Chapter 7 - Joanna Finally Speaks
Joanna stepped into the aisle fully.
Every eye turned to her.
She did not like being watched.
Simon knew that.
Joanna was the kind of woman who clapped from the back, packed extra napkins, remembered allergies, and took photos only after asking if someone wanted them taken.
She had never tried to compete with Denise.
That made Denise’s return even crueler.
Denise wanted a public title Joanna had earned in private.
Joanna looked at Simon first.
Not Denise.
Not the audience.
Simon.
“You don’t have to protect me anymore.”
Her voice trembled, but it carried.
Simon gripped the podium.
“I’m not protecting you, Mom. I’m telling the truth.”
Mom.
The word landed where it belonged.
Joanna closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks.
Denise looked wounded by the word, as if it had been stolen from her.
Simon saw that and felt anger rise again.
No.
The word had not been stolen.
It had been built.
One sleepless night at a time.
One scraped knee.
One school meeting.
One birthday cake.
One fever.
One first car.
One application fee.
One graduation gown hung carefully on a closet door.
Denise stepped toward Joanna.
“You turned him against me.”
Joanna’s eyes opened.
For the first time, something sharp entered her face.
“No.”
The auditorium froze.
Joanna had not said no loudly.
She said it with nineteen years behind it.
“I taught him he could decide for himself.”
Denise’s mouth tightened.
“He doesn’t know everything.”
Simon looked at the letter.
“That’s why I brought this.”
Denise’s face drained again.
Joanna looked at the folded paper, then back at Simon.
“If you open it, do it for yourself. Not for me.”
He nodded.
“I am.”
Dorothy sobbed quietly.
George finally looked up.
His eyes met Simon’s.
“I’m sorry,” George whispered.
The microphone caught it faintly.
Simon’s face tightened.
Sorry was a beginning.
But it was not a timeline.
It was not an explanation.
It was not the truth.
May you like
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Read Chapter 8 👉 Because Joanna refused to claim Simon’s loyalty by force, and that made Denise’s return look even more selfish.
