My mother changed tactics.
Her voice softened. Tears filled her eyes with practiced speed.
“Nora, baby, I lost control. I was stressed. Violet has been under so much pressure. You know I love you.”
There it was.
The old hook.
Love, offered only after damage.
I wanted, for one weak second, to believe her. I wanted the mother I had imagined. The one who would see my bandaged face and break with remorse. The one who would choose me without being forced by consequences.
But she was still looking at the house.
Not at me.
“You have five minutes to leave the property,” Adrian said. “After that, security will call the police.”
Violet grabbed my mother’s arm. “Mom, let’s go.”
My mother pointed at me, tears gone now.
“You’ll regret this. No one will love you like family.”
I looked at her and finally understood why that sentence had controlled me for so long.
Because she had taught me family meant endurance.
Dad had taught me better.
Family was protection. Steadiness. A place where your no did not have to become a battle.
“No,” I said. “No one will hurt me like family did. That’s different.”
She stepped back as if I had struck her.
Then she left.
