Crippled Luna's Farewell Half A Life Without My Alpha's Deadly Deception novel Chapter 165

“Aunt Sarah!” Abby squealed, running straight into her arms.

Sarah chuckled and lifted her, spinning her around slightly. “You’re going to take off if you keep waving that wand so fast!”

Abby giggled. “Maybe I’ll fly like a fairy!”

The warmth in Sarah’s chest deepened as she held the little girl close.

Cole stood a few steps away, his expression calm but observant. “I thought you were busy with family plans,” he commented.

Sarah hesitated, adjusting Abby in her arms. “Elisa wanted to come here. I just came along to drop her off.”

Cole hummed, as if he didn’t entirely believe her. “Well, since you’re here, why don’t you join us?”

Before Sarah could answer, Abby pulled back slightly and pointed toward the sky. “The fireworks are starting!”

A loud boom echoed, followed by an explosion of gold and red across the night sky.

The crowd gasped in awe, and for a moment, Sarah was caught in the magic of it. The colors reflected in Abby’s wide, delighted eyes as she clapped her hands together.

“This is the best night ever!” Abby declared.

Sarah felt her tension ease, her lips curving into a genuine smile.

… .

As the festival wound down, Elisa returned to Sarah’s side, bidding her friends goodbye.

Sarah glanced at the time—it wasn’t too late. “Why are we heading home so soon?” she asked.

Elisa shrugged. “Aren’t we visiting aunt Laura at the Jaria sanitarium tomorrow?”

The words left her lips before she realized Cole was standing right next to her.

A second too late, she clamped her mouth shut, eyes darting to Sarah.

The air around them grew heavy.

Cole’s entire body tensed, though outwardly, he remained composed.

*Jaria Sanitarium…*

It was well-known—a secluded facility on the outskirts of the city, designed to care for long-term mental health patients. It was not the type of place someone would end up in by accident.

*Why would Sarah’s mother be there?*

A storm of questions brewed inside him, but he suppressed them. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the night sky, feigning indifference. The fireworks continued to explode in dazzling patterns—brilliant reds, blues, and golds illuminating the festival grounds.

Beside him, Sarah watched his reaction carefully. But when she saw no change in his expression, no flicker of acknowledgment, she assumed the noise had drowned out Elisa’s words.

*Thank goodness.*

Laura.

Thin. Pale. A ghost of the woman she once was.

She sat by the window, her expression vacant, hands clasped in her lap as if lost in thought.

“Mom,” Sarah called softly.

There was no response.

She stepped closer, kneeling beside her mother’s chair. “Mom, it’s me. Sarah.”

Laura’s dull eyes flickered slightly, but there was no recognition. Instead, when Sarah reached out to place a container of supplements in her lap, Laura suddenly slapped it away, the bottles clattering onto the floor.

Sarah flinched.

The caretaker nearby sighed, shaking her head. “She’s been like this for years. Some days she responds a little. Some days, not at all.”

Sarah clenched her fists. It was unbearable—seeing her mother like this, knowing that she had done nothing to deserve this fate.

Memories of the past came rushing back.

The betrayal. The lies. The way Clark had thrown her mother away as if she were nothing more than an inconvenience.

*And now, while her mother rotted away in this cold place… Clark, Jenna, and Linda were living their lives without a care in the world.*