Chapter 68: A Recovering Diana

Across the room, Clancy gasped, his instincts taking over instantly. He stretched his hands out in sheer panic, his heart leaping into his throat. Even as he did it, a distant part of his brain realized how foolish the gesture was.

His outstretched hands would have done absolutely nothing to catch her, given the significant distance separating them across the hardwood floor. If she fell, he could only watch. But she did not fall.

"Surprise!" Diana beamed, her face lighting up with a radiant, triumphant smile. She directed the exclamation straight at Clancy, who remained frozen in place like a statue, his mouth hanging wide open and his hands still awkwardly extended in mid-air.

"D- Diana ?" Clancy finally gasped, his voice cracking slightly. The shock threatened to pull the air right out of his lungs. He lowered his arms slowly, taking a tentative step forward, and then another, walking toward her as if approaching a fragile miracle.

Diana did not just stand there waiting. With a joyful giggle, she began walking toward him as well. Her steps were surprisingly steady, a stark contrast to the bedridden days that had defined her recent past.

"I can walk on my own now. My sides are healed," she declared proudly. She stopped just a foot away from him and pointed at her sides, where the pain used to reside.

The sight was too much for Clancy’s defenses. Moving forward, he engulfed her in a tight, protective hug. He squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of intense relief washed over him, and tears threatened to spill over his eyelashes.

"This is great. This is so great," he whispered repeatedly into her hair, refusing to let go, anchoring himself to the reality that she was finally okay.

Meanwhile, a floor above them, Selen was silently seated in her office. For the past few minutes, she had made multiple failed attempts at working, staring blankly at documents that seemed to blur together.

Her mind was a chaotic loop, completely unaware of the beautiful breakthrough transpiring downstairs. Finally, letting out a heavy sigh, she gave up, pushed her chair back, and left the office in search of a distraction.

As her feet hit the top of the staircase, a sound drifted up to meet her. It was loud, laughter echoing from the sitting room. Intrigued, and perhaps a little envious of whatever joy was happening without her, she followed the sound down the stairs and down the hallway.

When she stepped into the archway of the sitting room, she stopped dead in her tracks. She was met with a sight that instantly sent a shockwave of surprise through her entire being.

There, in the center of the rug, Diana was squatting comfortably, completely immersed in a lively game with her brothers and Clancy.

Selen braced herself, waiting for the inevitable wince, but it never came. Diana was not groaning in pain. She did not have that familiar, heartbreakingly painful expression etched onto her face. Instead, she looked perfectly whole.

Diana’s eyes scanned the room as she waited for her turn in the game, and she spotted her mother first. "Mummy, look! I can move on my own now!" Diana yelled excitedly, abandoning her game piece and standing up to show off.

"I have been practicing in my room every single day. I took it one day at a time, just like he suggested." She gestured grandly toward Clancy, giving him full credit for the advice that had fueled her secret rehabilitation.

Selen’s hand flew to her mouth, her heart swelling so fast. "Yes, baby. I can see that," she said, her voice thick with an overwhelming happiness. She quickly walked toward the group, her eyes taking in the sight of her healthy daughter.

As Selen approached, Clancy remained seated on the floor, but his attention shifted completely. He had his eyes trained on Selen the entire time, watching her expression change from shock to pure, unadulterated bliss.

It struck him with sudden clarity, he had just seen her show more raw emotion within a single minute of talking to Diana than she had during the entire grueling hour they had spent speaking about his family up in her office.

With him, she was an impenetrable wall, but with her children, the walls crumbled instantly. Before he could dwell on the thought, Diana marched back over and stood directly in front of him, planting her hands on her hips. A mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes.

"Remember what you promised me when I was still very sick?" she asked, looking down at Clancy with a knowing grin. "You said that you would take me to the beach, since I have never been to one before."

"Oops, she remembered," Clancy thought to himself, a comical wave of panic washing over him.

The truth was that he did not have any problem taking them. In fact, he would love nothing more than to see Diana running around in the sand.

The real issue was the minor detail that he had not mentioned a single word about this alleged promise to their mother. He could feel the dangerous territory he had just walked into.

Selen, now standing just behind her daughter, went quiet. She was silently watching their interaction, her eyes darting between Clancy’s guilty face and Diana ’s expectant one.

Clancy swallowed hard, offering a nervous smile. "Well, we will have to ask your mom first," he said, shifting the responsibility as smoothly as he could and looking up at Selen for rescue or judgment.

Diana didn’t waste a beat. She whirled around to face her mother, her eyes wide and pleading. "Mummy, can we go to the beach? Please?" she asked her mother. As if on cue, the boys materialized at Diana ’s side, sensing an opportunity for an adventure.

"Yes, please, can we go? Can we? Please, Mummy!" they chimed in, creating a chorus of desperate begging. This is an ambush, Selen thought to herself, looking at the wide, hopeful eyes staring back at her.

It was a synchronized parental trap, and she was caught dead in the center of it.