Tabitha's POV
The moment I saw Holly, one thought crossed my mind: she was like a bad penny.
As I turned to leave, she quickly caught up with me, gasping, "Tabitha, wait. I have something to tell you."
I didn't stop, instead, I quickened my pace.
A nurse's anxious voice sounded behind me. "Mrs. Sutton, slow down!"
I stopped in my tracks, and Holly, who had also managed to catch up with me, panted, "Tabitha, finally."
Without makeup, her face was pale and weak, and even her lips were slightly purple.
I said in a flat tone, "Mrs. Sutton, haven't I told you we're done?"
"Tabitha, just five minutes, please," she pleaded.
The nurse beside us advised, "Miss, just say yes. Please don't upset her anymore."
They had put me in an impossible situation, forcing me to agree.
"Fine, just five minutes," I sighed.
I walked back to my ward, and Holly dashed in behind me.
We sat on opposite ends of the sofa. After a moment of awkward silence, she moved closer, grabbing my hand.
I tried to pull away but eventually gave up, fearing she might have another heart attack.
"Your health wasn't this bad when you were in the Silver Moon Pack. So Mark isn't so nice to you after all," I mocked.
She shook her head. "Mark's been very good to me, really."
Perhaps worried I might leave in a fit of pique, she immediately changed the subject. "When I left you, you were still a kid. So maybe John didn't tell you everything. Tabitha, don't you wanna know why I left?"
I gripped the sofa tighter. "Isn't it because you fell in love with someone else?"
She shook her head, saying, "Tabitha, let me tell you a story."
The story she recounted wasn't sensational, but rather melodramatic.
Turned out Mark and Holly were childhood sweethearts. Unfortunately, during a pack mission, Mark was attacked by rogues and had gone missing ever since.
Holly's pack had been wanting her to marry Dad, so right after Mark's disappearance, they set them up with each other.
Dad gave her three years to forget Mark. During that time, Dad tried every way to make her fall for him. Holly, feeling like she couldn't let him down, thus agreed to be Luna of the Silver Moon Pack.
But deep down, she was still in love with Mark. And the love didn't diminish with the passing of time.
Just as she was getting ready to move on, however, she heard news of Mark.
Turned out that when he was injured, someone from another pack saved him, but he temporarily lost his memory.
After recovering, he married the daughter of the pack's Beta and had a child.
The thing had been weighing on her. Even though she had given birth to a child as well, she was stuck in the past, unable to move on.
At that time, she didn't care about the development of the Silver Moon Pack at all.
And she never shifted, for she hated her werewolf identity.
Her wolf had completely gone dormant, which was why she became so weak.
Mark didn't regain his memory until his mate unexpectedly passed away.
Holly didn't want to have any regrets, so she eloped with Mark.
The story ended there. After hearing it, I laughed so hard that tears rolled down my cheeks. "So, am I supposed to applaud your tragic, undying love?"
I thought she might feel a bit guilty seeing me bleed. And she would say something to cheer me up. But I was wrong.
I finally realized that she'd been pampered since childhood. Throughout her life, apart from some love troubles, she led a carefree life.
Even in middle age, she lived in an ivory tower, selfish and egotistic.
I asked, "Mrs. Sutton, so you can't live without Mark?"
Holly was stunned at my question.
The puzzled look on her face and the tears swirling in her eyes made her look comical.
Guessed she was wondering why her pitiful story didn't resonate with me.
I sneered, "Mrs. Sutton, perhaps the hardest thing you've ever experienced in your life was losing Mark. But do you know what it's like to lose your family? And you can't do anything about it? Do you know how devastatingit is for me to go from a noble lady to an underdog who everyone can bully?
"In your world, even a mosquito bite probably requires emergency care. How could you possibly understand the effort it takes for me to live when every second seems like torture?"
In fact, I envied her, the epitome of self-interest.
For her, nothing mattered more than her feelings, be it Dad, who had loved her crazily, or me, who had cautiously sought her attention. We both became sacrifices to her love story.
"Tabitha, I know you've suffered a lot these years. Sorry for not being there for you before. Now that I'm back, I promise I won't let anyone hurt you again," she said earnestly.
I met her sincere gaze, and for a moment, I wavered.
However, the next second, she added, "Daphne's like a daughter to me. When you weren't around, she'd been by my side. She's truly an exceptional girl, a perfect match for Derek. Can you please listen to me and let her have him?"
I was stunned, but not as shocked as what came next.
She continued, "I'm not favoring Daphne. Just think about it. You and Derek have already divorced. If you keep clinging to him, your reputation will be ruined. Besides, they have twins. For the sake of Kyrian and Reid, don't break up their parents."
Holly claimed not to be biased, but in reality, every word she said showed partiality.
I chuckled, looking at her, "Has it ever occurred to you that she's the homewrecker here?! And Derek's the one who can't live without me. If you can convince him to let me go, you'd be doing me a big favor."