Chapter 133
In the kitchen, Valeria watched the kettle boil until the water bubbled furiously. She had filled it to the brim, and now the boiling water was starting to spill over.
She finished rinsing the fruit, sliced the apples and oranges into pieces, and carried a glass of water out into the living room.
But Sebastian wasn’t there. He was standing out on the small balcony, looking down at the two pots of Bear’s Paw succulents with yellowing leaves and a cactus that was already long dead.
Valeria was the kind of person who could kill even the hardiest plants.
Two dogs lay at the door to Selena’s bedroom, tails wagging gently as they sniffed her bandaged foot, worry practically written on their faces.
Though she was discharged, Selena was still a little dizzy. The stitches on her foot wouldn’t come out for a few more days, and she still couldn’t put weight on it.
Valeria had carried her into the bedroom to rest.
“Mommy, will you and Mr. Grant fight again?” Selena asked.
“We won’t,” Valeria said softly, brushing her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “If you really like Mr. Grant, and if he has time in the future, we can let him come visit you, okay?”
“Really?” Selena’s eyes lit up with joy.
Valeria smiled and nodded.
There was no use trying to block the strange but undeniable bond that tied them together. Instead, before they left this place for good, maybe it was better to let them have a memory, so they had something to hold onto.
She remembered the way Selena rested against Sebastian’s shoulder–wide, warm, and protective, like the hold of a father.
Valeria could see it clearly.
This sudden, terrifying accident had made her realize many things.
She didn’t want her daughter’s childhood to be filled with silence and regret.
Valeria had already made up her mind.
After Selena’s surgery and spending New Year’s at Lucy’s house, she would take her daughter and return to the county.
Valeria had never met her own mother. She had no concept of what maternal love even felt
Chapter 123
like. But she had her grandmother, who had loved and protected her all her life.
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She had married Shane, hoping he could help her get a spot in a good school district, give their daughter a household registration, and get her into a better school.
But now, Valeria realized that people were so small and powerless in this world.
These past few nights, she couldn’t stop watching that video of the car crash. She listened to the grieving mother by the next hospital bed, weeping through the night.
Selena had only suffered minor injuries.
She and Lucy had been walking hand–in–hand when the white Toyota sped out of nowhere from behind, barely missing them as it plowed ahead.
It was luck. It was a miracle.
Both had been thrown to the ground, rolling several times from the impact.
Slate City police had launched an emergency investigation. News had spread across the
internet.
18 people were injured, both students and parents alike. Five were in critical condition. One parent died on the scene while shielding their child.
The Toyota driver, Martin Myers, was reportedly mentally ill and had already been taken into custody.
Valeria’s eyes welled with tears at the thought.
She adjusted the brightness of the bedside lamp.
Selena fell asleep quickly, murmuring her name in her dreams.
Sebastian came back in from the balcony and sat down on the couch. He crossed one leg over the other, gaze drifting toward the side room.
The door was ajar, and warm light spilled through the gap.
A few minutes later, Valeria stepped out and walked into the living room. Her eyes landed on the empty fruit plate and the empty glass of water.
Sebastian’s face was still cold, completely unchanged, looking like it had been dusted with
frost.
He hadn’t softened since the day he left the hospital room in silence.
Valeria poured him a fresh glass of water, then picked up the empty fruit plate.
“Do you want more?” she asked.
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Sebastian didn’t answer.
He simply lifted one foot and propped it up on a small wooden rocking stool. His posture was relaxed, eyelids half–lowered in indifference.
Valeria turned and headed back into the kitchen.
