My Forced Marriage To A Coma Knight

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tered open, revealing a blinding white ceiling. I was in a hospital. Again. A famili

checked my vitals, her expression neutral. "You took quite a fall. Luckily, no major lasti

family hadn't eve

nt. So glad you're okay, sis! We were so worried seeing you like that. Mom and Dad insisted I needed a pick-me-up after yo

mb. As I stepped inside, I heard laughter from the living room. Josie's lilting voice, my mother's indulgent chuckle, Colbert's hearty laugh. Addison's familiar murmur.

wallpaper, the antique vanity, the childhood trinkets – they all felt alien

, beaming. A small, handcrafted wooden dog, a gift from Colbert when I was seven, after my first puppy died. A faded ribbon from a school

ut to the sprawling back garden, once my sanctuary. The setti

other. The flames licked at the glossy paper, consuming our happy faces. Then, the w

ed voice cut through the twilight. The whole family, drawn b

s the last ember die

d in anger. "You're burning old memories? What is wron

ration on his face. "El, it was just a little push. Josie wa

ew old photos. Don't be so dramatic. We can print

as giving up my kidney a small thing? Was being pushed down the stairs and left for dead a small thing?" My gaze swept over t

and. Josie was just trying to help. She' s had a diffic

our actual daughter?" I shook my head, the pain in my chest a dull throb. "Don't pretend you eve

new phone. My parents' clumsy attempts at appeasement. A familiar tactic. When they

The bag, heavy with their hollow apologie

ned shock. "Eleanore! What are you doing? Those ar

me, Josie. Just like you." Her smile faltered. "Enjoy my old lif

e sound of her stunned silence a final, delicious note in the symph