I stood there in disbelief. It felt like my heart had been ripped out. I didn’t scream. The tears didn’t even come. There was only silence and pain. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know how to go on.

I just stood and prayed to wake up from this nightmare.

A distant relative picked me up. He lived alone in a village and gave me shelter. I didn’t call my son. I didn’t want to hear his voice.

A month passed. And then — he came.

He stood on his knees before me, crying like a child.

It turned out his girlfriend betrayed him. She cheated on him with his friend. Stole almost all their money from their shared account. Ran away. Left him in debt and shame.

He said that when he kicked me out, he thought he was doing the right thing. That he was building a “new life.” But in truth, he was destroying everything.

He begged for forgiveness. Tears rolled down his cheeks. He kissed my hands.

— Mom, forgive me… I forgot who truly loves me.

And I just looked at him and thought:

Do I even need that forgiveness anymore?