Chapter 122 That's Damned Document

• Grandpa's gnarled hands trembled between us like fallen leaves in winter wind, his voice raw as an open wound.
• “Forgive this foolish old man—I mistook their cruelty for strong will, their venom for mere stubbornness. All those years I told myself 'family endures,' never seeing I was letting them destroy you.” A tear splashed onto the dirt between our feet, the first honest thing he'd ever given me. “I don't deserve your mercy, but God help me, I'll spend whatever time I have left trying to earn it.”
• His shoulders folded inward, collapsing under the weight of all the days he'd chosen silence over his own flesh and blood.