Third person's POV
However reluctant Tabitha was to accept the harsh truth, she had to do it. Things had already happened, and there was nothing she could do to turn back the clock.
So many were injured or died just to save her, and now she wasn't just living for herself anymore.
"You don't have to worry about me doing anything foolish again. Just go home, take a shower, and get some rest. Trust me, I won't run away again," she promised.
Derek didn't expect she would say so. After she came around, she seemed like a whole new person.
In the past, she was like a delicate magnolia, standing tall and elegant but completely harmless.
Now, however, she was like a thorny rose, beautiful yet ready to hurt anyone who got too close.
"Tabitha, I'm not tired..."
Derek wasn't sure how she was holding up, so he wanted to stick around and keep an eye on her.
Tabitha didn't insist. Instead, she looked towards the closed door, asking, "I heard someone crying. Who is it?"
"Joanna's parents. They're demanding answers. Considering that Joanna died for you, I gave them some leeway, but it ended up backfiring. They've been making a scene at the hospital. How unreasonable."
Tabitha shook her head in disapproval of his words. "You'll never understand what it means to be a mother. We'd go to any lengths for our kids. That's not being unreasonable."
With that, she threw off the covers despite still being weak from her own recovery.
She then turned to Derek and asked, "Can you help me out there?"
"Okay."
As soon as the door opened, the noise outside hit them like a wave—the sound of a woman wailing pierced through their ears.
Tabitha lifted her gaze and spotted a plain-looking middle-aged woman with messy hair and red-rimmed eyes filled with grief. She was clutching Alvin's collar, crying out loud.
Alvin had scratches on his neck from where she'd clawed him, but he didn't dodge. "Mrs. Foster, please calm down. What's done is done," he spoke calmly.
"Calm down, how do you expect me to calm down? My daughter was perfectly fine before she came to you! And now she's dead!"
Not far off stood a man who looked utterly defeated, staring blankly at the wall as if everything happening around him didn't even register.
'They are probably Joanna's parents,' Tabitha thought to herself.
With most of her weight leaning on Derek, she spoke in a rough voice, "Mrs. Foster, Joanna died because of me. If you need someone to blame, it should be me."
Maureen Foster turned her head. As soon as she locked eyes with Tabitha, her bloodshot eyes flickered for a moment.
"You ... you're Ms. Hartley?"
Maureen had heard way too much about Tabitha from Joanna before.
Joanna always praised how beautiful and gentle Tabitha was and how nice she treated her. She also mentioned that Tabitha had been through hell and had few relatives left. That was why she was determined to take good care of Tabitha and ensure she safely delivered her pups.
Maureen instinctively gazed at Tabitha's belly, thinking, 'She should be over six months pregnant now, but why is her belly flat? Did she go into early labor?'
She then moved her gaze to Tabitha's face. Despite her beauty, Tabitha's face showed signs of weariness and hardship. Her lips cracked, her cheeks gaunt beyond belief.
She didn't look like a pregnant woman at all. It seemed a mere gust of wind could knock her over.
Maureen stopped screaming, her eyes showing pity.
She watched as Tabitha struggled step by step toward her, each move looking tough yet determined.
Slowly and painfully, Tabitha then bent and bowed down before Maureen.
Derek fixed his eyes on Tabitha, his heart heavy with mixed emotions. Despite the immense hardship she had endured, she remained incredibly strong.
He wanted to support her, but he knew that facing Joanna's parents this way might be what she needed most right now.
Thus, he had no choice but to stand aside, silently guarding her.
"Mrs. Foster, it's my fault your daughter died. If you want to take revenge, just come at me."
Tabitha's voice was filled with guilt and pain.
She was blaming herself, thinking that Joanna wouldn't have died if it weren't for her.
Derek wanted to tell her that it wasn't on her shoulders, but he knew words wouldn't change anything right now.
Only by facing it and bearing it herself could she truly start moving past this shadow hanging over her.