CHAPTER 4: THE WEIGHT OF REGRET
Tears came before Clara could stop them.
“I yelled at you,” she said.
“You were hurt,” her mother replied.
“I thought you didn’t care.”
That broke something.
Her mother reached across the table and held her hand.
“Everything I did was for you.”
Every bill paid in silence.
Every rumor swallowed.
Every sacrifice hidden.
Clara laughed weakly through tears. “You did a terrible job.”
Her mother smiled through hers. “I know.”
They sat there, the truth between them.
Then Clara asked the real question.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her mother took her time.
“Because I wanted you to stay a child a little longer.”
Clara wiped her face.
“I’m not a child.”
“I know.”
The clock read 9:41.
Church had already started.
Staying home would be easier.
But easier wasn’t right.
“I’ll go,” Clara said.
Her mother blinked. “Clara—”
“Not for them,” she said. “For you.”
And for the first time that morning—
her mother looked relieved.
CHAPTER 5: WALKING INTO WHISPERS
