Chapter 9
Walking ahead, Andrew pushed open the door to the hospital room, but Emily didn’t have the courage to step forward.
Charles had loved her so much, yet she had disappeared for two whole years without sending even a single message. She was sure he must be angry.
Charles only saw Andrew walk in and didn’t notice that the granddaughter he had missed for two years was standing just outside the door. His voice was sharp and full of bitterness. “What are you doing here?
“What, here to tell me again that Emily’s flight got delayed?
“You all kept saying she’d be back in two years. I counted the days every single day, barely held on until now, and now you want to lie to me again? Are you waiting for me to die before you let Emily come home?”
“My poor Emily…” Charles’s voice trembled with sorrow. “Andrew, if you still see me as your grandpa, then tell me-where have you hidden Emily?
“I’m already at the end of my life. Are you really going to keep her from me until I die?”
All the fear and unease Emily had been feeling disappeared the moment she heard his voice.
No matter what, Charles was always the one person who truly stood by her-who loved her without condition.
The rest of the Bennett family couldn’t wait to push her as far away as possible. If it weren’t for Charles’s insistence, maybe once those two years were up, they wouldn’t have even remembered the “burden” they’d sent to St. Gabriel Reform Academy.
If that had happened, maybe she would’ve ended up just like those other kids-kids who’d been forgotten by their families once their “time” was up, left behind in that endless nightmare.
She didn’t know why she’d been so foolish in the past-why she had clung to the fleeting, half-hearted attention from the other Bennetts, while ignoring the one person who had always truly cared for her: Charles.
Andrew looked calm, like he was already used to this.
For the past two years, every time they visited the hospital, Charles would yell at them, demanding they bring Emily back. Sometimes, he’d even take it out on Lydia.
No matter how they tried to explain, Charles refused to believe Lydia was innocent. They couldn’t reason with him, so eventually, they just started visiting less and less.
Now that Emily was finally back-and seemed a lot more mature than before-Andrew figured Charles would stop causing a fuss.
With that thought, it felt like a heavy burden had been lifted. He quickly reached back and pulled Emily into the room. “Grandpa, we really didn’t lie to you. Look who’s here.”
Charles, who had been furious just moments ago, froze. His voice trembled with disbelief. “E-Emily?”
The moment she heard him call her name-so full of love, concern, and longing-Emily’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Grandpa…”
She walked over, shaking, dropped to her knees beside the bed, and clutched his hand tightly.
On the way here, she had practiced what to say-how she would smile and tell him she was doing great, so he wouldn’t
worry.
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