The next afternoon, Sherree arrived in a black dress, holding a bouquet of lilies. She stood at the ICU door, her face plastered with a false, sweet smile.
“Delane, I’m here to apologize to Hallie,” she began.
I shot to my feet and glared at her. “Get out!”
When it came to Sherree, I felt both hatred and fear. I was terrified she would lose control again and hurt my daughter once more.
Sherree put on an innocent, confused look. “Delane, I really know I was wrong. That day, I lost control… I was scared too… I didn’t mean it. Please, let me in, just for a moment. I just want to say one thing to her. Just one.”
My whole body trembled with rage. I stepped protectively in front of my daughter’s bed, my voice almost a roar.
“I said get out! What right do you have to apologize? Hallie almost died, and you think one ‘I didn’t mean it’ can make up for that?!”
Payton appeared then, standing in the doorway with a frown.
“Delane, Sherree truly regrets it. She cried the whole way here, bought her favorite flowers, and insisted on apologizing in person. You can’t just shut her out like this…”
A coldness spread through me.
“Payton, have you forgotten? Hallie is allergic to lilies! This woman’s bringing them here now—what else could she mean but to try to kill my daughter again?”
Payton fell silent.
Sherree, however, took a few delicate steps toward me, her eyes glistening as if she were holding back tears.
“I only bought the flowers I like… I didn’t think about it. Delane, I truly meant no harm. Please… forgive me, alright?”
She reached out to take my hand.
Instinctively, I stepped back, shaking her off.
Her foot slipped. She fell to the floor, her skirt pooling around her as a wounded expression crossed her face.
“Delane!” Payton’s brows knit tightly. He hurried to help her up. “You’re being too impulsive! Sherree came here to apologize—why would you hurt her?”
“She’s already humbling herself. Are you really this heartless?” he yelled in disappointment.
I gave a short, cold laugh. “She humbles herself, and that means I have to forgive her? Payton, my daughter is lying here, kept alive by machines, and you think I’m the one being heartless?!”
Sherree wept pitifully, clutching Payton’s sleeve.
“Payton, it’s all my fault… I was just too scared. I didn’t mean to hurt her, I only—”