“You’re still awake?” Charlotte asked softly, glancing over her shoulder as her mother stepped quietly into the room.Rita shook her head and came to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. “No,” she said. “I was just… thinking.”Charlotte turned fully toward her. “About what?”Rita hesitated for a moment, her gaze fixed on her hands. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she said, “Forgive me, Charlotte.”Charlotte blinked, surprised. She looked at her mother, searching her face, but said nothing.Rita went on, her tone trembling between regret and honesty. “All these years, we were so busy chasing our own idea of happiness. Your father and I… we never stopped to ask what mattered to you—or to Brian. We wanted to build a better life for all of us, but somewhere along the way, we forgot we were supposed to be a family.”The confession caught Charlotte off guard. She had never heard her mother speak like this—without pride, without pretense, stripped down to nothing but guilt.“Mom,”
Last Updated : 2026-03-12 Read more