"Give it back!"
"No way, this thing is interesting."
"How does it feel to use them? Can you modify this? Maybe put a sticker on the side?"
The bully responds while he plays with the object. It's not every day he can see this thing.
"Please.. just, give it back.."
"Okay, how about this? I will give you this back if you stand up and climb that tree."
"..."
"Too hard for you? How about just standing up first? After that, we will think about what you will do."
"..."
"Why so quiet? Oooooh, I know! Maybe because you don't have a leg to stand up!" The bully says it as dismissively as possible.
"You SON OF A BITCH!!"
*BAM* The bully kicks him in the face. The bully then grabs his hair and pulls it up so he can stare into the boy's eye.
"Listen, at least the bitch you are speaking about is still alive. Yours? How is your mother? Does she ever get cold six feet under? At least she is with your father, so she will never get lonely."
The bully mocks him before punching him again.
*chuckles* The sound of someone chuckling can be heard from behind the bully.
"First, he lost both of his parents. Now he 'lost' his leg. You are quite unlucky, aren't you?" While laughing, another boy taunts him.
"Well, at least you still have 'her'. I guess there is still a silver lining to everything." He added.
"..."
The boy sat there silently, knowing that he could do nothing to defend himself.
He wanted to cry but held himself back, knowing it would only lead them to mock him more. He didn't know what to do, so he kept quiet until they left him alone.
"Ron, we should go now. We would be in trouble if the teacher found us." The bully suggests.
"Yeah, good idea. I'm getting bored of him anyway."
As they both started walking away, they heard the boy saying something.
"Please give me my leg back.." the boy asked, staring at the ground and avoiding eye contact with them.
"You want this? Here." The bully says as he throws the prosthetic leg at the nearest tree before leaving the boy alone.
The boy sat there thinking about what he had done wrong. He doesn't even bother them in the first place. He is just sitting on the bench waiting for her to arrive so he can go back home with her.
"Fuck.." He sighed before crawling to get his prosthetic leg back.
While he was wearing the prosthetic leg, he heard her voice.
"Henry!" She yells, running to him.
"Are you okay? Why are there bruises on your cheek? Is it those bastards again?!" She asks.
"..." Henry kept quiet to avoid answering her.
"Come on. Let's meet the school nurse. I think she is still there."
The girl helped him get up on his leg and walked him to the medical room.
The girl has seen this happen many times before. She didn't even know why they started bullying him in the first place. If it's about money, he has no money. If it is to make him into a bread shuttle, there are many other students with functioning legs for them to order around. Jealous of his face? He is an average-looking guy. What is it? Is it just because he is disabled? Is that it?
As she thinks about why Henry started being bullied, Henry begins to say something.
"Thanks, Sera, for helping me. I mean it.." He says softly.
"It's okay, Henry. You've helped me before, so it's only fair that I help you now."
"How about I treat you to some ice cream as a thank you after this? What do you think, Sera?"
"You don't have to, Henry, but if you insist, I won't say no to free ice cream," she replied, smiling at him.
After talking for a few minutes, they soon arrived at the medical room together.
***********************************************
Henry's childhood is what many children want to have. He has a loving family, a lovely house, and he will get anything he wants. He also has a planned marriage between him and Sera.
His father, Artur, and Sera's father, Morgan, have been friends since childhood and have stayed together since they met.
Artur even asks Morgan to start a business together, even though they have just turned 20. The first few years of their business are rough and challenging as they are very inexperienced and young. Sometimes Artur wants to give up, but thanks to his wife, Sabrina's support, and Morgan's hard work, they finally succeed.
After a massive breakthrough in their own business, they often drank together as friends. Morgan is very grateful to Artur for inviting him to work together because that choice has made him successful. Heck, even Artur and Sabrina were the ones who introduced his current wife, Selena, to him. It's not wrong to say that all of his success came from Artur.
However, the friendship deteriorates more and more as the company grows. He wants more. He is jealous of Artur, who got to be the company's CEO, and realises that he will only live in his shadow.
Selena always advises him to be grateful and happy where he is because there is no reason to destroy their lifelong friendship over a position. Though Selena had to persuade him often not to bring any of this up to Artur, he eventually agreed.
However, because of his greed, Morgan still tries to snatch the position indirectly from Artur. He tried everything, from coaxing the employees to support him as the new CEO to sabotaging their business to make Artur seem unreliable, but everything failed.
He has lost all hope, and there is nothing more he can think of doing. So, for the first time in his life, he gave up.
A few months later, they had a drink in a fancy pub. While enjoying the night together, Artur says that he and Sabrina are trying to have a child and suggests that he do the same. When asked why, he says that if the two children are of opposite genders, they can marry them together and have them continue their company.
This made Morgan realise something. Let's say that, by any chance, his child is male and Artur's is female, then his son can inherit the company. After his son inherits it in the future, he can transfer the company's ownership to him. It's a long process, but at least it will be in his hand and not if he gives up.
Morgan drove happily home that night and told Selena what Artur had said. It made Selena very happy, and she agreed with Artur's idea.
Weeks go by, and the two wives have confirmed their pregnancy. They start going out together to learn about how to nurture their child as a fellow future mom. Morgan's plan's first step was a success, and he is waiting for the day they give birth.
Months later, Sabrina had a baby delivery and was being hurried to the hospital. Artur and Selena are waiting outside the ward, praying for Sabrina's safety. Meanwhile, Morgan is hoping for the baby to be a female.
Artur can be seen walking back and forth, nervous about his wife's safety. After an hour, the ward's door can be heard being open. Everyone waits for the nurses to come out before rushing to her to ask about Sabrina.
When the nurse came out of the ward, she said that Sabrina had safely delivered a male child, and they could come in now.
The moment Morgan heard that, he felt disappointed and depressed. His plans are crushed, and he thinks he will never get the company.
While Artur and Selena are excited to meet the baby, Morgan is not and has to hold a fake smile.
After a few hours at the hospital, Morgan and Selena decide to return to their house because Selena is pregnant and needs rest. Sabrina and Selena get pregnant around the same time, so it's not wrong to say that Selena will give birth in a few weeks.
While on the way home, Selena always starts a topic about children and how she will raise them, as she is so excited to deliver her baby. However, Morgan stays silent almost all the time, making her feel off. How is he not excited that his wife will be delivering his baby a few weeks from now?
After they got home, they went straight to the bedroom, and Selena asked Morgan why he was not excited about all this. She has seen it since the hospital. She had seen his fake smile when he heard the news about Sabrina's baby, but she decided to ignore it.
The moment Selena asked that he started fuming. He rambles that his plan is destroyed because Artur's child is now a male.
Even if Selena delivers a male baby, the probability of Henry being the heir is higher as he is Artur's son. And if the baby is female, the probability of Henry inheriting the company is even higher.
Selena, hearing that, becomes very upset, so upset that Morgan himself regrets his rambling and starts apologising. But even if he starts grovelling to her, she will never accept his apology.
When Morgan asked for a kid a few months ago, Selena thought that he really meant it. She doesn't know that Morgan is considering using his own kid for his own greediness. Selena felt used after knowing this. She feels like his lovely comments about their baby before this was a lie. She is so disappointed in him..
Doors to Selena's heart have been closed, and she sometimes wonders if marrying Morgan was the right choice.
That night, they slept in different rooms. Morgan tried to repair his marriage but kept failing. The situation worsened as his wife delivered his baby while he and Artur were on a 1-day trip outside the city.
By this time, Morgan has thrown his plan out the window and really wants to repair his marriage. After finding out his baby was a female, he didn't even care about it anymore. The only important thing to him is that the baby is his. He really wants to fix himself and be a better man.
So, months after months of trying to fix his marriage, Selena finally agreed. She will only treat him as a husband because she doesn't want Sera to grow up in a toxic family. However, she will divorce him immediately if she hears any of his stupid plans to get the CEO position again. This is his last chance.
She knows that a child is bound to be happier in a two-parent family than in a one-parent family. Hence, she is willing to sacrifice herself by living with the man she no longer loves.
The only way for her to reconsider loving him back is by him being a good father and a loving husband. It is up to him. And even if she started loving him again, the feelings she had at that time would probably never match how she felt about her husband before.
Morgan feels very thankful and promises to be better. After that event, he threw every negative thought away from him and started living a new life. He became more responsible, and throughout Henry and Sera's childhood, he often played with them.
Morgan started treating Henry like his own son. He always invites him when he wants to take Sera to have fun anywhere. He is one of the reasons Henry and Sera got closer in their childhood years.
He, from years ago, is gone. Selena feels proud of Morgan and begins to love him again after seeing him become a better man than before. Everything goes well. The two families always have picnics, vacations, and watch movies together as if they are one family.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last forever.
When Henry was going back from his 12th birthday trip with his parents, they had a car accident. The heavy rain that blocked their vision and the slippery road caused them to hit a bus. The result of the accident? All of the passengers, including his parents, were killed. He survived, but one of his legs got crushed and needed to be amputated.
The bus driver and a few passengers have gone missing and are expected to have been thrown into a ravine next to the road.
After an investigation, human remains were found at the bottom of the ravine, although they no longer resembled those of humans. As soon as they had located and collected all of the dead, the police distributed them to the victim's families for burial purposes.
After one week had passed since the incident, and Henry started to wake up. After waking from his long sleep, he finds himself in a hospital with Sera asleep on his side. He tried to move his arm but failed. He tried to move his leg but also failed. In the end, he can only speak in a faint voice.
He starts calling Sera, but after kept failing, he decides to try moving his arm again to wake Sera up. After a few minutes of trying, he finally gains control of his arm. He then starts poking Sera, which results in Sera waking up.
"Huh? who.."
".. h.. ey."
"Henry?! Are you okay? Do you need food?
Is there anything you need?!"
".. wa.. te.. r."
"Wait!! I'll take it for you!!" She ran out of the room, trying to find one.
After a few minutes, she came back with Selena on her side. Sera quickly came to Henry's side and slowly helped him drink the water.
"Are you okay, Henry?" Selena asked.
".i'm... o.ka..y.."
"Do you feel any pain?"
"..n.o...wh.y..ca.nt..i..mo..ve..my..le.g..?" He asked as he still could not somewhat control his leg, even a little bit.
"It's okay, Henry, you just woke up after sleeping for a week. Your parents are safe. You just need more rest."
"..go.t...it.." he says as he falls asleep again.
After Selena confirmed that Henry had fallen asleep, she looked at Sera and said something.
"Sera, I hope you understand why I lied to him. Please just be beside him. He needs you more than me. I will ask the school to let you off for a few days."
"Okay, mom.. I understand. I don't want to make him sad. After all, I love him. I don't want to see him crying.." she answered as she looked into Henry's leg.
The few days after that was horrifying for Henry once he knew the truth. They tried to hide it from him, but it was too complicated as he could start taking control of his own body and keep asking where his parents were. Henry tried to deny it and hope it was all a bad dream, but he must now come to terms with reality. One day, he must face it, and he decides to face it now.
Morgan, Selena, and Sera are always there for him at every step of his recovery. They give him support in every possible way they can. Henry is very grateful to them because of what they did, and he will find a way to return the favour in the future.
From that day on, he changed completely from his previous self. He who was always cheerful is now not cheerful anymore. After making a complete recovery, he now lives with Sera's family for them to take care of him.