oment she stepped out of the elevator. She walked down the qui

he disease and the harsh treatments had stolen her vitality, leaving behind a woman so t

eyes fluttered open. A soft, warm smil

she whispered, her

d in her throat, thick and painful. "I'm here, Mom," she said, forcing a cheerful tone. "How

her daughter. But Evelyn knew. She knew the chemotherapy made it imposs

houlder, seeking the comfort she had craved since she was a little girl

s neck, and she paused. Her touch lingered on t

t the sadness she couldn't quite hide in her e

straight, pulling away from her mother's gentle

d, the words feeling like sawdust

ie, listen to me. If this marriage is making you miserable, you need

, the way he didn't. He had visited once, a brief, ten-minute appearance filled with formal, empty pleasantries. He had promised the best

ere Evelyn had kept her pain locked away. The tears

And now, her mother's blessing to leave. A thought that had been a hesitan

e. She had

d her mother. "You get some rest, Mom," she said,

dn't go home. She drove downtown, to

getting

nderstand. She asked him to draw up the papers immediately. Britt's child would be born soon. She couldn't stand the

er her. It felt like the first clean breath she had taken in three years. She knew Francisco wou