Chapter 275

“I know.” Tears fell again as Camilla pressed a shaking hand to her chest. “Every word I say feels like a load, Beatrice. I’m not refusing help because I don’t need it. I’m protecting Luke from something that could hurt him later. You may call me stubborn—but I’m a mother. A mother can’t let her guard down.”

Silence bound them for a moment, broken only by the occasional footsteps of passing nurses