Celeste POV
We sat in silence for a moment, the weight of this revelation settling over us like a heavy blanket. I thought about all the fights, all the criticism, all the times I'd felt like I wasn't enough. And underneath it all, I saw the ghost of the woman my mother used to be – gentle, healing, kind – trapped inside a prison of her own making.
"I don't know if I can forgive her," I said finally. "I don't know if understanding why she is the way she is makes it hurt any less."
"I'm not asking you to forgive her right away," my grandmother said, taking both of my hands in hers. "But I am going to ask you to do one thing for me, sweetheart."
"What?" I asked warily.
"I'm not going to ask you to change your mind about wanting to denounce your family," she said carefully. "If that's tr
