NovelEnglishChapter 295 The very first thing she did upon waking was look for Claire.
Her gaze darted desperately around the room, and the moment she spotted Claire sitting quietly on the sofa, she forgot all about her own weakness and disheveled state. Nothing else mattered.
Propping herself up with trembling hands, her legs barely supporting her, she half- crawled, half-stumbled toward Claire, inching forward with sheer determination.
Tears streamed down her face, unchecked and uncontrollable.
"Claire, I was wrong. I swear I'll never take Vanessa's side again. Please, please forgive me. Your brother-your brother's in prison because of Nathan, that monster. Claire, you're all I have left." Adah's voice cracked with sobs, hoarse and filled with despair. As a mother, she collapsed at Claire's feet, weeping bitterly, pouring out her regret. She looked utterly broken, as wretched as a person could possibly be.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut Claire remained as she had been before-expressionless, unmoved, cold as stone.
She only glanced at Adah briefly, her eyes indifferent, before turning away.
That coldness, that utter lack of feeling, drove a knife straight into Adah's heart.
In that moment, Adah finally understood what it meant to be truly devastated-to lose all hope.
Claire was done with her. There would be no forgiveness this time.
The realization tore at Adah's heart, leaving her gasping with pain.
Eyes overflowing with anguish, her voice trembling, she pleaded, "Claire, are you really going to be this heartless? Are you going to abandon your mother too?" But Claire's gaze never even lingered on her. She didn't hear, or didn't care, what Adah said.
It was this silence, this complete indifference, that hurt Adah even more than any shouted accusation.
May stood off to the side, her face dark with anger as she spoke up, voice sharp with righteous fury. "Mrs. Linwood, you have no right to call Miss Claire heartless. In the three years she lived in the Linwood household, did you ever care about her for even a single day?" "You knew she spent fifteen years suffering in a group home, and when she finally returned to her family, you ignored her. Every month you sent a fortune to Vanessa, but not a penny to Claire." "Vanessa pranced around in new clothes every day while Claire wore the sschool uniform all year round. You saw it and looked the other way. For three years, you never bought her a single new thing." "Claire and Vanessa were born on the sday, but every year you threw a birthday party for Vanessa alone. You only bought presents for Vanessa. Not once did Claire get so much as a card." "Claire left the house early every morning for school, chlate every night, and sometimes didn't even get a warm meal. Meanwhile, the rest of you sat at the table together, laughing, eating, enjoying yourselves. When I suggested bringing Claire something to eat, you wouldn't let me. You said if she didn't chome, she must not be hungry." May gave a bitter laugh, her eyes full of contempt. "She was in high school, still growing, buried in homework- so hungry she was pale and thin, her hair brittle and lifeless. And you could tell yourself she was fine?" "You may not have hit her like Nathan, or lied about her like Vanessa, but your cold indifference, your utter neglect those wounds cut deeper than any slap." "I remember every cruel thing you did, Mrs. Linwood. How dare you accuse Claire of being heartless? How dare you blher for turning her back on you? Ask yourself honestly-have you ever acted like a mother to her?" May had kept these words bottled up for years.
Truth be told, during the five years Claire spent in prison for a crshe didn't commit, May had more than once considered leaving the Linwood family.
But at the time, Mandy was still in high school and needed money for e everything. And when Mandy went off to college, expenses only grew.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe Linwoods were terrible people, but at least they paid well.
Besides, May worried that if she left, there would be no one left to truly care for Claire when she was finally released and chome.
So, despite all her resentment, May gritted her teeth and stayed.
Looking back, her decision had been the right one.
There was that tAdah, trying to defend Vanessa, smashed a heavy glass ashtray into Claire's head,m leaving her bleeding and concussed. If May hadn't carried Claire out of the house and run into Mr. Foster by chance, Claire might not have survived at all.
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