The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 872

Her body was still incredibly weak. Barking out that single paragraph sent her into a violent coughing fit. Panicking, I quickly stood up to rub her back, but she caught my hand in a tight grip. "Selena, don't listen to a word she says. I'm your mother, and everything I did was my duty. You've always been so good to me, my sweetest girl. Loving you was the easiest thing in the world."

Lucille wasn't one for polite platitudes. Especially not with me. Every word she spoke came straight from her heart.

My throat tightened painfully. "Mom..."

"She's good? She's the reason my dad is in a coma and you were nearly killed, and you still think she's perfect? Mom, I genuinely don't understand. Why? I'm your biological daughter, so why do you always treat her better than me?

If I hadn't literally seen my own birth certificate, I'd swear to God I was the adopted one." Sabrina totally broke down, sobbing hysterically.

When she was confronting me earlier, she had managed to recount the past with a terrifying calm, her tears only shimmering in her eyes. But now, she was entirely unspooled. Her wails echoed through the hospital room, a chaotic mess of grief.

I stood up, instinctively wanting to pull her into a hug and comfort her.

"You are my flesh and blood! But her mother saved my life! I owe her a debt I can never repay, which means I will forever owe Selena!" Lucille's face hardened, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp chill. "Stop acting like you're the victim of some grand injustice! You think I favor her? The only reason you were even born is because of Selena's father! We both owe her family our lives. Treating her well is just us paying back that debt!"

"What?" Sabrina's hysterical crying instantly cut off. She froze mid-step, abandoning her dramatic exit.

I was even more stunned. I stared at Lucille, my mind spinning with pure disbelief.

I didn't understand. Weren't she and my parents just casual friends?