When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 176

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. I chose all of this, it was my decision…”

Sheila’s lashes trembled and a tear landed on the back of Brody’s hand. She leaned in, her voice so soft and desperate it nearly broke him. “I just regret walking away. If I hadn’t left you in a moment of anger, maybe I’d be the one by your side now. Maybe I’d be Carrie’s mom.”

“Sheila…”

“If you’re only doing this because of my dad, you can take back everything you promised me…”

Brody tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t let it go. She brought up her father again. For Sheila, that pain was always there, and she knew it was the one thing that made Brody feel guilty. That was her only card to play.

Just mentioning her dad made Brody’s guilt worse. She knew it, and she was using it, even if it hurt her too. But before she could say more, Brody actually agreed, his voice flat. “Alright. If you understand, then everything we said before is over. I’ll make it up to you.”

Sheila stared at him, so shocked she almost stopped crying. Her lips parted, her face frozen, like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

“Carrie doesn’t want Nelly to leave. If it’s possible, I want to reconsider the divorce.”

Brody wouldn’t look at her. He already felt like the bad guy, and he had been torn up about it for a while. He didn’t get love, didn’t want to. But when Nelly shut him out, he couldn’t just let it happen, and he couldn’t promise Sheila anything either.

He’d always been so sure of himself. He always thought he’d never regret his choices. But maybe, for the first time, he was wrong about something. Maybe he was wrong about the divorce.

He wasn’t someone who ran away from problems. What he couldn’t give Sheila years ago, he still couldn’t give now. Maybe that was just how things were meant to be.

“…Brody…” Sheila tried to find the right words, her voice shaky. A sad smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it. It took her a long time to pull herself together. “You don’t want to divorce Nelly. Is it because you’ve fallen for her?”

Usually, Brody would brush that question off, either cold or annoyed. But this time he said nothing.

He looked down, like he didn’t even know how he felt about Nelly. All he did know was that the only times he’d really felt lost in all these years, it was always because of her.

He told himself he didn’t care, especially not about Nelly. But if that were true, why did it hurt so much sometimes?

Sheila already knew the answer, deep down, but she couldn’t accept it. She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to think it was just Nelly manipulating things, or maybe Brody just being possessive.

“Brody, if you really cared about her, you wouldn’t have been so distant all these years. I know she’s been with you for a long time, and maybe you’re just used to having her around. Maybe you’re confusing habit for love…”

Even as she spoke, Sheila could hear how empty her words sounded. Brody’s heart literally belonged to her father, and he still hadn’t chosen her.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify