When My Ex's Worst Enemy Became My Sanctuary novel Chapter 125

Elise had barely visited the nursing home in all these years—maybe five times, tops. But now, out of nowhere, she’d already shown up twice this month. People don’t just drop by for no reason, especially someone like Elise. Pauline couldn’t help but wonder what she was really after. Deep down, she was sure it wasn’t anything good.

Elise gave a small, polite smile and nudged Carola forward. “Go on, Carola. Tell Grandma what you came for. Pauline’s always been the most reasonable one. Once she hears you out, she’ll get it.”

Carola managed a gentle smile. “Pauline, I’m here to apologize. There was a misunderstanding between me and Dorothea. Things got out of hand, and she won’t answer my calls. That’s why we came to you for help.”

She made it all sound so casual, as if the whole mess online was just a bump in the road. She barely mentioned her own part in it, pushing the blame off onto Larry like it was nothing.

Pauline, who’d had her eyes closed, suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Carola. “So what you’re telling me is that Dorothea got dragged through hell online because of you?”

Her breath came faster. She called to the caregiver, “Can you look this up online for me? Read it out loud.”

Elise and Carola’s faces changed. They tried to stop the caregiver, but it was too late. The comments started coming, one after another, each one sharper and uglier than the last. Pauline listened, her chest aching with every word.

“Elise, is this the ‘little thing’ you mentioned?”

“If someone said these things about you, would you still call it little?”

Pauline might not have known her way around the internet, but she wasn’t clueless. She listened to the news every day. She knew there were girls out there who’d been bullied to death online. Carola was doing her best to push Dorothea to the edge. And Larry? He was probably just doing Carola’s dirty work.

“Pauline, you just don’t understand. It’s not that serious. Just some harsh words, that’s all.”

The caregiver jumped in, “It’s not just a few comments. There are tens of thousands! And honestly, I skipped the really nasty ones!”

Pauline’s hands clenched tight around her wheelchair’s armrests. “You hear that, Elise? Is this what you want? To drive Dorothea to her grave?”

“Instead of standing up for her, you bring the person who started it all, asking me to forgive her?”

“You want Dorothea to forgive you? Keep dreaming!”

“Elise, who’s really your daughter? Is your heart made of stone? How could Dorothea end up with a mother like you?”

Every word hit Elise right where it hurt. For a second, she lost her cool too. “It’s not my fault. She just has bad luck. If her father hadn’t died so young—”

Pauline’s eyes filled with tears. “This is on me. I never should’ve let her go to you when she was little.”

She thought about all those school breaks, how Dorothea would leave so happy, only to come back heartbroken and sad every time. Who knew what she’d suffered in that house?

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