Chapter 5 – The Price of Choices
I visited the hospital alone.
My mother looked years older.
The proud woman who once ruled our apartment now looked small and frightened.
She cried the moment she saw me.
"I'm sorry."
It was the first apology I'd ever heard from her.
"I thought you would always take care of us."
"You always did."
I sat quietly.
"I wanted to."
"But somewhere along the way..."
"You stopped treating me like your son."
"You started treating me like your wallet."
She sobbed harder.
"And Emma..."
"I was cruel to her."
"She never deserved any of it."
"No."
"She didn't."
When I stood to leave, my mother grabbed my hand.
"Can you forgive me?"
I thought about Emma crying at the sink.
The blood on the kitchen floor.
The fear in her eyes.
Our son fighting to survive before he was even born.
Then I answered honestly.
"I forgive you."
"But forgiveness doesn't erase consequences."
"I won't move back."
"I won't support everyone anymore."
"If you want a relationship with me..."
"You'll have to earn it."
For the first time...
She nodded.
May you like
Not because she agreed.
Because she finally understood
