Dear Ex Wife Please take me back by The Every Woman

Chapter 91 ~ Are you proud?

ATHEN

"Hi mum, Dad."

The words leave my mouth barely above a whisper as I crouch beside the two headstones, brushing away the dried leaves clinging to their bases.

I was given a leave day so I could visit my parents' grave. for their memorial I came here every year and sadly this is the first time I've visited with good news.

Tears blur my vision as I trace my fingers over the engraved names

Elena and Marcus Dawson

My parents.

My everything.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, my voice cracking like brittle glass. "I should've come sooner."

The guilt coils tighter in my chest, like a vice. Last year, I couldn't bring myself to step foot here.

I was drowning in pain, in fear, in the crushing weight of being told I had killed my

own son.

Mum always said to me, but how can I when I can

I could hear Dad's voice in my head, stern but kind, telling me to stand tall. I could

But they aren't here.

I'm so alone.

they're responding. My arms wrap around myself as I kneel there, broken

I say, forcing a small smile as I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "It was a tough one. Thoracic. Complicated. But I...

I add, staring at the names carved in stone. "I know you would." "I just wish you were here to hug me." I choke. "I wish I could come home and

them away. They fall freely now, soaking into the collar of my coat, tracing the curve of

you. God, I miss

my mum's hand on my shoulder. Or Dad standing beside me, arms crossed, beaming with

out every time I so much as grazed my knee," I say, my voice trembling.

laugh escapes me, watery and broken. My knees press into the cold

me. My fingers trace the letters

"I miss you."

I whisper. "Your voices. Your hugs. The way Dad used to hum when he cooked. The

over, warm and

hand to my mouth to muffle the sob, curling into myself slightly. "Sometimes, I do all these incredible things, and I look around, waiting for someone to tell. But you're not here. You're not anywhere. And it

see me. Wherever you are. I hope

a moment, letting the silence

So, there is no need to worry about me. I love