Betrayed by My Childhood Love novel · Chapter 18 of 32
Chapter 18: Twenty
"No," I said. "She did it to herself. You just held the door for her."
My mother's face didn't move.
"You've always hated her."
"I've never hated her. I've never been allowed close enough."
The elevator dinged behind her.
My father came out of the hearing room with his coat over his arm.
He stopped when he saw us.
He looked at me, and then past me, at Gran in her one dress.
Then he took my mother's elbow, the way he had on the dock, and walked her into the elevator.
The doors closed on both of them.
Gran came up beside me and hooked her arm through mine.
"Let's get you a chicken-fried steak," she said. "Then let's go home."
The ruling came in writing in January.
Annika's application was dead, and her sworn statement was attached to the file forever, with a note from the judges.
Rice's lawyer printed it, and I put it in my backpack next to Lyndon's paper.
Annika didn't post about it.
Thornbury's banner about her Pinwheel engine came down, and nothing went up in its place.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–16 of Betrayed by My Childhood Love are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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