Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Gigi had been spending every waking moment at the hospital, bouncing between rooms to look after the Hart family and Rylan. With steady hands and focus, she wiped Donovan down, fed Meredith, and dressed Kenny’s wounds.
Seeing Gigi so busy taking care of them made the Hart family feel even more ashamed. Donovan tried to speak a few times but didn’t know where to begin.
One afternoon, Donovan finally mustered the courage to stop Gigi as she was walking out. His voice shook as he spoke. “I know we messed up badly in the past, Gigi. Please forgive us.”
Next to Donovan, Meredith and Kenny eagerly looked at Gigi. She stopped in her tracks, looking as if the pain had just caught up to her.
She took a deep breath and said slowly, “I haven’t forgiven you. I looked after you because you saved my life, but that doesn’t undo everything you put me through. The days I was overlooked and all the pain I carried aren’t something you just forget overnight.”
Her words hit them deeper than they expected. Meredith sobbed in her hands, Donovan hung his head, and Kenny looked at her with heartbreak in his eyes.
Gigi looked at them and announced, “After you’ve recovered, we’re done. Don’t reach out to me again. Stay out of my life, and let me move on. I don’t want to be reminded of the pain I went through.”
After saying her piece, she walked away without looking back. Her figure slowly disappeared down the hallway, and every step away felt like a fresh wound to the Hart family’s already
broken hearts.
Donovan stared in the direction she had gone, his arms hanging helplessly at his sides. His mind replayed every instance he had been cold to her.
He recalled how young Gigi used to gaze at him, hoping to join while he played with Catherine. But he always sent her away with an annoyed look.
He thought back to Gigi’s birthday when he hadn’t even said a word to her. All his attention had gone to throwing Catherine a grand birthday celebration.
A wave of regret washed over him, his throat tight with emotion. All he could muster was a raw, broken whisper, “Gigi…”
Meredith crumpled to the floor, hammering the ground with her fists. Her wails tore through
the room.
She remembered how carelessly she had treated Gigi when she was ill, giving her whatever
Chapter 24
medicine was on hand before rushing off to be with Catherine.
Back then, during the school event, Gigi had been so excited for her to show up, but she bailed at the last minute just because Catherine was in a bad mood.
She muttered, “How could I have been so cruel? I failed you, Gigi.”
She was crying so hard that her voice had turned raw and broken. Tears and snot covered her face as she sank into a spiral of remorse and pain.
Kenny slid down against the wall, his arms wrapped around his head as he blankly stared ahead.
He recalled the times he helped Catherine snatch away the toys Gigi cherished and mocked her for being too soft. The memories from their school days hit him hard. He deliberately kept his distance from Gigi in front of their classmates because he didn’t want her to make him look
bad.
The memories stabbed at him like blades, sharp and relentless. “I was a terrible brother, Gigi. I shouldn’t have treated you that way. Please come back.”
His voice echoed with despair and helplessness, but the only response was the cold, empty silence of the hospital hallway.
The ward echoed with their shared weeping. They were all mourning their past mistakes, but they also knew the wounds they had left behind wouldn’t just disappear.
Gigi’s leaving cut them deep, like an ache that wouldn’t go away. All they could do now was struggle in the misery they brought upon themselves.
