HE LOST HIS DAUGHTER ONCE, NOW HE’S A RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE

DO YOU THINK MOMMY REMEMBERS?

“Maybe the real problem was that I kept believing Lyra would come back to us.”

The door to the emergency ward creaked open as Brandon walked in. The room was really quiet. All he could hear was the beep of the heart monitor. Maggie was sitting up in bed with a bunch of pillows behind her. She looked very pale and her big brown eyes were open and she was holding her teddy bear tight.

When she saw Brandon, she did not cry. Instead she looked really worried.

"Daddy," Maggie said in a small voice. "I am so sorry."

Brandon’s heart felt like it was hurting. He walked over to her then sat down on the bed. He took her hand in his. "Why are you saying sorry Maggie? You did not do anything wrong sweetie."

“I made trouble again, didn’t I?” Maggie whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I got sick again, and it probably cost a lot of money. You had to rush all the way here and argue with someone because of me.”

Her small fingers tightened around her teddy bear as her voice trembled.

“If Mommy finds out I got sick again… she might like me even less.” Maggie lowered her head sadly. “What if she doesn’t want to come to my birthday anymore because I keep causing problems?”

Brandon felt a pain in his heart when he heard this. It hurt so much that it was hard to breathe.

No child should be afraid of becoming unwanted to her own mother.

He thought about Lyra somewhere down the hall with Jake and Leo while their own daughter lay sick in a hospital bed, terrified that her mother no longer loved her.

A wave of anger and bitterness rose inside Brandon’s chest, but the moment he looked at Maggie’s frightened face, he forced those emotions back down.

None of this was her fault.

Brandon gently wiped away her tears before giving her the warmest smile he could manage.

“Oh, Maggie, no,” Brandon said softly as he wiped away her tears. “Look at me, sweetheart. Mommy doesn’t hate you. She’s just really busy with work right now, you know how she is. None of this is your fault.”

He gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face before smiling at her softly.

“You are the sweetest little girl in the world, Maggie. Don’t ever think otherwise, okay?”

Maggie looked up at him carefully, believing every word he said. Slowly, the sadness faded from her face, and a small smile finally appeared.

“Really?” she asked hopefully. “So Mommy isn’t mad at me?”

Brandon nodded immediately.

“Of course not.”

Maggie hugged her teddy bear tightly before asking in a quieter voice,

“She’s still coming to my birthday party, right? Mommy said she would help me cut the cake.” Her eyes sparkled with hope as she looked at him. “Do you think she remembers?”

Brandon felt a lump in his throat. He knew Lyra had forgotten about the party the moment Jake called her. He did not want to hurt Maggie's feelings. The doctor had said that Maggie's little heart could not handle any bad news.

"Of course Mommy will be there," Brandon said with a big smile. "She promised us. I promise you, we will have a princess themed strawberry cake and we will celebrate together, Maggie.”

“Daddy, it’s not just princess-themed,” Maggie giggled as she corrected him. “It’s called an Elsa theme.”

Brandon laughed softly and raised both hands innocently. “Alright, alright…. Daddy doesn’t know these things.”

Then he gently tapped her nose with a smile.

“But I’ll still make sure my princess gets the biggest Elsa cake ever… along with lots of chocolates and desserts.”

The little girl was happy as she hugged her teddy bear tight. 

Seeing Maggie smile so happily made Brandon’s heart ache even more.

At that moment, he stopped caring about his marriage. He stopped caring about his own pain. The only thing that mattered to him now was Maggie.

No matter what happened between him and Lyra, he would do everything in his power to make sure Maggie had a happy birthday. He would make sure Lyra kept the promise she made to their daughter.

The next three days passed painfully slowly.

Brandon never left Maggie’s side throughout her stay in the hospital. He sat beside her bed through the long sleepless nights, held her hand whenever nightmares woke her up crying, and silently watched the medicine drip through the tubes connected to her fragile little arm.

During those days, his phone remained completely silent.

Lyra never called.

She never sent a single message asking about Maggie or checking if they were okay. It slowly began to feel as if the two of them no longer existed in her world.

In the past, Brandon would have panicked. He would have called Lyra over and over again, begging her to answer while sending long messages explaining Maggie’s condition.

But this time, Brandon did nothing.

He simply placed his phone face down on the table beside the hospital bed and devoted every bit of his attention to taking care of Maggie.

By the end of the day Maggie was doing a little better. The bleeding had stopped. Her heart was beating at a steady pace. As soon as she could sit up, she started pulling on Brandon's sleeve.

"Daddy can we go home now?" Maggie asked, looking around the hospital room with a frown. "I do not like it here. It smells bad. The machines are too loud. Tomorrow is my birthday. I want to wake up in my bed, not here…. Please Daddy.” 

Brandon looked at Maggie then looked out the door to see Dr Evans talking to a nurse as he remembered his conversation with the doctor. 

The doctor had told him that Maggie did not have much time left. The machines would not change what would happen. They would just keep her in the hospital.

Brandon decided then that he wanted Maggie to be happy. He did not want her to spend her last days in the hospital. He wanted her to spend whatever time she had left somewhere warm, safe, and full of love instead of surrounded by hospital machines.

“Okay, baby,” Brandon said softly as he kissed her forehead. “Let’s pack your things and leave from here. Tomorrow is your birthday, and we still have a lot to do at home. We’ll buy anything you want, decorate your room together, and make this the best birthday ever for my little princess.”

Maggie clapped her hands with a smile. "Yes! We need to make the living room look nice to surprise Mommy!”