But her mother, who always wiped her tears, lay still, forever silent.
Hazel broke down, sobbing until her body shook.
Around her, the doctors exchanged silent, pitying glances.
Outside the room, two nurses walked by, whispering to each other.
“Miss Summers just had a small cut on her finger,” one said. “It would’ve healed on its own in a few hours. But Mr. Blake pulled every senior doctor over for her treatment. Guess his love for her is the real deal.”
“You’re telling me. I even heard he made his wife hold her breath underwater just to make Caroline happy. She nearly died, and he hasn’t even visited her once. That man’s heart… it’s made of stone.”
Their voices faded down the hall, but every word sliced deeper into Hazel’s chest.
Her sobs turned into trembling rage. The veins on her hands bulged as she gripped the bed rail.
She hated them. She hated Caroline. And she hated Dominic even more.
Because of them, her mother was gone. Because of them, her life had fallen apart.
They didn’t deserve forgiveness. They deserved to pay!
The next day, Hazel handled her mother’s funeral alone. She stood silently as the coffin was sealed and the cremation began.
The woman who once shielded her from every storm was now reduced to ashes, a small urn she held carefully in her trembling arms.
Tears streamed down her face again, uncontrollable, endless.
That night, she returned home, clutching the urn close to her chest.
But when she pushed open the door, she froze.
Dominic was sitting on the couch, rubbing his temples as if waiting for her.
When he looked up, his expression was cold, his tone even colder. “You’re back?”
Before she could answer, he tossed a document onto the table in front of her. “Caroline only went after your mother because you refused to apologize and bark like a dog. She might’ve gone too far, but did you really have to call the cops?”
His eyes narrowed and continued, “She’s still being questioned at the station because of you. Sign the statement of forgiveness, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”
Third Person's POV
Hazel let out a bitter laugh.
“A bit too much?” she repeated, her voice trembling with disbelief.
Her mother was dead. And he had the nerve to call that “a bit too much”?
Locking Caroline in an interrogation room was far too lenient. That woman should’ve been rotting behind bars for the rest of her life.