They were mother and daughter, yet now they felt like strangers—sometimes even more distant than strangers. Was this really right?

It was the first time Aurora had ever felt that way. Before this, she’d never realized it. She always thought their strained relationship was because of Grace’s selfishness and stubbornness. Grace could have treated both daughters fairly, but she had chosen to make things so ugly.

Taking a deep breath, Aurora finally walked toward her mother and sat down in front of her. Grace seemed to sense her presence. When she looked up and saw Aurora, a flicker of emotion crossed her face. Seeing how much her daughter had changed, she couldn’t help but sigh softly. “Aurora, how long has it been since we last saw each other?”

“I can’t really remember.”

Aurora’s expression was unreadable, her face calm but distant.

“It must’ve been too long. Now that I look at you closely, I realize your eyes and brows resemble mine quite a bit. Looking at you feels like seeing my younger self again.”

Hearing that, Aurora was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond. Had her mother never truly looked at her before?

Sitting together now, they felt more like two people meeting after an online relationship than a real mother and daughter. There was an odd awkwardness between them—one that even caught the attention of people around them. No one would have guessed they lived together once, or that they were related by blood. To an outsider, it looked like two people meeting for the first time after chatting online, just with the wrong kind of relationship.

After thinking for a while, Aurora finally said, “That only means you didn’t really look at me before.”

Her words hung between them, the air thick with awkward tension. Even Grace could feel it. She let out a faint laugh. “I understand what you mean, but I could never treat you both the same. When I compare you with Tessa, you should know—she’s always been the more thoughtful one.”

Aurora’s hand slowly tightened. In the end, the corner of her lips curved into a faint, mocking smile.

“Since that’s how you see it, why did you ask me to come today? So, I could listen to how deep your bond is with your other daughter?”

“Of course not,” Grace replied quickly. Seeing the sarcasm on Aurora’s lips, she felt a pang of discomfort. Even as mother and daughter, did they really have to face each other like enemies? Just sitting together, their energies clashed.

“I heard you attended the Carter family banquet, didn’t you?”

The moment those words left her mouth, Aurora immediately understood what Grace was implying. So, it had come to this after all. When she first learned about Lucas‘ true identity, she herself had been shocked. Later, she couldn’t help wondering what her mother would think once she found out. After all, she’d been kept in the dark from the beginning—if Grace knew, would she think Aurora had been hiding it on purpose?

Aurora’s expression didn’t change as she asked calmly, “And then?”

“I don’t mean anything else,” Grace said. “I just want to know—did you already know who Lucas really was from the start?”

Aurora’s dark eyes locked on her mother, her tone cool as she replied with another question. “If I’m not mistaken, you said it was a private family banquet. So how did you know about it? Or did someone tell you something?”