Aurora couldn’t refuse to look into her mother’s past. From childhood to adulthood, there were photos of her life. Only in candid shots did her mother smile radiantly.
In formal settings, although her mother smiled, her eyes betrayed a sense of restrained dissatisfaction. She wasn’t truly happy.
Aurora watched her mother grow taller, more beautiful, and increasingly accomplished, winning numerous international awards. On her college graduation day, the joy in her mother’s graduation photo was palpable. Perhaps it was because her mother knew her plans were finally coming to fruition. She looked like a bird set free.
After that photo, there was a gap of years until the next one-her mother’s return. She had matured and become calm. By then, she had experienced the highs and lows of life.
Magnus’s betrayal and Genevieve’s schemes had taught her far too much. Suddenly, Aurora felt an inexplicable ache for her mother.
Years ago, her mother had plotted and planned for so long. Her goal was to escape the cage she was trapped in, to break free from her shackles.
She thought she would gain a beautiful love story after her success, breaking free from her family’s restrictions and falling in love with Aurora’s father.
But who could have predicted what would happen? Despite all her efforts, the result turned out like that.
Aurora recalled Genevieve’s relentless schemes from when she was a child and her mother’s repeated tolerance.
Her mother had learned many things within the family, but none of them had taught her how to navigate relationships.
In love, she was like a child. She believed that constant compromise and concession would bring her father back. But instead, it only gave Genevieve the leverage to become even more arrogant.
Later, the family sought her out, asking her to return and inherit her position. Her grandmother’s health had deteriorated, and Magnus’s indifference had pushed her back into the fold.
In the next photo, her mother looked somewhat like the one Aurora remembered, though her demeanor had changed.
The mother Aurora remembered was always gentle, cooking her favorite meals, knitting sweaters for her at home-even though learning to knit had taken her a long time.
But in this photo, taken on her first day back in the family business, when she chaired the board meeting, her expression was stern, her face cold. There was a frosty aura about her, as if no warmth from the sun could melt her.
If she had once been able to force a smile, by then, even that was beyond her.
The photos continued, and her expressions never changed.
In the later photos, her mother’s complexion grew increasingly pale. Her health must have been deteriorating.
One photo, in particular, struck Aurora. It captured her mother coughing up blood. Seeing that vivid red, Aurora’s heart ached.
The slideshow paused on the final photo. Her mother was lying on a hospital bed with her eyes closed. She was merely asleep, but the exhaustion and frailty on her face made Aurora’s heart clench painfully.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“The head of the family sacrificed her entire life for you. Do you know how difficult it was for her when she first returned? Not only did she have to face complaints from the family, but she also had to battle those wolves. You run a company-you should know how brutal the battlefield can be.”
Aurora knew. She had spent three years fighting alone in New York. Even now, she didn’t know how she had managed to survive back then.
She had never told anyone how much she had suffered. Whenever someone asked, she’d brush it off with a light-hearted comment, keeping the pain to herself.
“Before bringing you here, I had someone investigate your past. Your journey hasn’t been smooth either. You started a company in New York, didn’t you? It’s currently being managed by Mr. Asher Betts.”
“Yes, so what?” Aurora’s emotions were still tangled in the photos of Tina.
“Nothing. I just want to tell you something. When your company was just starting, it was in dire straits, nearly bankrupt. Then you landed a significant order that saved it.
After that order, you secured several other medium-sized contracts, which helped stabilize the company and keep it afloat.”
“How do you know that?” Aurora asked in shock. These details were something even Julian didn’t know.
“Because that order that saved your company-your mother orchestrated it. She wasn’t absent from your life. She just kept her care hidden so we wouldn’t find out.
She handled those orders discreetly. Back then, I noticed something unusual but didn’t investigate. I never imagined she had a daughter and was quietly helping her.
It wasn’t until I saw your file that I connected the dots. Your mother has always been thinking of you. Now that she’s still in the hospital and not doing well, are you really willing to let her continue working like this?”
If Bramwell Elderstone hadn’t revealed this secret, Aurora would never have known. In that moment, she felt immense sorrow and guilt. Her mother had been helping her all along.
Aurora knew Bramwell Elderstone was saying this to convince her to become the head of the family, but he wasn’t wrong. She had never done anything for her mother in return.
It wasn’t that Aurora didn’t want to step up. It was that doing so would hurt someone else-Julian, a man who had given her everything. How could she bear to hurt him?
She stood frozen, staring at the last photo on the wall. Tina, though asleep, still had her brows knitted tightly together.
Tina had fallen into a coma during Aurora’s disappearance. Aurora felt heartbroken. It must have been her fall into the sea that had pushed her mother to this state.
Her fingers curled into fists, tightening and loosening, over and over. What should she do?
She had come here only to uncover the truth. Someone had once told her, “What if the truth is something you can’t bear?”
Aurora had never contemplated the meaning of those words before. Now she understood, but it left her trapped in an impossible situation.
“Grandpa Bramwell, I’ll take the position as head of the family. But I won’t inject FT2. I love him, and he loves me. We promised to be together for a lifetime.”
Bramwell Elderstone sighed. “Miss Aurora, it’s not that I’m being heartless. This rule has been in place since ancient times.”
“This rule was established because of that man. But Julian’s family background is solid. He doesn’t need our family’s money.”
“I understand your feelings, Miss Aurora. If you wish to abolish this rule, it’s not impossible,” Bramwell Elderstone said, a hint of compromise in his tone.
“What do you mean? How can I abolish it?” Aurora’s eyes lit up at his words.
“You said you and Julian love each other deeply. Do you believe in your love?”
“Of course!” Aurora nodded firmly. She couldn’t imagine herself giving up on Julian, or Julian abandoning her. They had long since pledged their lives to one another.