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“Let’s go home. I don’t want to stay… here.”
“Okay, okay, going home.”
Maureen reached out and picked her up.
Zoe was so thin, almost nothing but bones. Maureen didn’t have much strength, but could easily lift her.
She carried Zoe, walking along the long corridor, talking as she went, afraid Zoe might suddenly leave.
“We’re going home now, for Christmas Holidays. We’ll bake Christmas cookies together, and change into new clothes. Ethan and Jacob will give you kneel–and–beg.”
Zoe listened as Maureen’s voice grew softer, and her vision grew blurrier.
Maureen felt her breathing was extremely weak and couldn’t help calling out: “Mom.
Mom, you mustn’t leave, please? I’m begging you. You promised to always stay with me.”
In her heart, she’d long regarded Zoe as her biological mother, even closer than her biological mother.
Hearing herself called “Mom,” Zoe mustered her last strength to answer: “Okay.”
As the word faded, the hand resting on her chest dropped limply.
Maureen realized for the first time how endlessly long hospital corridors were. Standing midway, staring at the distant light, her throat burned raw.
“Mom, mom…”
But the woman in her arms could no longer hear these pleas.
When Geoffrey’s group arrived, Justin saw Maureen alone, cradling Zoe’s lifeless body.
“Mommy.”
Seeing this, Ethan understood what happened, his eyes reddening instantly.
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Maureen merely glanced at them before whispering: “Grandma’s asleep. Let’s take her home for Christmas Holidays.”
Maureen walked forward. After exiting the hospital, dizziness overwhelmed her–vision blacked out as she collapsed with Zoe into the snow.
Hearing the thud. Geoffrey rushed over and caught Maureen in his arms.
When her eyes reopened, Maureen was already home.
Maureen still couldn’t believe Zoe was gone. Just yesterday she’d been fine, promising to always stay by her side.
Ethan and Geoffrey stayed close to Maureen.
Seeing Maureen
open her eyes, Ethan immediately called out: “Mommy, how are you feeling?”
Maureen stared blankly at the ceiling without responding.
Geoffrey told Ethan: “You go out first!”
“Why should I leave?
Why don’t you get out?”
Ethan protested stubbornly.
Without another word, Geoffrey stood up, grabbed Ethan from behind, and dumped him outside.
“Don’t cause trouble right now.”
His voice was ice–cold.
Startled by his actions, Ethan pursed his lips, not daring to say more.
Geoffrey closed the door behind him, returned to the room, and took Maureen’s hand.
“Cry if you want. I won’t see it. No need to hold back.”
Maureen remained silent.
Geoffrey climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his arms.
Uncertain how much time had passed, Maureen finally spoke: “Geoffrey, Christmas Holidays are
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coming
”
“Yeah.”
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“Zoe’s gone.”
Maureen elenched Geoffrey’s shirt.
He held her tighter, pressing a kiss to her forehead–his awkward attempt at comfort.
Maureen thought her tears had run dry, yet she broke down once more, tears rolling down anew.
“It’s all my fault. If not for me, she wouldn’t have gone after Noelle, she wouldn’t have-”
“Zoe left you a letter. Deborah delivered it,” Geoffrey interrupted.
Maureen looked up at him. “Where?”
He rose, opened the bedside drawer, and handed her the envelope.
Maureen tore it open immediately.
Only a few sparse lines greeted her:
“Reenie, when you read this, your mom’s already gone. Don’t grieve–this is how it was meant to be.”
“Remember what I told you? Old folks die eventually. I wasn’t scared. I just wanted to help you one last time.”
“The doctor said I had days left. I knew I couldn’t win against Noelle. Sending her to prison was the only way to protect you.”
“Lastly, forgive me for calling myself your mom. You’ve always been my daughter.”
“Just this once, let me swallow my pride. If there’s a next life, let’s be real mother and daughter, okay?”
Maureen read Zoe’s letter repeatedly, her heart feeling as if torn apart.
“So that’s how it was.”
Maureen understood Zoe’s heart. The real reason she’d left this letter was to reveal the truth.
Zoe figured if Maureen didn’t want Noelle jailed, she could use this letter. It’d also free her from
resentment and sorrow over her death.
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Maureen clenched the letter: “Geoffrey, my heart hurts so much, it really does.”
“Everything will get better.”
Geoffrey comforted her.
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The day after Zoe’s incident, news broke that retired dancer Noelle had been arrested for intentional assault causing death.
Yin Group’s stock plummeted.
Maureen ignored the news, focusing on arranging Zoe’s funeral rites.
Zoe had lived alone her whole life–no relatives, no love for crowds, few friends.
Maureen only invited the handful of friends who often chatted with Zoe.
On the funeral day, heavy snow fell.
Dressed in plain mourning clothes, Maureen carried Zoe’s cremation urn and memorial will at the
front.
Ethan followed behind her, Geoffrey walking alongside.
They reached the cemetery.