Once upon a time, I was never the one she chose to leave behind.
I looked at her, my gaze hollow.
"Grandma, let her go."
She seemed startled by my magnanimity.
After all, there was a time I'd thrown tantrums, groveled, even hurt myself to keep her from leaving—shredding every last scrap of my dignity as a man.
Something complicated passed through her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end, she left.
The nurse re-dressed my wounds.
The baby was soothed to sleep.
Then my phone buzzed with her message.
[Sorry. I just didn't want to cause a scene at the hospital and damage the Jenner family's reputation.]
[Noel is still unconscious and needs someone with him, so I won't be coming over. We're recovering together. Don't worry.]
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Once, when I learned she'd been injured on a business trip, I flew eleven hours to be by her side. I went with her to every examination, never leaving for a moment.
She'd been so moved she could barely speak. She told me she would never let me down—not in this lifetime.
Seeing me sigh, Grandma Evelyn snatched the phone from my hand.
She read the cold words on the screen and let out a scornful huff.