Chapter 678:

A light breeze passed between them. The mascot hesitated for a moment, and then turned to the next page.

“If someone hurt you badly, what would it take for you to forgive them?” Millie studied the mascot, but they only gestured to the word “Survey” on the page.

Millie thought it had to be for some kind of dating or relationship coaching app. She thought for a long moment before answering.

“It depends on what happened. If it’s a single mistake, you address it head-on. Forgiveness comes down to the situation and how sincere the apology is.” She let the words settle before continuing, “But… there are people and things that can never be forgiven.”

The mascot went still, as if the answer had struck a chord; then they slowly flipped to another question.

“What if the person who hurt you had their own hardships? Would you forgive them then?”

Hardships?

A quiet laugh slipped from her lips.

She could still remember Brandon going on and on about his struggles. She could not grasp what might have driven him to cause her such pain. Still, the harm had already been done.

What she had lost, what they had both lost, was a child who would never come back.

Millie pulled Ari close, wrapping one arm around her while the other came to rest lightly against her stomach.

Chances were high she would never have a child of her own.

At least Ari was still with her.

A faint redness crept into her eyes.

Even so, Millie reined in her emotions, keeping her gaze on the leaves dancing in the breeze instead of the figure standing before her.

“No,” she replied. The mascot stayed motionless, hands frozen on the notebook without flipping to the next page.

𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖈𝖊: ⳑ𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀․𝗰𝗈𝗺

A gentle wind brushed by, and Ari let out a sleepy yawn in Millie’s arms.

The quiet street lay under the soft glow of the lamps.

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