The older woman’s face drained of color as the reality of what had almost happened crashed over her.
Her hands began to tremble.
“What have I done…” she whispered.
She threw open the car door and rushed into the rain.
“Lily!” she cried.
By the time she reached them, the man was kneeling beside the girl, checking if she was hurt.
“Is she your child?” he asked firmly.
Margaret couldn’t meet his eyes.
“She’s… she’s my granddaughter.”
The man’s expression hardened.
“You left her on the road in this storm?”
Margaret’s voice broke.
“I… I didn’t think…”
The driver of the other car stepped out too, still shaken.
“She could’ve been killed,” he said quietly.
Lily stood there trembling, her small body shivering from cold and fear.
Margaret slowly knelt in front of her.
For the first time, the woman’s voice had no anger in it—only regret.
“I’m so sorry, Lily,” she said, tears mixing with the rain on her cheeks. “I should never have done that.”
Lily looked at her grandmother uncertainly.
The man placed a reassuring hand on Lily’s shoulder.
“Sometimes adults make mistakes too,” he said gently. “The important thing is what they do after.”
Margaret nodded, crying openly now.