Chapter 2: More Regret
The instant she saw the look on the doctor's face, Marianne became hysterical to the point that she had to be restrained and escorted out of the hospital. She clawed and writhed in a desperate attempt to be allowed to see her son in the emergency room, screaming "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT HIM, I SWEAR!" but to no avail. This left Cornelia to be the receiver of the less-than-desirable results the doctor had found. With an icepack pressed to her stomach, Cornelia glanced up at the doctor from the chair she was sitting in as he solemnly closed the door behind him. They exchanged a silent, expectant stare before the doctor spoke first.
"Mrs. Guilford, I'm very sorry to inform you that your nephew has sustained permanent brain damage. It is going to cause him to suffer from a case of acquired cerebral palsy."
"A case of...what?"
"Acquired cerebral palsy. It's disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture caused by significant damage to the brain during the first twelve months of an infant's life. The condition is usually congenital, so your nephew is a rather rare case. CP affects every individual differently, so there's no way for us to predict how it will affect him. He might walk, he might not. He might speak, he might not. CP could impair anything for him and we just won't know until it happens. It's non-progressive though, so whatever results from this disability, we can at least assure you that it will not get worse and it will not spread."
Cornelia blinked at the doctor in shock. "...so, is there any cure for it?"
The doctor shook his head grimly.
At a loss for words, Cornelia could only manage to slowly shake her own head, thinking to herself, 'The poor child…'
The doctor softly placed his hand on her shoulder in gentle sympathy. "If I may say so, Mrs. Guilford, I believe Lelouch will be in much healthier and safer care if you and your husband were to become his lawful guardians instead of leaving him to his mother."
Cornelia thought about the idea and was filled with resolve as she nodded in agreement.
"I'll call my lawyer."
Wallowing in dread and anxiety, Marianne paced around the cramped waiting room of the police station. She watched her own feet intently as she gripped her elbows, back and forth and back and forth she stepped across the worn grey carpet. Her life was falling apart. Everything that had made her happy before was crumbling to the ground. She had been charged for child abuse. She had been diagnosed with extreme postpartum depression. And worst of all: Her own little sister had made a case against her for custody of her son.
Marianne harbored a tumultuous mix of emotions towards Lelouch. On the one hand, he was the product of a false love; the fruit of being used and betrayed. On the other, he was the only connection she had left with the cheating, lying, selfish bastard of a man that she still loved. He was her son, but also Charles's son. To her, Lelouch was beautifully ugly; preciously worthless; hatefully loved.
And the regrets that led to her situation only continued to pile higher.
Cornelia ultimately won the case.
She and her husband, Gilbert, were granted legal custody of Lelouch in court and arrangements were settled efficiently. Of course, Charles, the biological father, did not even bother to show up to court and so any opinion that he may have had was invalidated. Marianne never spoke to Cornelia nor Gilbert ever again, and in her defeat, she withdrew herself from the world. Although Cornelia continued to occasionally check up on her sister, just to make sure that she was still alive, she never pushed for any further interaction in fear of Marianne behaving drastically in retaliation. She continued to pray and hope that Marianne would eventually recover mentally and emotionally.
As time passed, Cornelia and her husband worked endlessly to ensure that Lelouch grew up as happy and healthy as possible. They doted on him, showering him with love and affection as if he were their own son. Unfortunately, they noticed as he grew that his legs would not work properly. Sometimes, the poor little boy would lie immobilized, crying from the pain of muscle spasms in his legs while all Cornelia and Gilbert could do was comfort him by his side. A month after his second birthday, both of Lelouch's legs became completely paralyzed. He became dependant on a custom-made motorized wheelchair, but otherwise continued to develop normally. Cornelia gave birth to her first daughter, Euphemia, shortly after.
About a year later, when Lelouch was three-years-old, Cornelia then gave birth to her second daughter, Nunnally. The two little girls looked up to Lelouch and the three children grew up happily with close-knit family bonds.
Now, Lelouch was seventeen and attending Ashford Academy private high school. He had grown up to be an incredibly intelligent and intellectual young man, carrying with him a rather cooly charming disposition. Somewhere along the way, he had discovered his passion for playing violin, and so he participated in the school orchestra and extracurricular ensembles with great enthusiasm. For the most part, everyone around him tried their best to be respectful and mindful of his physical disability. However, there was one bitchy female classmate of his with obnoxiously bright limegreen hair who simply never tired of pestering him. Her favorite method would be to knock his books down in front of him when no one else was in the hallways and forcibly hold his wheelchair in place so that he would have to drag himself across the floor with only his arms in a pathetically slow show of him re-gathering his papers. He learned early on that remaining reactionless was key.
One day, Lelouch returned home from school and found a paper on his desk advertising an orchestral ensemble workshop available to high schoolers being held at Ashford University, his dream college. Students that participated would have a chance to be evaluated for a scholarship to the university. He heard the door click behind him and in walked his Auntie Cornelia. His violet gaze glistened in disbelief as he craned his neck to look at her from over his shoulder.
She smiled knowingly, "I take it you'd like to go?"
Lelouch beamed and nodded. "Thank you so much, Auntie!"