ripped itself from my throat. It wasn' t a w

tableau shattered. Monica took a small s

, his face once again a pe

, it' s okay. The doctors sa

as if his hand were fire. His touch, which had once

fore he smoothed it back into a gentle expression. "You

me all night when I had a fever? The man who had cried with joy when Lily took her first steps? The man who had

e were standing under an old oak tr

motion. "I swear I will never betray you. I will prot

bitter, cruel joke. He hadn't protect

see her. Even if it wa

g whisper, but it cut thro

t to se

Sarah, who are yo

itself a fresh wound. "I want to

quick, uneasy glan

onizing. "You' re not strong enough. The doctors... they think i

rough my despair. I pushed myself up slightly, ignoring the searing pain in my l

still Lily' s mother. And a mother' s love, I was discovering, was a

almost imperceptible nod. She likely thought it would be a way to sell their

n sound, as if my request

heavy with false reluctance. "If you

elaborate game. But I didn' t care. I just needed to see my little girl one last t