The next second, pain shattered through her like every bone in her body had been pulverized at once. The impact hurled her into the air. The last thing she registered was the shriek of a car horn.
When she opened her eyes again, a month had passed.
She'd been rushed to the ICU three times. Dozens of fractures across her body. Internal bleeding. Recovery would take a long while.
A middle-aged man sat vigil at her bedside.
"My child. My sweet girl. You've suffered so much. I'm your father, Hilda. I'm your real father."
The moment the paternity results had come back, he'd been overjoyed. The moment he learned what had happened to her, he'd dropped everything overseas and flown back.
"I got here too late. This is my fault."
He held her hand and wept, his shoulders shaking. Hilda noticed the white hairs on the crown of his head.
They hadn't been there the last time she saw him.
Her heart clenched. She couldn't open her mouth to speak. A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
Calvin insisted on bringing her home that very day, hiring a private medical team to tend to her recovery.
Another month slipped by.