NovelEnglishMy CEO 205
205 Last Goodbye
(Winona)
The hospital feels like it's closing in on me. | can only imagine how Jayden feels right now.
He's cto check in on Mom with me. Cass won't talk to him either.
Mom lies there, so still, so fragile, and it hitshow little twe've had together. Not enough time. Nowhere
near enough.
| reach out, my fingers trembling as they close around her hand. It's warm, but she doesn't react. The doctors
said she'd wake up when she's ready, but what if she never wakes up? What if this is it? Cass stands in the
corner, hugging herself like she's trying to hold in all the pain. She hasn't looked atsince we got here.
Suddenly, the steady beeping of the monitor changes, becoming slower, more deliberate. My heart skips a beat,
and | lean forward, my breath catching in my throat. "Mom? Mom, can you hear me?" Cass jerks, her eyes wide
and wild as she steps closer, "Mom? Please, Mom..."
And then, as if by smiracle, Mom's eyelids flutter open. For a moment, her eyes are clear, focused.
"Winona... Cass..." Her voice is so faint, | have to lean in to hear it, but it's there. It's her.
"We're here, Mom," | whisper, tears already streaming down my face. "We're both here."
Cass moves to the other side of the bed, her hand holding onto Mom's other hand. She's trembling, her face a
mix of hope and fear. "Mom, you're going to be okay. We're going to get you through this."
But Mom shakes her head, a sad smile playing on her lips. "No, baby, I'm not going to be okay. I've known... for a
while now. | have cancer. Terminal. It's spread... everywhere."
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The words hitlike a sledgehammer. "No... no, Mom, why didn't you say something. We could have paid for
treatment..."
She squeezes my hand, her grip weaker than I'd like. "I didn't want to burden you. And, after the life I've lived,
I'm tired. It took its toll on me. But | needed to make sure... you were both safe. That's why... that's why | texted
Steve after | saw that message cthrough." Cass stiffens, and | see the anger flash in her eyes. "You texted
him? Why? Why would you do that?"
Mom's eyes soften as she looks at Cass. "I knew it had to end. | saw the message on Winona's phone. | knew... |
knew he wouldn't stop until he destroyed both of you. I couldn't... wouldn't let that happen."
| feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. "Mom... you didn't have to do this. You didn't have to sacrifice
yourself.
"I did," she insists, her voice growing fainter. "I had to die knowing... knowing he'd never hurt you again. That
was the only way | could go in peace."
Cass's tears are flowing freely now, and she shakes her head, her voice breaking. "Don't leave me, Mom. | don't
want to be alone."
"You won't be alone," Mom says, her voice barely a whisper. "You have each other. Promise me... promise
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205 Last Goodbye
Cass is sobbing now, her head bowed as she clutches Mom's hand. "I promise, Mom. | promise." I'm cod
crying too, the tears pouring down my face as | hold onto Mom like | can keep her here with us. " promise, Mom. |
love you. | love you so much. I'm sorry | didn't cback sooner. I'm so sorry." "It wasn't your fault."
"Don't give up, Mom. We can still fight this. There are trials, new cures for cancer every day."
Mom shakes her head. "No. | need to rest now." Mom's eyes start to close, her breaths coming slower, shallower.
"1 love you both... so much. Don't forget that. Ever."
And then, just like that, she's gone.
The monitor flatlines, the steady beep replaced by a continuous tone that signals the end. | feel like the ground
has been ripped out from under me, and | collapse onto the bed, my sobs shaking my entire body. Cass pulls
away from me, her face twisted in grief and anger. "This is your fault," she spits, her voice full of venom. "You
cback and ruined everything. You brought Steve into our lives. You... you killed her."
Her words slice throughlike a knife, but I can't fight back. Not now. Not when she's right. Not when | feel like
I've lost everything.
"I'm sorry," | choke out, my voice barely audible. "I'm so sorry."
Jayden steps up. "Cass, | know you're hurting but blaming Winona for all of this is ridiculous."
"You're ridiculous. You all are. Mom's gone now and I'm alone. Don't tellwhat to feel." She bolts from the
room, her sobs echoing down the hallway.
| go to chase after her. "Cass! Stay, I'll go!" | yell after her.
T
Jayden is there in an instant, his arms wrapping around me, holdingtight as | break down,
"Let her go, Winona," he says. "She needs to run. I'll have her tracked to make sure she's safe, but right now...
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmright now, you need to take care of yourself. Lettake care of you."
| cling to him, feeling like I'm drowning in a sea of emotions. "I just got her, Jayden. | just found out my mother
really loved me... and now she's gone."
"I know," he says, his voice soothing, but | can hear the pain in it too. "I'm so sorry, Winona. I'm here. I'm not
going anywhere."
| nod, but it doesn't make the pain go away. Nothing will. I've just lost my mother, someone I'd written off years
ago. The woman | thought hated my very existence. But she didn't, she lovedmore than her own life.
| loved her. | loved her so very much.
And now she's gone, and | don't know how to keep going.
But | have to. For Cass. For Abby. For Jayden and his baby.
"I can't lose Cass too," | whisper, my voice barely holding together. "I can't."
205 Last Goodbye
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"You won't," Jayden says, his voice firm. "She just needs time. We'll give her that. But we'll find her, and we'll
bring her back."
I nod, knowing he's right. But the pain doesn't lessen.
The hole in my heart doesn't shrink. My mother is gone
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