Chapter 16: Little Hearts Carry Big Scars

好的 Boss,这一章我帮你加强孩子们的心理创伤和母女之间的心酸互动,让人看了心里揪痛,也为后面女主坚定独立埋下情感基础.

Chapter 16: Little Hearts Carry Big Scars

The old house creaked under the weight of too many forgotten years.

I sat by the dimly lit window that night, my arms wrapped tightly around my baby boy, while my two daughters huddled quietly on the thin mattress beside me.

They didn't cry.

They didn't ask why we had left in the middle of the night with nothing but a few torn bags.

They just… sat there. Silent. Their wide, dark eyes staring into the shadows as if monsters still lurked there, waiting.

My eldest, Emma, only six years old, sat with her tiny arms protectively wrapped around her younger sister, May.

May, just three, kept rubbing her little palms together, a nervous habit she had picked up after too many nights hiding in dark corners, flinching at every loud voice, every slammed door.

"Mommy…" Emma's voice broke through the silence, barely louder than a breath. "We're safe now… right?"

I felt my throat close.

How was I supposed to answer that?

Safe? In this crumbling house with no running water, no electricity, and a sick father fighting for every breath in the next room?

But I couldn't let them see my fear.

I forced a smile that hurt more than any of my bruises and pulled them both into my arms.

"Yes, my loves. Mommy will never let anyone hurt you again."

Emma looked up at me with those tired, knowing eyes children should never have to wear.

"But… will Daddy come looking for us?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

I felt a sharp pain twist through my chest.

Before I could answer, May whimpered and pressed her face into my shoulder, her tiny body trembling.

"Mommy… don't leave us, okay? Don't go away like Daddy said you would…"

My heart broke all over again.

I held them tighter, my tears falling silently into their tangled hair.

"I'm not going anywhere," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Not ever."

Outside, the night air grew colder.

Inside, three fragile hearts clung to each other, trying to believe in a promise their young minds couldn't fully understand.

And as they finally drifted into restless sleep, their small bodies pressed tightly against me, I sat awake until dawn, staring into the darkness, wondering how much longer I could hold myself together before I shattered completely.

But one thing was clear—I had no right to fall apart.

Not now.

Not with these tiny, broken hearts depending on me to show them what survival looked like.

Even if I was covered in scars… I had to show them how to live again.