As Magnus pushed open the door, the first thing he saw was Genevieve slapping Aurora across the face. In that instant, Aurora, with tears in her eyes, rushed towards Magnus. “Dad… I’ve missed you so much.” No father could remain hard-hearted upon hearing those words.
Aurora had been the apple of his eye, cherished dearly before Genevieve and her children came into the picture, receiving all his affection. Later, under Genevieve’s deliberate provocation, Ivy and Zachary would often commit misdeeds and pin the blame on Aurora. Aurora was young and kind-hearted then. How could she possibly outmaneuver them? Naturally, this gave Magnus a very bad impression of her.
Magnus’s trust in her diminished gradually, compounded by Aurora’s own resentment towards them, avoiding any proactive interaction. This widened the gap between her and Magnus. Today’s Aurora was no longer the naive little girl that Genevieve manipulated three years ago. She had become even more adept at controlling people’s hearts than Genevieve, and her rushing into Magnus’s arms naturally stirred his sympathy.
“My girl, you’ve finally decided to come back! I couldn’t reach you by phone these past few years, and you didn’t even come home for the holidays.” Magnus felt a sense of guilt about her mother’s death and now transferred this guilt onto her.
The stern words he had planned for last night were all forgotten, his heart filled solely with thoughts of Aurora. “Dad, I wanted to come back, but…” She hesitated, her voice tinged with a sob. What man could remain unmoved? Especially when it was her father.
“What exactly happened, Aurora?” Magnus asked, seeing her aggrieved expression and her eyes seemingly on the brink of tears. “Nothing…” Aurora suddenly said, looking guiltily at Genevieve, clearly afraid.
Now Genevieve truly understood Aurora’s tactics. She had indeed changed! Even her acting skills had greatly improved. Recalling the scene he had witnessed upon entering, Magnus asked, “Is someone threatening you?”
Aurora nodded, then immediately shook her head, her eyes flickering with fear. Magnus, typically embodying machismo and straightforward in nature, might not have understood Genevieve’s manipulations before, but now, a single expression from Aurora made things clear to him.
“What did you say to her?” Magnus turned to Genevieve. Genevieve quickly played the victim. “Honey, she is the esteemed daughter of the Montgomery family. How could I dare threaten her?”
Aurora remained silent, timidly hiding behind Magnus, her cautious demeanor making him feel even more protective. “Aurora, don’t be afraid. As long as I’m here, no one can harm you. Just tell me what exactly happened?” Magnus pulled Aurora from behind him.
Aurora glanced at Genevieve, fear in her eyes palpable, then quickly looked away. “I-I can’t say. I’m afraid she’ll hit me!”
Furious, Genevieve snapped, “Aurora, you’re wasting your talent not being an actress. Just now, you weren’t like this in front of me. Magnus, she hit me.”
“I didn’t! It was you who slapped me, and you would have slapped me again if Dad hadn’t come back in time. You also cursed my mom and me, saying you’d kick me out of the Montgomery family and never let me return.” Aurora covered her cheek, as if she had indeed just been slapped, the atmosphere she created making it impossible for Magnus not to believe her.
“Does it hurt, Aurora?” Magnus asked as he tried to move her hand to see if there were any marks on her face.
Aurora shook her head. “Dad, I’ve already lost Mom. I can’t lose you too. She doesn’t want me here, but where could I possibly go?” Tears slid down her cheeks as she spoke.
The sad look in her eyes filled Magnus with pity. “With me around, no one can bully you again! The blood of the Montgomery family runs through your veins. No one dares to drive you away.”
“Magnus, don’t listen to her nonsense. It was her who slapped me. Look, there’s still some redness,” Genevieve pointed to her own cheek.
When Aurora slapped her, she didn’t use much force, hardly leaving a mark. Magnus looked down and asked Aurora, “Did you hit her?”
“Dad, how could I dare to hit her? Wouldn’t I be asking for trouble?” Aurora retorted, confident that there was no evidence. “Genevieve, you keep accusing me of hitting you, but who can testify for you?”
“Of course, there’s…” Genevieve then realized she had sent everyone away earlier when she confronted Aurora.
When Aurora said those unpleasant things, it was just the two of them in the living room. Could it be that Aurora’s words from the beginning were deliberately designed to make her feel embarrassed and send the others away?
This would expose her true nature, and perhaps even the slap she was about to give Aurora was part of her calculated plan. If that were true, this woman was terrifyingly cunning!
From the beginning, every word she said might have been meticulously planned, and she had unsuspectingly fallen into Aurora’s trap.
“With no one around, who will testify for you? I only trust my own eyes, and I saw you hit Aurora!” Magnus felt more convinced of Genevieve’s deceit.
“Dad, I’m fine. Maybe Genevieve was unhappy to see her around and got a bit emotional. It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
Every word from Aurora drove Genevieve to madness. Now she realized just how formidable Aurora was. What a cunning bitch!
The more Aurora showed weakness, the more it evoked Magnus’s sympathy. Magnus was no fool. He understood what Genevieve wanted.
But he didn’t know that Genevieve had been bullying Aurora behind his back. “Aurora, dear, no one in this house can bully you anymore. If anyone bullies you again, just tell me!”
“Okay,” Aurora nodded obediently.
Magnus took her hand and sat down on the sofa as he began, “Tell me about what you’ve been doing in America.”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another day. By the way, this is a gift I brought for you.” Aurora pulled out a tie clip from a bag beside her.
“Wow, look at you. Even remember to bring gifts for me,” Magnus’s smile bloomed. Over the years, Ivy and Zachary had never bought him a gift, only asking for money.
Whenever they came to curry favor, they wanted something from him instead of giving him anything. It didn’t matter what Aurora had brought. What mattered was the thought behind it.
Aurora then took out a silk scarf from the bag for Genevieve. “Genevieve, this is the scarf I picked out for you. Do you like it?”
Her voice was gentle, but only Genevieve saw the triumphant smile curling at the corners of Aurora’s mouth.