Ethan swallowed hard. “Lina…you thought I wouldn’t understand?” She met his gaze helplessly. “I’d lived with the shame for so long, I forgot how to share it. And now—” Her shoulders trembled. “He died today, but he saw his granddaughter. That mattered to him.”
She wiped at her face, finally looking lighter through her grief. “He wanted to meet her so badly. They called me this morning to tell me he had taken a turn for the worse, and I just did not have the heart to deny him. Every minute counted. I didn’t even realize I had left my phone behind until a few minutes before you walked in.”