Reborn From Oblivion (Nellie and Cameron) novel Chapter 81

She studied Nellie with a curious gaze. "Heard from your sister that you've hit the jackpot and married into money?"

Nellie's heart clenched instinctively. Every nerve felt painfully taut, and for a moment, it was like her blood froze, her vitality on pause.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was barely steady.

"How long's it been since you last came to see me?" Miranda began her relentless spiel, "Nel, I've been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I haven't got much time left. I wanted to see you before I go. I called you countless times, but you never picked up. I texted, and you didn’t respond. Have you really become so high and mighty that you don't recognize your own mother anymore…" Her voice cracked, dissolving into sobs.

Nellie stared icily at the woman who had been the source of her misery: How dare she show her face? Nellie had been just a child when her mother took out all her anger at Patrick on her. Miranda had abused her, insulted her, and used her as a punching bag. Miranda had stopped her from going to school and forced her to beg on the streets, taking every cent she earned...

Just thinking about her mother gave Nellie nightmares.

She didn’t mind that her mother was incompetent and weak. But who would want to acknowledge a mother as cruel as a "human trafficker?"

"I'm not a doctor. I can't help you," Nellie's voice was ice-cold.

"Nel, I'm really dying." Miranda, caught up in her emotions, suddenly reached out and grabbed Nellie's hand. "I have some personal things I want to talk about."

Nellie's frosty stare softened slightly, thinking that, after all, blood runs thicker than water. If her mother was on her deathbed and speaking kindly, maybe she should be the bigger person and forgive her.

"Follow me," Nellie led her mother to a pub just around the corner from her home. "Let's just talk here."

She got up, making a show of heading out.

Miranda, panicking, stopped her. "Nel, your sister reached out to me. You know, when I divorced your dad, I couldn't keep her with me, and it's my biggest regret. Nel, I've failed as a mom all these years, and I'm truly sorry."

A chill ran through Nellie. Back when her parents divorced, everyone fought over Greta, leaving Nellie behind like she was worthless. That feeling of being rejected by her own parents was burned into her very bones.

That's why later, when Nellie met Cameron and he showed her even a tiny bit of kindness, she clung to him like he was her savior, bending over backward to please him.

The rejection from her family was like a brand burned into her soul, leaving her with a lifetime of sacrifices she never asked for.