Chapter 198

• Bridget's father nodded, his face etched with remorse.
• "We should have done better by you," he said. "We want to do better, and we will do everything we can to make things right."
• Bridget felt a wave of emotion wash over her. Then she began to remember every last thing that had happened to her so far. The memories came flooding back - the years of emotional and physical abuse, the years of neglect and loneliness. She could feel the pain of those memories, like a physical ache in her chest. And yet, there was also something else - a glimmer of hope that things could be different.