Alle Kapitel von The Hour He Never Gave: Kapitel 11 – Kapitel 17

The doctor lowered his voice even more. "She just had surgery. Don't tell her the truth yet. Try not to upset her."I let out a quiet laugh.I never thought the thing I once told Pierce—that he didn't deserve Ellie—would come true like this.I crouched beside the bed and gently brushed her hair back."You've been so brave. Once you're discharged, wanna move somewhere new with Mommy?"***The day Ellie was discharged, I finished the discharge paperwork, grabbed the visas I'd prepared months earlier, and left with her for a small town in Northern Europe called Lakevale.I'd spent six months picking it out.Fresh air. Clean water. Green everywhere. A lake sat right at the edge of town.Perfect for Ellie's recovery.After everything we'd been through, we needed somewhere quiet. Somewhere without all the noise. Somewhere we could finally heal.We needed distance from the past. A slower life. A fresh start.Lakevale was safe, too. I wouldn't have to worry about raising Ellie ther

I turned around, stunned, and realized Ellie had gotten out of the car at some point.She grabbed the hem of my shirt, confusion written all over her face.The second Pierce heard her words, all the color drained from his face."Ellie, what did you just say? I'm your dad. Are you still mad at me, so you're saying that on purpose? Ellie, I know I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"Ellie immediately shrank behind me. "My daddy died a long time ago. He visited me in a dream during surgery and said he'd always watch over me. So how could you be my daddy?"Remembering the doctor's warning and scared Pierce would trigger her condition, I quickly covered her ears and stepped in front of her, completely blocking her view of him."You heard her. Leave. Stop upsetting my daughter."His eyes turned red. His lips moved like he wanted to say something else, but before I could call the cops, he walked away in a daze.But he didn't give up.Every morning when I opened the curtains, I saw Pierce

Ellie was always excited whenever Sean came over.After school, if she spotted him at the house, she'd instantly glue herself to him and drag him into building LEGO sets or puzzles with her.She wouldn't even give him weekends off. Every Saturday, she begged me to take her to the flower shop to see him.I smiled at Sean apologetically."Sorry. Is Ellie bothering you at work?""Not even a little. I like having her there. A kid makes the place feel alive. Otherwise it's just me alone in the shop all day, slowly dying of boredom."Ellie never caused trouble. If anything, she helped out.She wrapped bouquets, tied pretty little bows on them, and even introduced flowers to customers with weirdly impressive confidence.Sean ended up giving her a spare key.He stocked the shop with snacks, drinks, and toys so she could stop by whenever she wanted.After closing every night, he'd hold Ellie's hand while she skipped down the street, walk us home first, then leave only after making sur

When Ellie turned seventeen, she went viral again after her paintings sold for sky-high prices.For her future, Sean and I decided to move back to Floravia and open an art gallery for her.Even if she stopped painting someday, she'd still have another path waiting for her.At the height of her popularity, Ellie started holding exhibitions all the time.One day, while helping a fan look for a lost bag, Ellie suddenly pointed at someone on the security footage."Mom, this guy's weird. He's always the first one here and the last one to leave. But he never asks for photos or autographs. What does he even want? You think he's trying to steal a painting?"The second I saw the blurry figure on the screen, my chest tightened.We hadn't seen each other in decades, but I recognized him instantly.Sean leaned over for a look too.He clearly realized who it was and started to say something, but I pressed a hand against his arm and lightly shook my head.I smiled at Ellie. "Maybe he's jus