Chapter 1144:
“Damn right it is!” Joselyn snapped, voice rising. “If you weren’t sick, my son wouldn’t be in this mess! You’re a curse, Yolanda! You’re dragging him down!”
“I’m sorry…” Yolanda whispered, her voice barely audible through her tears.
“Sorry?” Joselyn scoffed. “What the hell does sorry fix? My son—my Brendon—has never had to suffer like this before you came along!”
Joselyn’s anger only flared hotter. She jumped to her feet again, hand raised for yet another slap.
But before she could strike, Yolanda dropped to her knees. Joselyn froze mid-strike, momentarily stunned.
Joselyn was just about to scold Yolanda when, to her horror, she saw Yolanda suddenly begin slapping herself across the face with wild desperation. The shocking display left Joselyn utterly dumbfounded.
Had Yolanda lost her mind all of a sudden?
“I’m sorry! It’s my fault that Brendon had to go through this! I’m guilty!” Yolanda sobbed, each broken word punctuated by another harsh strike against her own cheeks.
The pitiful sight made Joselyn falter; she could no longer bring herself to continue scolding Yolanda. She thought that perhaps this matter could be resolved now. Yolanda clearly knew she had made a mistake. They could speak with Brendon later, persuade him to abandon this, and everything would return to peace.
But before she could utter a word, Brendon’s furious voice thundered from behind her.
“Mom! What do you think you’re doing?! Why are you treating Yolanda this way? She’s my wife!”
Joselyn froze at the sound of his anger. She turned and met his murderous glare, her heart sinking into despair. She had spoiled her son from the time he was small, yet now, for the sake of this woman, he dared to treat her with such cruelty.
“What did I do to her? She’s the one who fell to her knees and started hitting herself! I never told her to do it! And after everything she’s put you through, she deserved it!” Joselyn shot back coldly.
“Brendon, don’t speak to your mother like that! This is all my fault—it’s only me…” Yolanda’s cries grew louder, her self-inflicted blows striking even harder.
The sight tore Brendon apart. Fighting against the searing pain, he gritted his teeth and forced himself upright, determined to stop her.
“This is my fault. Your mother is right. I should never have allowed you to suffer this way. I should never have done this…”
But Yolanda refused to stand, struggling to strike herself again as tears streamed down her face.
“Stop, Yolanda. Please, get up.” Brendon seized her firmly and lifted her into his arms, setting her back on the hospital bed. “None of this is your fault. This was my choice. No one has the right to blame you.”
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