Too Late for Regret My Biased Family Begged for Mercy While I Embraced My Billionaire Husband Chapter 09

Too Late for Regret My Biased Family Begged for Mercy While I Embraced My Billionaire Husband Chapter 09

Mom stood frozen, tears dripping onto the ground.

I didn’t look back. I just kept walking.

Far away, I could still hear her crying.

When I got home, Kael was cooking.

He saw my face and didn’t ask a single question.

He just set the food on the table and poured me a bowl of soup.

“I made lotus root and pork rib soup today. Drink plenty.”

I sat down and took a sip. Tears suddenly fell.

Kael stayed quiet.

I looked at him.

“Mom came to find me.”

“Dad’s in the hospital. Jax broke his leg. Lila ran away. She wants me to go home.” ノ

Kael put down his chopsticks. “What do you want?”

“I don’t want to go back. But it hurts.”

“They only remember I exist when they have no other choice.”

“I hate them. But when I heard Dad’s in the hospital… I still worried.”

Kael held my hand. “Go to see him.”

The next morning, Kael drove me to the hospital.

I didn’t speak on the way. Neither did he.

Near the building, he squeezed my hand.

“Call me if you want to leave anytime.”

I nodded.

When I pushed the door open, Mom was napping by the bed.

Dad lay there, his face sallow, eyes sunken.

He saw me and froze. His lips moved, but no words came out.

Mom woke up with a start.

When she saw me, her eyes turned red at once.

“Elara, you came.’

I didn’t answer. I stood in the doorway.

On the small table next to the bed were cold biscuits and half a bowl of pickles.

Once, four full dishes and soup were normal for them.

Mom followed my gaze and laughed awkwardly.

“We’ve been busy. No time to cook properly.”

She pulled out a chair. “Sit. You must be tired.”

I didn’t sit.

Mom’s smile faded.

She wrung her hands, voice tight.

“Elara, I know you’re hurt, but your dad… he really might not make it, the doctor says.”

She cried as she spoke.

Dad suddenly spoke. “Elara… I’m sorry.”

I froze.

It was the first time he’d ever said those words to me.

He breathed hard and went on.

“When you were little… we made you suffer. I know, I know everything.”

I stared at him, my eyes stinging. But I didn’t let the tears fall.

What good was it now?

I stood there, looking at the thin, weak old man in the bed.

In my memory, he’d always been tall, unshakable.

The one who’d sentenced me to the stairwell nook.

Now he lay there, struggling to speak.

Mom wiped her eyes, sneaking glances at me.

She spoke carefully. “Elara, your dad’s been talking about you nonstop. He misses you.”

I said nothing.

Dad spoke again, voice rough. “Elara… about Jax… I don’t blame you anymore.”

Don’t blame me?

I almost laughed.

I was the one with two broken ribs.

I was the one lying on the floor, half dead.

I was the one beaten until I spit blood.

And in the end, they were the ones not blaming me.

Jax’s voice came from the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

He leaned on crutches, one leg in a cast, scratches still on his face.

When he saw me, his face twisted from surprise to disgust.

“Came to laugh at us?”

He hobbled inside. But his mouth was still sharp.

“Happy now, Elara? My leg’s broken, Lila’s gone, Dad’s in the hospital. Are

you satisfied?”

I ignored him.

Jax slammed his crutch on the floor.

“I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”

Mom snapped at him. “Your sister’s here to see your dad. Don’t…”

Jax laughed bitterly.

“She probably wants Dad to die faster! After what she did to me and Lila, now she’s pretending to be nice?”

Did this to him?I was the one he beat until my ribs broke. And he said I did this to him?

My chest ached again.

Not my bones. Something deeper.

I finally looked up at him.

“Are you done?”

He stared, surprised I was so calm.

“If you are, I’m leaving.”

I turned and walked toward the door.

Mom ran after me and grabbed my arm. “Don’t listen to him. He’s young. He doesn’t know

better…”

Young?

Jax was twenty-two.

When I was twenty-two, I was already working.Sending money home every month.

Mom used to brag to everyone, “Our Elara’s so responsible. She helps support the family.”

Later I learned most of that money went to Lila and Jax.

I looked down at her hand.

“Let go.”

Mom refused. Tears fell fast.

“Elara, you can’t do this. You’re my flesh and blood…”

I laughed.

Flesh and blood?

Then why did that flesh and blood live in a stairwell nook, eat leftovers, almost burn to home alone with a fever?

“Mom, you say I’m your flesh and blood.”

“Tell me how many ribs a person has.”

She stared, confused.

I answered for her.

“I broke two. You said Jax didn’t know better. You said I had a bad attitude. You said I should be

more forgiving.”

“Tell me. How forgiving do I have to be to accept two broken ribs?”

Mom opened her mouth. No words came out.

Jax shouted from behind.

“Mom, stop begging her! Let her leave! We don’t need her!”

I pulled free and walked out of the room without looking back.