Chapter 147
The antiseptic of the hospital and the steady pulse of life-support machines were a stark, unwelcome contrast to the turmoil churning inside me. I was a Doctor, a caregiver, trained to soothe and heal. But how could I mend broken bones and ease suffering when my own family was fracturing before my eyes? Lilith's vacant stare, the stolen scarf clutched in her hand, and also eplayed on repeat in my mind, a haunting melody of guilt and fear.
Had I become so consumed with my own happiness, with the whirlwind of wedding plans and the promise of a future with Dafa, that I'd neglected the one person who needed me most? The thought was a sharp, agonizing blade. I should have seen the warning signs, the subtle shifts in her behavior, the growing distance between us. But I'd been too busy, too self-absorbed, to notice.
