“No.”
“I’m asking you to leave because you spent years teaching my daughter that your comfort mattered more than her dignity.”
Vanessa grabbed her purse.
“Fine. Keep pretending the world isn’t cruel.”
Vanessa turned to Lily.
“Come on.”
Lily stepped closer to Mom.
“Come on.”
“I want to stay with Grandma and Grandpa tonight.”
Vanessa’s mouth opened.
Mom spoke calmly.
“She’s upset. Give her one quiet night.”
Vanessa looked around the room.
Nobody defended her.
“She’s upset.”
Nobody looked away.
“Do whatever you want.”
Then, she walked out alone.
I closed the door.
***
No one spoke. Nora kept staring at all the places she’d once been.
Later that night, I knocked on Nora’s door.
No one spoke.
“Come in.”
She sat on the bed in an old T-shirt, with the yellow dress folded beside her.
I sat beside her.
“I failed you.”
“Mom…”
“No. I saw pieces and kept choosing peace. I thought silence would stop a fight. It only gave Vanessa room to keep hurting you.”
“Mom…”
Nora picked at a loose thread.
“I thought maybe you didn’t notice because she was right.”
I took her hand.
