fixated on her.”
Elysia was at a loss for words. She couldn’t help but glance back into the hospital room, where Tarquin sat by the bed, clutching Elijah’s small hand with an expression full of anguish.
She hadn’t expected this man to be capable of being such a devoted husband and father.
Turning back to Benjamin, Elysia asked, “So Elijah’s condition stems from missing his mother too much?”
“Exactly, that’s the root of it.”
“Then the best solution would be to find his mother and bring her back.”
Benjamin sighed heavily. “If only it were that simple. The kid wouldn’t be in this state if we could find her. We’ve been searching for years with no luck.”
Elysia glanced back into the room once more.
For some reason, the sight of the small figure on the bed filled her with sadness and compassion.
After a moment, she said to Benjamin, “If finding his biological mother is truly impossible, then we need to divert his attention to something–or someone else. A substitute.”
Benjamin sighed again, “We tried giving him a surrogate mother once. It didn’t take long for him to see through it, and he had a huge meltdown.
It was after that incident that his condition really worsened. We’ve been too scared to try anything like that again.
As for finding a ‘thing‘ to focus on, that’s out of the question too. Aside from his quest to find his mother, he’s indifferent to everything else, completely uninterested. He spends all his time sleeping or yearning for her.”
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