No More Waiting, She Chooses Love novel Chapter 819

It didn't really matter why anymore.

Conrad mentioned that Jacqueline's departure had something to do with him and Dustin. I suspected I was part of the reason too.

She treated me like her own daughter, but the vendetta between our families eventually drove a wedge between us.

Images of her pleading for me to come home flashed before my eyes, the way she would sneak me caramel apples, and the pumpkin pie she made for me today...

She must have been planning this for a while...

It felt like my heart had been ripped open, and the cold wind that blew through was like knives cutting into me.

I held grievances, sure, but never hatred.

Yet, I never got to say it, and now I never would. Even if I did, they wouldn't hear it.

Dustin tightened his grip on Conrad's hand, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he let go.

Conrad came over, knelt by the bedside, and gently smoothed Jacqueline's face, erasing the traces of pain and wiping away the blood at the corner of her mouth. "Mom, it's okay to go now. Be with Dad."

The funeral was supposed to start at ten-thirty but was delayed an hour for Jacqueline. The Wagner family's living room was transformed into the funeral parlor, Herschel and Jacqueline lying side by side.

Conrad placed their hands together, and they looked so peaceful, so serene, as if they were simply asleep.

Any apprehension I had about the funeral, any fear that Dustin might cause a scene, was gone, replaced by an overwhelming sadness.

I spent ten years with the Wagner family, the most formative years of my life. Herschel and Jacqueline were there for every step of my journey from childhood to adolescence.

They had taken away my parents, yes, but they had also filled that void with their love.

Memories fluttered before my eyes, of Jacqueline taking me everywhere with her, proudly introducing me as her daughter whenever someone asked.

She always wanted me to call her "Mom."