---- sadness filled her face. "Oh, dear child. When? How?" "Three months ago. There was an attack. Rogue wolves." My voice cracked on the words. I couldn't help but shed tears too. "T always feel like I was the one who killed my mother." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "If I hadn't become Garrett's mate, but had earned her medical expenses with my own hands, none of this would have happened." "She would still be alive. She would have gotten the treatment she needed." Mrs. Brown immediately set down her cleaning supplies. ---- She patted my shoulder and pulled me into her embrace. "Oh, sweetheart. Don't you dare blame yourself." Her voice was fierce with maternal protection. "Actually, your mother called me once, many years ago." I looked up in surprise. Mother had never mentioned calling anyone from home. "This was maybe three years after you left. She was crying so hard I could barely understand her." Mrs. Brown's eyes grew distant with the memory. "She knew you weren't happy after the binding. She cried and told me she was sorry, that she had dragged you down with her medical bills." My heart clenched. Mother had known. She had known all along. ---- "She said she watched you change. Saw the light leave your eyes. And she blamed herself for forcing you into that situation." "T told her what I'm telling you now-mothers sacrifice for their children. It's what we do. She made the best choice she could with the information she had." Mrs. Brown cupped my face gently. "Aria, you're grown up now. I don't have much advice to give you, but no mother doesn't love her child. Your mother wouldn't blame you. She only wants you to be happy." I buried myself in Mrs. Brown's arms and sobbed. I wanted to pour out all seven years of grievance and heartache. The infidelity. The humiliation. The slow death of hope. Mrs. Brown held me tight, rocking me like she ---- used to when I was small and had scraped my knee. After crying, my emotions settled considerably. Past regrets could no longer be remedied. Fortunately, though I'd been skinned alive, I had still managed to struggle out of that golden cage.