Chapter 238
Chapter 238:
And that silence spoke volumes.
A sharp ache bloomed in Natalie’s chest. Her knees buckled.
Helena reached out instinctively.
But Kareem was already there, faster than she was—catching his wife as she collapsed into his arms.
“I’m sorry, I—” Helena began, her voice stiff with guilt, but Kareem quietly shook his head and walked past her, carrying Natalie into the bedroom.
When he returned, his eyes were rimmed with red. A long, weary sigh escaped him before he looked at his daughter and said, “Helena… we’re the ones who owe you. You don’t ever have to apologize to us p>
Helena didn’t respond. Her lips parted, but no words came.
Kareem’s voice thickened with emotion. “Please believe me. Natalie and I never meant to abandon you! The moment she found out you were alive, she did everything she could to find you! Every single day, she’d wake up and stare at her phone like her life depended on it—afraid, terrified she’d miss any call, any trace of you p>
His tone was quiet, but the tremor beneath it crashed into Helena like a wave breaking against stone.
Ever since discovering the truth about her past, she’d been avoiding.
She told herself Albert’s love had been enough—that she didn’t need anyone.
But now, hearing this with her own ears—that her parents hadn’t given up on her, that they had fought to find her—something warm and unfamiliar began to rise in her chest.
So she had longed for their love after all.
All the days of avoiding—it hadn’t been indifference. It had been fear. The fear of hoping and being crushed by disappointment.
Her eyes began to sting without her realizing it. Kareem’s voice kept flowing into her, filling the hollow places in her heart. “Natalie searched nonstop for six months p>
She turned all of Cheson upside down… but there was nothing. Eventually, our people found records that said the orphanage had an alarmingly high mortality rate. You were weak when you arrived there, and they told us… you probably didn’t make it. Natalie never recovered from hearing that. From then on, whenever she got overwhelmed… she fainted p>
A long silence fell between them. Then Helena asked quietly, “And then?” That single question seemed to break something in Kareem—his face flooded with relief, as though a door had cracked open.
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“Later, we got word that you might’ve been adopted by foreigners. Natalie gave up everything—her work, her company—and moved to Corland just to search for you. But… we found out, much later, it was all a lie. The elders in the family didn’t want you found. They planted false leads, fake trails—made sure we kept chasing shadows p>
At last, Kareem reached out and gently took Helena’s arm, his voice low and firm. “I’m not telling you this so you’ll forgive us. We don’t expect that. The truth is, we failed you—especially me. I didn’t have the power or the wealth to fight the Harrisons… and because of that, you and your mother suffered so much. But you need to know—none of that makes you less. You’re brilliant. You’re worthy. Never, ever think otherwise! We’ve always loved you, Helena. We just… we just couldn’t p>