Page 303 of Scarbound

“To ask for forgiveness?”

Noeul’s expression tightened. “Probably.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

“What did Gong do?”

“He looked at the wall.” Noeul stared past Dr. Kim now. “Like I wasn’t there.”

“How did that feel?”

“Worse than if he’d screamed.”

Dr. Kim nodded.

“When I left the clinic, his words stayed with me,” Noeul continued.

“Which words?”

He didn’t need to think. “Betrayed.” A pause. “Abandoned.” Another. “Mine.”

Dr. Kim wrote something down. Noeul watched her.

“Those words followed you after his death?”

“Yes.”

“Do they still?”

Noeul laughed quietly. “Doctor.” She waited. “I built half my life around them.”

Dr. Kim put her pen down. “What do you mean?”

Noeul stared at his hands. “I kept thinking that maybe he was right.”

“In what way?”

“That I abandoned him.”

“Did you?”

“I agreed to the clinic.”

“Did you have the authority to hospitalize him by yourself?”

“No.”

“Did you create his illness?”

“No.”

“Did you make him stop taking his medication?”

“No.”

“Did you make him threaten people?”