Chapter 71 Camilla, forgive me
Camilla slowly opened her eyes again. Her body felt fresher, perfectly fine. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but unfortunately, she could only recall that the last place she had been was somewhere unfamiliar. The room had been dimly lit, the air pleasantly warm, and there had been the soothing scent of fresh fruit.
Camilla sensed something strange about her body. There were two people lying beside her, and that made her nervous. She swallowed hard, then gathered her courage to look to her left.
“Mom?” Camilla murmured when she saw her mother’s face. Something felt wrong. The woman beside her looked so different from usual.
As far as Camilla knew, her mother always wore thick makeup. But… seeing her now brought back memories of her childhood. Yes… her mother looked just like she had back then—elegant and always smiling gently when Camilla was little.
Camilla tried to steady herself. She also remembered how she and her mother had often argued because the woman had done terrible things—to her and to her father. Those actions had brought countless troubles to their family. Gambling, killing, becoming a con artist, and even being exposed by paparazzi for getting drunk with gigolos.
Unforgivable. The person beside her could not possibly be her mother. Camilla stared sharply. She would not be fooled. She must still be in the wrong place. She must still have been kidnapped.
She swallowed nervously. She must not wake the person beside her. She needed to check who was on her other side, and after that, she would think of a way to escape.
Camilla turned to the right—and once again, shock struck her. Her body trembled. Was she truly lying between her parents?
“D-Dad?” she whispered, her face pale. How could this happen? Had she returned to the past, to the happy life she once had?
Hearing her slightly restless voice, Mr. Alistair opened his eyes. He smiled when their gazes met. Seeing his daughter’s beautiful eyes filled him with joy.
“Camilla, you’ve finally opened your eyes.”
Camilla looked back to her left, nearly dying of shock. How could it be… how could her mother look so different now? Wasn’t she uninterested in things like this before? And when Camilla looked into her eyes, she knew—it truly was her mother.
“W-what happened?” Camilla asked, immediately sitting up. She ignored the gentle looks from her parents. She needed answers. There was no time to delay.
Seeing their daughter panic, the couple quickly sat up and exchanged glances. They both took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
“Do you want to hear the whole explanation?” Mrs. Alistair asked gently.
Camilla nodded. It seemed they had to open all the closed windows and let Camilla see the truth that had imprisoned her all this time.
Camilla tried to remain silent and listen carefully. Her heart had not fully trusted her mother yet, but her instincts told her to believe—even without explanation.
It felt awkward. She could not look away from her mother’s soft, beautiful eyes. The woman tried to smile, but unfortunately, it looked strange.
“Don’t force yourself to smile,” Mrs. Alistair said softly.
“Agata, perhaps we should explain it slowly,” Mr. Alistair advised his wife.
“Explain it now!” Camilla cried.
Mrs. Alistair drew a long breath. She began recounting what had happened after Camilla was kidnapped as a child, how she herself had suffered something similar, and how she and her husband had been forced to do many things for the sake of the family.
Honestly, after hearing the truth, Camilla did not feel relieved at all. She felt deeply hurt, yet at the same time, the puzzle she had been trying to solve all this time finally came together. She wanted to curse, but she realized her parents had their reasons.
But… why did the truth hurt so much?
All this time she had hated her mother. All this time she had spoken so rudely. Worse still, she had even wished her mother dead.
The regret suffocated her. Anger, resentment, and disbelief swirled together in her heart.
Suddenly, Camilla threw her arms around her mother. She wanted to cry, but no tears came. The sorrow was too deep to voice, too heavy to show. It was something she could only feel.
“Cry. Let it all out,” Mr. Alistair said, embracing both his wife and daughter. He felt relieved seeing everything slowly return to how it used to be.
“Mom… Mom… forgive me,” Camilla said, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to cry—but she couldn’t. All she felt was suffocating guilt.
“Camilla, forgive me… forgive everything,” Mrs. Alistair sobbed in her husband’s embrace, holding Camilla tightly as her body trembled.
“M-Mom… I’m sorry… I often said terrible things. I acted like I was always right… I even cursed you so many times.” Camilla rested her head against her mother’s chest, pounding her own chest as if trying to drive the pain away.
Bugh…
“Mom… I was foolish. I should have looked into your eyes so I wouldn’t misunderstand!”
Bugh…
“I’m a foolish daughter… I couldn’t feel your sincerity. I only thought about myself.”
“Camilla… I’ve already forgiven you,” Mrs. Alistair said, gently holding her daughter’s hands. She shook her head and kissed Camilla’s forehead. She felt overwhelming happiness being this close to her daughter again, yet also deep sorrow seeing her child blame herself endlessly.
“You two, don’t compete over who’s more at fault. This is all because I failed to protect my two precious gems,” Mr. Alistair said softly, closing his eyes. Though they had walked over burning embers, they had finally found their way back to each other.
“Why be sad? Everything is fine now. We’re back together. We can replace the time we lost with something even more beautiful,” he added gently.
Camilla closed her eyes, feeling utterly safe in her parents’ embrace. Her life felt whole again. This happiness was something no one else could ever give her.
A small smile curved on her lips. Tears finally fell—and this time, they were tears of relief.
They were not tears of sorrow. They were tears of happiness.
What child wouldn’t feel happy when their family was whole again? What child wouldn’t rejoice at a happiness this complete?
Her parents were back to how they used to be. The love she once thought lost could be felt again. Everything was finally alright.
To Camilla, there was no love more perfect than the love she shared with her parents. It was a happiness beyond measure.
“I don’t need anyone else but Mom and Dad. I want to stay with you forever. I love you both so much,” Camilla said softly, feeling a peace she had longed for.
“My daughter,” Mr. Alistair replied warmly.
“Dad…” Camilla’s voice trembled.
“My beautiful daughter, forgive me,” her mother whispered.
“Mom… Dad… I don’t want to be separated from you. Forever… I only want to be with you.” Camilla released the embrace slightly, feeling lighter as her parents did the same.
She looked at them carefully. “Today, I want to start a new chapter. Just Dad, Mom, and me. No… no one else.”
“My dear daughter… you’re already married. Why are you saying such things?” Mr. Alistair asked gently.
“Yes… if you stay with us forever, what about your own family?” Mrs. Alistair added.
Camilla shook her head. “I don’t need love from anyone else. I only need yours. Only Mom and Dad, forever. That will never change.”
“So?” Mr. Alistair asked softly.
“I won’t leave. I’ll stay with you.” Camilla’s voice was firm; she had made up her mind.
Her memories with her parents were far more precious than memories with anyone else.
“Father can only support your decision.”
“Mother as well,” Mrs. Alistair added.
“Thank you.” Camilla wiped her tears.
The Alistair family finally opened a new chapter. They were whole again.
Indeed… there are no memories more precious than those with one’s parents. Indeed… there is no love more perfect than a parent’s love.
Yes… that was what Camilla believed.