Chapter 1738:
Her chest rose with a deep breath before she closed her eyes, as if willing the memory of that harrowing event to fade.
“I-I was just so scared,” Kylee stammered. “Those men… They were monsters. They kill without a second thought, and if they had taken me, I wouldn’t have stood a chance to survive!”
Carola’s eyes opened slowly. She turned to face her daughter, her expression cold. “If they had taken you, it would’ve been the end for you. But if they took me instead, that was somehow acceptable? Is that what you mean?”
Kylee’s face paled at once, panic flaring in her eyes. She quickly said, desperation lacing her voice, “No, that’s not what I meant! Mom, please, I just—”
But Carola cut her off, her tone icy and unyielding as she said, “Enough. I don’t need your excuses, and I don’t want to hear another word from you. I know exactly what kind of person you are now.”
She turned her face away, pulling the blanket up with a weary motion. “Leave,” she said flatly. “I’m tired. I want to rest.”
“I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying right here with you tonight,” Kylee declared firmly.
“I don’t want you here,” Carola shot back coldly.
“But I need to be with you! Even if you don’t want me around or don’t want to see me, I’m not leaving,” Kylee said. Her resolute expression made it clear she wouldn’t budge, no matter what Carola said.
Frustrated and unwilling to argue further, Carola turned away, lying down with her back to Kylee.
After a prolonged silence, Kylee’s voice broke through again, trembling with emotion. “Mom, please don’t be upset with me. Don’t push me away, I beg you. I’m so scared. I’m your daughter, your own flesh and blood…”
Her words seemed to hit a raw nerve in Carola.
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She abruptly sat up in the hospital bed, her bloodshot eyes locking onto Kylee with fierce intensity. “Now you call yourself my daughter? Did you remember that when you shoved me toward those robbers? If it weren’t for Belinda today, do you even realize what could have happened to me?”
Her voice quivered with anger, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her emotions surged.
A wave of frustration and pain crashed over her.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling to hold them back.
Without another word, she lay down again, turning her back to Kylee, retreating into silence.
Kylee’s face drained of color as she stared at Carola’s back, overwhelmed by a crushing sense of helplessness.
The day’s events had caught her completely off guard.
The situation had been so dire, her fear of death so overpowering, that when she saw Carola rushing toward her, her instinct was to push her toward the robbers, using her as a shield.
Regret had consumed her afterward, especially when she saw Belinda step in to save the day.
