He simply wanted to stop believing he was the reason his mother had lost her sister.
Evelyn could not finish reading.
She knelt in front of him.
But she did not touch him.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Noah cried silently.
“I never should have said those words. I never should have convinced myself that sending money meant I was present.”
Her voice broke.
“And I never should have called your pain ‘drama’ when you needed me.”
Noah wiped his face.
“I don’t need you to quit your job.”
“I know.”
“I need to stop feeling as though there is always something more important than listening to me.”
Evelyn nodded, shattered.
Daniel said nothing.
For years, he had carried Noah’s guilt, defended Evelyn’s absences, and swallowed his own exhaustion.
