From Ruin, She Rose - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Andrew looked serious as he said, "Grandpa always favored you. He didn't believe you were the one who pushed Lydia down the stairs—he insisted on hearing it from you himself. So we told him you went abroad.
"But he didn't buy it. He wanted to find you in person, and he fell at the front door trying to leave.
"After that, he kept demanding we bring you back. Said he wouldn't come home unless you did. So he's been in the hospital all this time."
He pushed up his rimless glasses, the metal frames catching the light. "If it weren't for you, Grandpa wouldn't have fallen. And he wouldn't still be in the hospital.
"Emily, Grandpa's getting old. His body isn't as strong as it used to be. You need to grow up and stop making him worry."
Emily's face went pale, but she couldn't argue.
When everyone else in the Bennett family took Lydia's side, only Charles believed in her without question—he was the only one who saw how hurt and wronged she was.
But in trying to win the approval of the rest of the Bennetts, she had overlooked the one person who had always been there for her. He was old, yet he kept worrying about her.
Now, because of her, Charles had stayed in the hospital for two whole years, and she hadn't known a thing. She could only imagine how disappointed he must've felt.
Seeing that she was taking in his words, Andrew added, "We told Grandpa you'd be gone for two years. He's been counting the days, waiting for you to come back.
"Yesterday, he even wanted to go to the airport to pick you up. We told him your flight was delayed so he wouldn't go.
"Emily, Grandpa's health has gotten worse. He's always taken your side over Lydia's, and it's made Lydia feel pretty left out. Don't give him more to worry about, okay?"
Of course Emily understood. Andrew was only saying all this because he was afraid she'd tell Charles the truth.
Charles didn't believe she pushed Lydia. If he ever found out the Bennetts had sent Emily to St. Gabriel Reform Academy over that, he'd be furious. He'd have done whatever it took to bring her back.
To the Bennetts, Emily's return meant trouble for Lydia. That's why they hid everything from Charles—lied to him, said she went abroad, and secretly sent her to St. Gabriel's.
Now, they were scared she might expose their lies, make Charles blame Lydia. So they sent Andrew to "remind" her first.
She wasn't stupid. She could see their favoritism, their intentions. She had just refused to believe that eighteen years of living together could be erased by simple blood ties to Lydia. She kept lying to herself, pretending not to notice how obvious their bias was.
"Okay," Emily said, with no intention of pointing out the holes in Andrew's story.
She had never wanted Charles to worry. And now, the Bennetts had already come up with the perfect excuse for her.
Maybe Andrew finally felt a flicker of guilt, because his voice softened a bit. "Emily, everything we did... it was for your own good, okay?"
Emily didn't answer. She turned her face toward the window, clearly done talking.
She'd heard that line too many times. She could never understand how the Bennetts could keep siding with Lydia, forcing her to apologize again and again for something she didn't do—and still call it "for her own good."
She didn't want that kind of "good" from them.
At the hospital, Emily followed nervously behind Andrew as they headed up to the top floor.
Two years had passed—she had no idea how Charles was doing. She wondered if his hair had turned white, if his chess skills had gotten even sharper, and whether he was mad at her.
Walking ahead, Andrew pushed open the door to the hospital room, but Emily didn't have the courage to step forward.
Charles had loved her so much, yet she had disappeared for two whole years without sending even a single message. She was sure he must be angry.
Charles only saw Andrew walk in and didn't notice that the granddaughter he had missed for two years was standing just outside the door. His voice was sharp and full of bitterness. "What are you doing here?
"What, here to tell me again that Emily's flight got delayed?
"You all kept saying she'd be back in two years. I counted the days every single day, barely held on until now, and now you want to lie to me again? Are you waiting for me to die before you let Emily come home?"
"My poor Emily..." Charles's voice trembled with sorrow. "Andrew, if you still see me as your grandpa, then tell me—where have you hidden Emily?
"I'm already at the end of my life. Are you really going to keep her from me until I die?"
All the fear and unease Emily had been feeling disappeared the moment she heard his voice.
No matter what, Charles was always the one person who truly stood by her—who loved her without condition.
The rest of the Bennett family couldn't wait to push her as far away as possible. If it weren't for Charles's insistence, maybe once those two years were up, they wouldn't have even remembered the "burden" they'd sent to St. Gabriel Reform Academy.
If that had happened, maybe she would've ended up just like those other kids—kids who'd been forgotten by their families once their "time" was up, left behind in that endless nightmare.
She didn't know why she'd been so foolish in the past—why she had clung to the fleeting, half-hearted attention from the other Bennetts, while ignoring the one person who had always truly cared for her: Charles.
Andrew looked calm, like he was already used to this.
For the past two years, every time they visited the hospital, Charles would yell at them, demanding they bring Emily back. Sometimes, he'd even take it out on Lydia.
No matter how they tried to explain, Charles refused to believe Lydia was innocent. They couldn't reason with him, so eventually, they just started visiting less and less.
Now that Emily was finally back—and seemed a lot more mature than before—Andrew figured Charles would stop causing a fuss.
With that thought, it felt like a heavy burden had been lifted. He quickly reached back and pulled Emily into the room. "Grandpa, we really didn't lie to you. Look who's here."
Charles, who had been furious just moments ago, froze. His voice trembled with disbelief. "E-Emily?"
The moment she heard him call her name—so full of love, concern, and longing—Emily's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Grandpa..."
She walked over, shaking, dropped to her knees beside the bed, and clutched his hand tightly.
On the way here, she had practiced what to say—how she would smile and tell him she was doing great, so he wouldn't worry.
But now, seeing him in person, all the pain she'd bottled up came crashing down. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She buried her face in his lap and sobbed uncontrollably.
Her cries filled the whole hospital room, like she was trying to cry out every bit of sorrow and suffering she had endured.
Over the past two years at St. Gabriel's, the person she missed most was Charles. In countless dreams, she had cried to the only person who truly loved her, telling him how much she'd been through.
Charles's eyes also welled up with tears. He held her hand tightly, his other hand shaking as it gently stroked her head.
"Emily, sweetie... it's all my fault. I failed to protect you. I let you suffer..." he murmured.