"You're soaked in blood and smell like it, too. I'm not letting that filth touch my grandson," she said, refusing even to meet my eyes.
Then, without another word, Eleanor turned and walked right out of the room, taking the baby with her.
I turned to Paul, my voice low and steady. "Why won't your mom let me see the baby? Did something happen while I was in surgery that she doesn't want me to know about?"
He kept his face neutral, but his eyes darted.
"She's just worried about you," he said carefully. "You barely made it through childbirth. She wants you to rest."
I let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, now she's worried? That's rich. I thought your mother was terrified I'd register the baby under my name. We agreed, didn't we? That the child would be registered under me. So why is she suddenly trying to change that?"
Paul hesitated, then gave the excuse like he'd rehearsed it in front of a mirror.
"Amara, I didn't think it through. When Mom heard the baby might be registered under your name, she couldn't sleep. She couldn't eat. She dropped so much weight."
He softened his tone, trying to come across as the good guy. "I know you only want what's best for our son. But you have to understand that Mom raised me all on her own after the divorce. It wasn't easy for her. If people in the neighborhood found out her grandson was registered under someone else's name, she'd be humiliated."
I stared at him. Not saying a word.
Paul took a step closer and reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear like he used to do when we were in college.
"Amara, I already scolded her," he said softly. "I'm sorry for how she handled this. Please don't hold it against her. She's been through so much. I work far away, and I barely get to come home. Can't we just cut her a little slack?"
Inside, I was boiling.
I let out a short, cold laugh in my mind. 'Your mother's tough life isn't my responsibility. Her loneliness and bitterness aren't mine to fix. Those are the consequences of her own choices. What about me? You get to live wherever you want, with peace, while I'm stuck under the same roof as her. I've had to take every jab, every insult. Is that easy for me?'
Right then, I pushed his hand away and looked him right in the eye.
"But if the baby is registered under your name," I said flatly, "then my family's farmland and all 13 acres will go to waste."