“Mom!!”
A heart–wrenching scream finally broke free from my throat.
I collapsed beside the bed as my entire world crumbled.
A wounded veteran with red eyes told me, “She stepped on a landmine trying to save a new recruit. She pushed him out of the way but didn’t have time to…”
I don’t know how long passed before my sobs turned into quiet whimpering.
With shaking hands, I dialed a number I’d barely called in years.
“Betty?”
I opened my mouth several times before I could make any sound.
“Dad.”
“Mom’s dead.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
After what felt like forever, I heard a very quiet response.
“I know.”
I attended Mom’s funeral for the second time.
It was raining again, and the coffin was covered with the flag again.
But this time, the coffin held Mom’s body, not just her uniform.
Two headstones stood side by side.
Silently telling the story of a goodbye that had been delayed for ten years.
I wore my military dress uniform with a white flower pinned to my chest.
I wasn’t waiting for the game to end like I had ten years ago.
This time, Mom was really dead.
This time, Mom had truly come home.
She was no longer a soldier who had to hide her identity, but a hero returning home with honor.
Kesting forever in the land she’d protected.
1 gently placed a bouquet of lilies in front of the grave.
For the first time in ten years, I called out in public “Mom.”
This word weighed a thousand pounds.
My voice was soft, but it took every ounce of strength I had
Dad stepped forward, wanting to pat my shoulder, but his hand stopped halfway. hesitating
“Betty”
His voice was hoarse, then he said “I’m sorry for your loss Take care of yourself.”
He paused, then said quietly. “Mrs. Hayes and I are getting divorced”
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From Beloved Daughter to Dead Burden’y Now Watch Your Perfect Family KURNI
Chapter 8
I was silent for a few seconds, then responded flatly, “Okay.”
Dad looked at my profile, and all the words he’d prepared got stuck in his throat, finally turning into a helpless sigh.
I used the excuse that the military hospital was too busy and stayed in the barracks dormitory, rarely going home.
Dad called many times asking me to come back, but I always found reasons to avoid it.
Three years was enough time for the sharpest grief to settle into memories.
I threw all my energy into work and became one of the best surgeons at the military hospital.
Three years later, I got married.
The groom was the young recruit Mom had saved with her life during that border mission.
Fate had twisted two lives together in a way that was both cruel and tender.
He’d been injured in a later mission and I’d been assigned to treat him – that’s how we met and fell in love.
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