They Regretted It After I Gave Up Chapter 20

They Regretted It After I Gave Up Chapter 20

Dad didn’t answer.

He walked out onto the balcony and lit a cigarette.

The smoke was snatched away by the wind.

Three months later, Beckett’s case went to trial.

He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Seven years.

In court, his lawyer argued that he had not directly caused my death, that he had never intended for me to drink the antifreeze.

Because I had drunk the poison myself.

The judge accepted that argument.

The sentence was seven years.

When Mom heard it, she let out a cold, sharp laugh.

“Seven years,” she said. “My daughter’s life is worth seven years.”

She stood and looked at Beckett in the defendant’s box.

“Remember this. When you get out in seven years, you’ll still be young. But my daughter will be eighteen forever. Her life stopped right here.”

Beckett kept his head down and didn’t say a word.

As the bailiff led him away, he looked back at the gallery.

Mom and Dad sat there, their faces blank.

Then he glanced to the side.

Tessa wasn’t there.