Chapter 19
Years later, Aunt Caroline got sick.
Brandon called me.
Not to ask for money.
Just to tell me.
“She wants to see you,” he said.
I was quiet.
Then asked, “Why?”
“She says she wants forgiveness.”
I thought about the years.
The lies.
The letters returned.
The money.
The way she called me a waitress like it was shame.
“I hope she finds peace,” I said.
“That’s not yes.”
“No.”
Brandon sighed.
“I understand.”
And he did.
Caroline died without seeing me.
I felt sadder than I expected.
Not because I regretted my boundary.
Because some endings confirm that certain apologies never become safe enough to hear.
Thomas came over that night with soup.
He did not say, “You did the right thing.”
He said, “This must be complicated.”
Perfect answer.
May you like
“It is,” I said.
He sat with me until the soup got cold.
