?Chapter 3102:


    “Fine. I’ll stop talking.” Neville raised his hands in surrender.


    “What time is it?” She checked the time instead of arguing. “I need to go. I left early for ss and didn’t check on Elissa. I hope she’s alright.”


    She stood and headed for the stairs. “I’ll change upstairs.” She paused and looked back. “Come join uster. The hospital team ising today.”


    “Alright. I’ll remember.”


    By sunset, the air had already cooled.


    When Savannah arrived, Elissa was resting on a wicker chair in the garden.


    “Mom.” Elissa pushed herself up as soon as she saw her.


    “Stay as you are.” Savannah reached her side at once and eased her back against the cushions.


    She sat beside her and asked, “Have you been lying here the entire afternoon? Did you walk around?”


    “She did.” The caretaker stepped forward. “She walked for an hour and only sat down a short while ago.”


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    “That’s good.” Savannah smiled lightly and motioned for the caretaker to leave them.


    She held her daughter’s hand and spoke with quiet care. “Elissa, your Dad and I talked. We’re nning to send you somewhere outside Ontmond.”


    Elissa lifted her head at once. Her eyelids trembled, revealing the unease she struggled to hide.


    “I don’t want you to leave either, sweetheart.” Savannah tightened her grip. “But the weather here has not been kind to your health, and…”


    Her voice softened as emotion filled it.


    “If you want to stay and be close to me, then stay. I’ll take care of you.”


    Elissa lowered her gaze. Silence stretched between them before she finally shook her head. “No. I can’t.”


    She was an adult. She understood her responsibilities. She had things that she had to do, even if they weighed heavily on her.


    “s…” Savannah let out a weary breath. “I knew you would say that. I won’t try to change your mind.”


    She shaped her expression into something gentler, trying to push back her own sorrow.


    “When you settle in, I’ll visit whenever I can. I might be busy during the school terms, but I have my breaks, and so does William.”


    Even as she spoke, the worry in her chest refused to ease. She tried again to brighten the mood. “You’re not leaving forever. It’s only for a while.”


    Elissa nodded softly. “I know.”


    “And there’s something else.” Savannah watched her carefully, hesitating before she continued. “Ernest left.”


    Hearing this, Elissa jerked upright, her eyes widening as her breath caught. Her fingers trembled in Savannah’s grasp.


    She stared at her mother as if the words made no sense.


    “It’s true.” Savannah stroked her hand. “That is how love often behaves. When a man cares, his tenderness feels convincing. Every soft promise seems real at the time.”


    She brushed her daughter’s hand with a quiet tenderness. “When love fades, it leaves nothing behind. The silence after it ends is its own kind of weight.”


    Elissa did not blink.


    Her gaze stayed fixed on her mother, yet the color in her eyes slowly deepened. Tears gathered, slipped free, and traced down her face.


    “Ah!” A sudden gasp tore through her. She pressed her palm to her chest as if something inside her had twisted.


    “Elissa?” Savannah leaned forward in rm. “Tell me what hurts.”


    “Mom.” Elissa’s voice broke as tears streamed down unchecked.


    “Are you in this much pain?”


    “I don’t know.” Her answer came out raw, her head shaking as if she were trying to make sense of a storm inside her. A hollow ache spread through her chest, rising like a tide she could not escape.


    She lifted her eyes toward Savannah, lost and frightened. “Did someone abandon me once?”


    Savannah froze.


    “Was it that man?” Elissa whispered.


    Tears gathered in Savannah’s eyes at once. Her voice trembled when she spoke. “I don’t know. I truly don’t.”


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