Bella's POV
The words caught in my throat as I stared into their expectant faces, those innocent eyes searching mine for answers I wasn't ready to give.
"It's not what you think," I managed to stammer, my voice barely above a whisper.
"You don't have to explain anything to us, Mommy. We're just relieved you came back to us. We saw everything we needed to see in how they treated you today," Tara said, her voice carrying a wisdom that shouldn't belong to someone so young.
The tears I'd been holding back finally spilled over. I couldn't maintain the facade any longer, not in front of these beautiful souls who saw right through my pain.
"Please don't cry, Mommy," Zack whispered, sliding off his bed to take my trembling hand in his small ones. He guided me to sit beside him, his touch gentle but determined.
One by one, my other children gathered around me, their arms wrapping around my shoulders and waist in a protective cocoon of love.
