Chapter 4: The Truth She Buried
Clare woke up to silence.
Clean sheets.
White walls.
The faint scent of antiseptic.
For a moment, she didn’t remember.
Then she tried to move.
Pain answered.
“Don’t,” a voice said gently.
She turned her head.
Her father sat beside her.
Older.
Tired.
But watching her like he never had before.
“You’re safe,” he said.
Tears slipped quietly from her eyes.
“I ruined everything…”
“No.”
He leaned forward.
“You hid everything.”
A pause.
“I knew you were helping him,” he continued. “At the beginning.”
Her breath caught.
“I didn’t stop you,” he said. “Because I thought you were choosing love.”
Another pause.
“I was wrong.”
Clare shook her head weakly. “No… I chose wrong.”
Her father’s expression softened.
“No,” he said.
“You trusted someone who didn’t deserve it.”
He reached for her hand.
Carefully avoiding the injuries.
“That’s not weakness,” he added.
“That’s being human.”
She closed her eyes.
May you like
For the first time in years—
She let herself breathe.
