Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?



Gilbert stood at the doorway, pulling out his phone and swiping to dial.

"Hey, bro, it's me... I'm at Grandma's..."

"Alright, I'm waiting for you."

After hanging up and pocketing his phone, he turned to see the patio door open, and Caroline wheeled herself in.

Heading straight towards Gilbert, she glanced into the bedroom, "How's Grandma doing?"

Gilbert's expression was somber, and after a brief silence, he replied, "She took her meds, feeling a bit better."

"That's good to hear."

Caroline nodded, preparing to wheel herself further in, "I'll go in and see her..."

"No need."

Gilbert timely grabbed the wheelchair's handles, his frown light but his eyes clearly resistant.

"Grandma needs her rest, and I think it's not the right time for you to go in."

"Not the right time?"

Caroline paused, raising her eyes in a mocking glance at him, "You think I would harm Grandma?"

Her tone suddenly darkened, the smile fading.

"Really, because I held back on Sherilyn's allowance, you've written me off completely? Am I some kind of monster? Would I harm the woman who raised me?"

Gilbert shook his head, "I never said that."

"Ha!"

Caroline scoffed, fixing her gaze on his troubled face, "But that's what you're implying! Gilbert, do you think I'm wrong?"

"Are you not?" Gilbert, baffled, countered.

"Then tell me, which part of what I said was wrong?"

Caroline was equally stunned, "Look at you, what's your attitude towards me now?"

Shaking her head in disappointment, "Just because your feelings for her have changed, you're ignoring right from wrong? She wronged me first!" "Because of that..."

Gilbert tapped his chin lightly, "You can hate her But that money belongs to the Johnson family, not you. No matter how much you hate her, you have no right to withhold Grandma's money meant for her. It's hers!"

UMS

His gaze hardened, a chill emanating from his eyes.

"I'm her husband, Jenna's father! How cant stand by and let them dive in destitution, without financial support, in Crestwood for four years... I can't just pretend nothing happened!"

Caroline listened, her expression turning cold.

Raising an eyebrow, she challenged, "So what are you going to do about it? What can you do to me? Call the police? Arrest me?"

She scoffed, "Need I remind you? This is a family matter, hardly a crime! And..."

Her expression suddenly hardened, back straightening, hands gripping the wheelchair's handles tightly, her entire demeanor aggressive. "Don't you forget! How did you make it here alive?"

Her lips quivered with indignation,

"Gilbert! Get it straight! If it wasn't for me, you'd have died out there in the wilderness! It was me, who carried you on my back, barely breathing!"

Her eyes reddened with emotion, but she wasn't done.

Caroline banged on her legs, over and over.

Furious, she demanded, "And for whom, am I now confined to this wheelchair? You forget your friends for a woman? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs? Huh?"

"Enough!"

Gilbert, his brows furrowed and voice growing colder, cut her off, his gaze turning colder.

"I haven't forgotten!"

He murmured, "I remember it all too well..."

His voice suddenly rose, clear and strong.

"All those years, I took care of you, your wellbeing, and your mood... hoping you'd have a good life! But how did you end up like this?"novelbin