Chapter 1890

At that moment, the smile froze on Karina’s face.
“Kieran?” she said, disbelief etched into her voice as she stared at the man in the wheelchair. It was really Kieran Stone!
Karina couldn’t even remember how long it had been since she had last seen him. If Kieran hadn’t appeared here today, she might have gone the rest of her life without thinking about him again. After all, that part of her past was too painful and tormenting to revisit.
Kieran wheeled himself closer, as if to say something, but before he could, a sleek black car pulled up in front of Karina. The window rolled down, revealing Wilfred inside.
Wilfred’s gaze briefly flicked to Kieran but didn’t linger. His focus was entirely on Karina. His voice was soft and gentle as he said, “Get in. Let’s go home.’
Karina wasn’t surprised to see Wilfred. He had already mentioned over the phone that he was nearby. She cast one last glance at Kieran behind her.
“You seem to be doing better now-clean, I assume,” she said calmly. “But as for the rest, there’s nothing left to say. There’s no point in revisiting the past.”
With that, she turned and prepared to get into the car.
Karina had no intention of reliving what she had chosen to forget. As far as she was concerned, there was no going back.
But to her surprise, Kieran called out, his voice laced with desperation. “I know you hate us! But we were still your family for over twenty years. It’s almost my sister’s memorial day-don’t you want to come back, even just once?”
Karina paused mid-step.
Sensing an opening, Kieran took a deep breath and continued, “Please, come back. Even just for a meal. I know… I know it was my fault, and Mom and Dad’s too. But no matter what, we’ve never stopped thinking about you.”
*
Later, sitting in the car, Karina was unusually quiet, her fingers twisting together in her lap-a clear sign of her inner turmoil.
Wilfred glanced at her and spoke in his usual steady tone. “If you want to go back, then go.”
“I don’t even know if I want to,” Karina sighed.
There was someone in that house
she had cared about deeply, but the dead couldn’t be brought back to life. On top of that, the fallout with Mr. and Mrs. Stone had left too many wounds, making it even harder to consider returning. It was only around the time of the memorial every year that she would even entertain the idea of going back.
“I’ll think about it,” she said finally. “But I’ve been too busy lately to deal with it anyway.”
Wilfred didn’t press further. He knew this was something Karina had to work through on her own.
*
Karina hadn’t been lying about being
busy. The past few days had been packed, not chaotic, but certainly full. She hadn’t had the time to even consider visiting the Stone family.
en FindNovel
Three days later, the orphanage renovations began, and the
residents were temporarily relocated to another facility. Once that was settled, Karina found herself with a rare moment of quiet.
With the construction team now handling everything, her responsibilities at the orphanage were on pause, giving her time to reflect on what she had been avoiding.
After much deliberation, Karina decided to go back.
Kieran was right-it was something she needed to do. Not for them, but for the one who had passed. When she told Wilfred, he didn’t comment. He simply picked up his car keys and said, “I’ll drive you there and wait for you downstairs.”
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