Chapter 10
When I opened my eyes again, I saw a plain white ceiling.
“You’re awake! You finally woke up! Fidelia, you scared me to death!”
I turned my head slightly. Caleb’s anxious face filled my vision.
I stayed silent, closing my eyes again.
He gripped my hand, voice trembling.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were this sick…
“I’ll hire the best doctors. I’ll spend everything to save you.
“Please… don’t leave me. I tore up the divorce papers. We’ll never be apart again…”
A warm tear hit the back of my hand. I felt nothing.
What was left for me in this world?
“Look, your dad’s medal. It’s safe. Moira lied to you. She fabricated everything…”
At this, a flicker of life returned to my eyes.
I clutched the medal to my chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
I thought, “Thank God.
“I didn’t lose Dad’s last gift.”
Caleb kept talking. “I found out the truth. Moira framed you and made me believe you cheated. She ruined us. I’ll make her pay…
15.45
“She’s already finished. Blacklisted in her industry, hated online for stealing your medal…”
I wiped my tears and stared at him coldly.
“Do you think these words make me happy now?
“None of this started because of her. It started because of you!
“Even without Moira, there’d be someone else!”
Caleb argued back.
“But I’ve changed! Why can’t you forgive me? Over a three–month internship? You’d throw away years of love for her?”
When I stayed silent, his tone softened.
“I’m truly sorry. Once you recover, I’ll never control your spending again!”
He pulled out a black card.
“This is everything I own. Use it freely, I’ll do anything to make you better! The houses are all in your name now.
“Don’t you want to visit your family? I’ll go with you. I miss your dad’s cooking.”
He clung to me, face buried in my shoulder.
“You have to get better. I’ll die without you!”
A tear dripped onto my neck.
“Too late,” I said.
He stiffened and released me, confused.
“It was already too late when you finally gave me the keys after I begged all night!”
Bewilderment flickered across his face.
I smiled coldly.
“All this time you didn’t know my father died? He died when you accused him of faking illness and refused him housing.
“If you’d just agreed then… If you hadn’t locked me away… he wouldn’t have collapsed from the shock of not seeing me.
“He only ever asked one thing, to meet his old comrades one last time, to see the Statue of Liberty before he died. But his heart stopped moments before it began.
“If not for his comrades supporting your company all these years, where would your business be? And he died by the hands of the son–in–law he
trusted most.”
Caleb shook his head desperately.
“No… Stop talking. Just stop. You’re lying to me, aren’t you?”
I wrenched his hands away coldly. “He didn’t die peacefully. His eyes stayed wide open. Until his last breath, he was still waiting for hist daughter to take him to see the Statue of Liberty!
“And all of this is your fault!
“My father’s greatest tragedy was having a daughter who failed him. And my greatest tragedy? Meeting you!”
With all my strength, I slapped him hard across the face.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know. I thought…”
es
I shut my eyes, letting tears stream down.
“I never want to see you again. Not in this lifetime.”
Before being discharged, Caleb had Albert visit me again.
Albert said, “Mom, I know I was wrong. You used to hug me all the time. Will you hug me now?
“Dad can’t take care of anything. The house is a mess. Please come home, okay?”
The word “Mom” sounded almost foreign to me.
How long had it been since Albert last called me that?
It was probably around the time he started to understand.
Children were quick to pick up on dynamics.
He knew who held power in the family.
He mirrored that person’s attitude toward me.
Even when I tried to guide him, he brushed me off.
I had three months left.
In one day, I settled all my final arrangements.
Not that there was much to arrange.
Caleb gave me his black card. Why not use it?
I left small gifts for the elders who once cherished me and close friends.
Then, in my father’s name, I donated a large sum to mountain villages.
Next, I took the medal and traveled the world.
In my final days, even as someone burdened with guilt, I lived the life I wanted.
I was content.
When my body could barely hold on, I visited my last destination.
Not long after mailing back the medal, I received a letter from my mother.
She told me Dad’s regret wasn’t the unvisited landmark or broken promises to old comrades. It was not seeing me happy.
Now, I joined him.
Caleb, who once valued money above all, realized after my death that no amount of his wealth could save me.
He lived in sorrow until Albert turned 18.
The day after, he passed away.
