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“Eva’s dying,” he said in a hollow tone. “She might not live long enough to say goodbye to her daughter.”
“Huh?”
“What are you talking about?” Corey asked, sitting down on Noah’s other side.
A heavy sigh escaped Noah. “It seems like Eva was suffering from pancreatic cancer. She was diagnosed too late and had mere months to live.”
Corey glanced at me and then, back at our brother. “Who told you?” Corey asked.
“I found Dad here when I brought Milla in,” said Noah in a low voice. “While the doctors were checking on Milla, he explained what was going on with Eva. They got married out-of-the-blue because she didn’t have much time left.”
“When did all this happen?” I asked. “Where were you when Eva collapsed?”
“They didn’t make it home,” he said. “Eva got ill on the flight, so they moved her here as soon as their flight landed. Milla came to ask me whether I knew anything about them.” His head hung low as he brought his hands to cover his face. “I got so angry with her. She just wanted to know if I knew anything and I—I ...”
I tightened my hold on my brother’s shoulder.
You’ll regret everything you’re doing to me, Milla’s voice rang in my mind.
She’d warned us a long time ago but we didn’t listen. Didn’t believe.
“That’s the reason she never said anything to Eva or our dad,” said Corey, looking horrified. “She silently bore everything to make sure her mother wasn’t bothered by our hatred.”
“What hatred?” I said in a choked voice. “Milla and Eva never did anything that warranted our hate in the first place.”
“What did we do?” Corey whispered, staring at me with wide eyes. “Milla didn’t deserve any of it.”
A groan escaped Noah as he clutched at his hair. “She’ll never forgive me.”
“Don’t be so selfish, No,” Corey said through clenched teeth. “You don’t have the right to receive her forgiveness. I told you to stop harming Milla. Did you listen? Instead, you called us stupid.”
“Don’t, Corey,” I said. “Let’s not fight between ourselves.”
Corey jumped to his feet and started walking away.
“Hey, where are you going?” I called after him.
Turning around, he bellowed, “I can’t stand him right now!”
The few nurses walking around gave him disgruntled looks but Corey was too upset to notice.
I sat back on the bench, my mind going over every single atrocity we’d committed against Milla and her mother. Guilt swept through me like a tsunami of emotions.
We liked her from the time she stepped into our lives. Why couldn’t we trust our own instincts? Why couldn’t we believe Milla was a good person?
Because she was always too good for you and your brothers, my mind whispered.
My chest hurt. I couldn’t believe how much we made her suffer these past months. Her words haunted me. My brothers and I were going to regret every single sin we committed against her.
42
Noah
Every minute that passed brought me closer to the brink of a breakdown. Over two hours passed since I brought Milla to the hospital. She was patched up but still unconscious.
“Will...she...be...long?” Eva said in a low, barely audible voice.
The doctors stabilized her condition momentarily so she could see us. However, we were warned that she could relapse anytime. Two nurses stayed in the corner, watching the monitors.
