chapter 29

The dim light of her bedside lamp cast a soft glow around the room. Kara sat on the floor near her bed, her knees pulled to her chest, eyes swollen from crying. Her arms trembled as emotions tore through her—confusion, shame, anger, sorrow. Ethan sat beside her, back against the wall, silent and steady. He didn't try to force words anymore; he simply stayed.

Kara finally spoke through her sobs, her voice hoarse.

KARA:So my mother… isn't even someone important? She's just… a maid. A maid who's been working under our roof, scrubbing floors, washing clothes—getting humiliated day and night…

She gasped through the tears, her hands clenched around her sleeves.

KARA (breaking down):And I—God, Ethan—I was the worst to her. I slapped her, insulted her, treated her like trash. My own mother…

She shook her head in disbelief, pain etched into her face.

KARA (crying harder):How am I supposed to live with that?

Ethan didn't say anything immediately. He shifted slightly, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and pulling her in gently. She didn't resist. Her body trembled as she leaned against him, sobbing into his shirt.

ETHAN (quietly):Kara… you didn't know.

KARA (angry):That doesn't make it right! What kind of daughter bullies her own mother like that? What kind of monster am I?

ETHAN:You're not a monster. You're human. We were lied to our whole lives. Raised to believe we were abandoned nobodies. That pain turned you hard. It made you build walls. We both dealt with it in different ways…

He paused, tightening his arm around her a little.

ETHAN (continued):But if there's one thing I know about you—it's that deep down, you feel everything. Too much sometimes. And that's not weakness, Kara. That's the part of you that still wants love, that still hopes… even when you pretend not to.

KARA (sniffling):She didn't even flinch when I hurt her. Not once. She just kept… taking it. Why?

ETHAN:Because she knew you were her daughter. She probably saw herself in you. And she stayed close… waiting for the right moment. She never gave up on us.

Kara closed her eyes, her lips trembling. She could still see Jane's face at the dinner table—those tearful, pleading eyes. Not angry. Not resentful. Just… full of aching love.

KARA (barely audible):I don't deserve her forgiveness.

ETHAN (softly):Maybe not. But maybe it's not about what we deserve… Maybe it's about what we do now.

Silence hung between them. Only Kara's quiet sniffling remained.

KARA (after a long pause):I don't think I can face her right now.

ETHAN:Then don't. Not yet. But don't run away either. Stay. Sit with it. Let yourself feel it all. That's the first step.

Kara leaned into him, eyes closed, her breathing slowly steadying.

KARA (whispering):I wanted my mother to be a queen. Instead… she's been hurting, hiding, waiting… and I made her suffer more.

ETHAN (gently):Maybe now you can give her what she waited for. A chance to be your mother.

They sat in silence, the weight of truth heavy but shared. And in that stillness, something unspoken began to shift. The walls Kara had built for years began to crack—not enough to break, but enough to let in a little light.

Kara sat curled on the edge of her bed, her eyes puffy and red, her fingers clutching the hem of her sweater as if holding onto something solid could steady the storm inside her. Ethan stood a few feet away, arms crossed—not in anger, but in thoughtfulness, concern written across his face.

KARA (quietly, voice trembling):Why did she come so late?Why now, after all this time?

Ethan walked over slowly and sat beside her. He looked at her gently, trying to meet her eyes.

ETHAN:She was looking for us, Kara. That whole time.She didn't just walk in here out of nowhere… she's been searching—hurting—for years.

Kara didn't respond, but her lips quivered.

ETHAN (softly):You can see it in her eyes. She's older than her years. That's not age—that's grief. Loss. Trauma. She lost the man she loved and the babies she brought into this world… all in one storm. Can you even imagine what that does to someone?

Kara turned away, the weight of guilt making her shoulders cave.

KARA:But I hated her. I said so many awful things. I was cruel to her without knowing… and she still kept trying to be kind to me. How can someone do that?

ETHAN:Because she's your mother.Because even through the pain, she never stopped loving you.

Kara wiped her cheek angrily, as if wiping away not tears, but shame.

KARA (whispers):I don't know how to face her.

ETHAN:Then start by not pushing her away anymore.Start by being human… like she was to you, even when you didn't know who she was.

He reached out and held her hand.

ETHAN (gently):Kara… I'm not saying forgive her all at once. I'm not saying you have to pretend this isn't hard. But please—just be kind to her. If not as your mother… then as a woman who's been to hell and back trying to find the very thing that was sitting across the table from her tonight.

Kara closed her eyes as a fresh wave of emotion built up inside her.

KARA (softly):I wish she never left us…

ETHAN:She didn't. She was taken away. Life tore her away from us, not her choice. And now that she's here… we get to choose what we do next.

A long silence fell between them.

Then, in a quiet voice full of uncertainty and fear:

KARA:Will you come with me? When I finally go to speak to her?

Ethan nodded immediately.