I no longer had the strength to argue. The fight, the love, the pain—it all felt pointless. I reached for the lunch box on the ground, then extended my hand to Hudson. "Of course, you can stand on your moral high ground—you’re not the one who lost your family. Now give me the keys. I’ll go to the hospital on my own."
Hudson’s gaze fell to my bloodied arm, concern flickering across his face. "Aubrey, how did you hurt your arm? You can’t drive like this. Let me take you."
But just then, Harper dramatically swooned, collapsing to the ground. Hudson rushed to her side without hesitation, cradling her in his arms. "Harper, what’s wrong?"
Weakly, she pressed a hand to her forehead. "I feel lightheaded. It’s probably my low blood sugar."
Without missing a beat, Hudson pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, peeling it open and feeding it to her. "There’s a restaurant up ahead. I’ll get you something to eat."
He carried her off, leaving me standing there, abandoned and numb.
I watched them disappear, an unexpected calm settling over me. That was it. I realized, in that moment, I stopped loving him.
With a deep breath, I pulled out my spare key, got into the car, and drove away.
Before entering the ward, I asked the nurse to bandage my wound. When my mother saw the bumpy lunch box and my forearm wrapped in gauze, tears of heartache filled her eyes. I smiled and wiped them away, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, Mom. It’s just a fall. Every time you fall, you learn a lesson—you won’t fall again next time."
Despite my reassurances, Mom wasn’t in a good mood and fell asleep shortly after dinner.
In the afternoon, Hudson visited the hospital. He settled next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist as if nothing had happened. "You were too impulsive today, hitting people like that. I apologized to Harper on your behalf. She doesn’t blame you anymore."
I rolled my eyes, too exhausted to argue. "I always thought you were a generous person. Harper even said she’s willing to do anything to help make peace between you and your mom."
Hudson sighed, his voice laced with frustration. "If you could avoid seeing each other, I wouldn’t push this, but your families’ old houses are next to each other. You’ll run into her every day."