NovelUSAChapter 626 All of this proved beyond a doubt-Citrine really had been given another chance at life.
Which meant everything Raymond said was true.
"It's my fault, all of it. If it weren't for that dream, I might never have realized just how much my daughter suffered." Hilda's voice trembled, her heart torn between guilt and aching sorrow.
Raymond glanced at her, his expression gentle but restrained. In the end, he shared what Citrine had asked him to say: "Hilda, when Citrine was in the ambulance, she called out for you-she called you 'Mom.' She askedto tell you... she never blamed you. Not once." Hilda's eyes were already red, but now, at his words, they brimmed over with tears.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtRaymond could tell she'd heard him, so he repeated softly, "You heardright." "She... she really forgave me?" Hilda turned away, wiping her cheeks with a shaking hand and trying to collect herself.
Raymond paused, then said, "You never really understood Citrine, Hilda. She acted tough, but her heart was softer than anyone's. If someone showed her the slightest kindness, she'd remember it forever-she'd pay it back tenfold if she could." "Even if she never said it out loud, she forgave you long ago. Or maybe, the moment she realized you never meant to abandon her, she stopped blaming you at all." After all these years, Raymond knew Citrine's stubborn, loyal nature better than anyone.
"She was afraid you'd be left with regrets. She was afraid she would be too. That's why, in the ambulance, she madepromise to tell you this." His voice caught a little as he spoke, grief tightening his chest.
"My Citrine-my sweet girl..." Hilda's composure finally broke, and she sobbed openly, the pain from the visions in her dream cutting deeper than any knife.
Her eyes hardened with resolve, and she spoke each word carefully, her anger steady and cold. "I'll make them pay-every last one of them." But before she could go on, Raymond interjected, his brow furrowed. "I'm afraid that's not possible anymore." "Why not?" Hilda stared at him in confusion.
Raymond's face darkened. "I looked into everyone who ever hurt Citrine.
Here, overseas-everywhere. They're gone. All of them. It's like they vanished into thin air." After a moment's hesitation, he shared the suspicion that had been gnawing at him.
"I think Citrine took care of them herself. The couple who trafficked her, the others who hurt her-she made sure they'd never do it again." They both knew exactly how cruel those people had been.
No one could blCitrine for hating them. In fact, it was only natural.
Hilda nodded, her face twisted in grief and vengeful satisfaction. "She did the right thing. They deserved it. I never wanted her hands stained like that, but since she chose this path, we have to respect her choice." After all, hatred like that couldn't stay bottled up forever; eventually, it had to find a way out, or it would destroy you from within.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmRaymond understood. He nodded in agreement.
As they spoke, Manley's call cthrough.
Raymond answered on the first ring. "Is the surgery finished? How's Citrine?"
There was a long pause on the other end, then Manley's deep grave Voice: "You need to come. Now. There might still be time-"
Raymond's face drained of color. He didn't wait for the rest He hung up and took off running. Hilda realized something was wrong and hurried after him.
They raced through the hospital corridors, breathless, not stopping for even a moment, until they reached the doors of the operating room Raymond grabbed the doctor by the collar, desperate. "When will she wake up? Tellwhen?" The doctor, still in his white coat, looked stricken. He hesitated, then finally managed to say two words, heavy as stone: "I'm sorry."
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