Catherine's heart pounded, the sound loud in her ears as her fingers curled tightly around the armrest before she even realized what she was doing.
Her mother…
The mother she had watched die in front of her eyes, who was weak, in pain, yet still worrying about her until her very last breath. The woman who had carried every burden silently, who had loved without condition, without resentment…
That mother… Was here.
Back, in this life too.
Maximilian turned slowly to look at the little girl in the back seat, his thoughts struggling to align with what he had just witnessed.
This… this was Catherine's mother?
The same woman he remembered as gentle beyond reason, untouched by cruelty, incapable of hatred no matter how the world treated her. The woman who had once sung lullabies in a quiet voice, who had smiled at him with a warmth he had never deserved…
The woman who had died because of him.
His hand trembled against the steering wheel.
