Chapter 42 Love Me?
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Aurora didn’t hold back with the sh
slap.
She’d been doing tough work since she was young, so the force behind her hand was far beyond what Bertha, spoiled as she was, could ever have expected.
The slap landed hard, and Bertha’s lip split open immediately. Blood dripped down her chin and stained the white dress she’d carefully chosen for the day.
Bertha stood there in shock, unable to process what had just happened.
Her mind went blank as she stared at Aurora, and then the fury hit her like a tidal wave. She wanted nothing more than to kill her on the spot.
“You bitch!” Bertha screeched, clutching her face. “How dare you hit me! You’re going to pay for this.” She ran out of the storage room, her cries echoing through the halls.
Celeste, sitting in the living room sipping coffee, jumped to her feet at Bertha’s screams.
As soon as she saw her daughter, tears streaming down her face, hands pressed to her swollen check, she rushed over to comfort. her. “Mom, help me!” Bertha sobbed.
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Her voice was filled with panic, as if she’d been wronged beyond
measure.
Celeste quickly caught her, supporting her daughter as she leaned against her. She gently moved Bertha’s hand away from her face, revealing the red handprint on her skin.
“What happened, Bertha?”
Celeste’s voice trembled with both shock and fury. She immediately assumed that Aurora was to blame.
Bertha’s sobs only grew louder as she recounted the events. “Mom, it’s Aurora. I was just trying to invite her to dinner, and she slapped me without warning. What did I do to deserve this? Why is she always against me?”
Celeste was shaking with rage. “Aurora! Get out here now!”
Aurora wasn’t surprised by the shout. She’d known this would happen the moment she slapped Bertha, but she didn’t regret it one bit.
Calmly, she walked out to face the fury that was sure to come.
“Aurora, how could you hit Bertha? She’s your sister!” Celeste demanded.
How could she? She didn’t ask why Aurora had hit Bertha.
That one sentence made it clear–Celeste didn’t care what had led to the slap. To her, the mere fact that Bertha had been hit
Chapter 42 Love Me? was unforgivable.
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That was just the way she was, always quick to blame everything on Aurora without asking any questions.
Aurora, meeting Celeste’s furious gaze, smiled coldly. “Aren’t you going to ask why I slapped her?”
Celeste faltered, momentarily speechless. But when she looked down at Bertha, tear–streaked and trembling, her resolve hardened. “No matter the reason, you shouldn’t have hit her. Look at what you did to her face! Aurora, stop being so willful. Apologize to her now.”
The phrase “no matter the reason” stung.
Aurora knew Celeste was always going to protect Bertha, no matter the circumstances. She had learned that lesson long ago.
Celeste, willing to sacrifice her own daughter to protect Bertha, had never cared for Aurora. Yet she still had the nerve to demand an apology.
Aurora clenched her fists, refusing to back down. “What if I told you she was the one who started it? I was just defending myself?”
“Impossible!” Celeste shot back immediately. “Bertha’s always been so sweet and obedient. She would never hit you for no reason. You’ve only just come back and you’re already causing chaos. You’re obviously trying to stir things up!” Her words came out in a rush, her frustration clear, and she seemed
Chapter 42 Love Me?
desperate to blame Aurora.
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But as her eyes met Aurora’s cold, unwavering gaze, her words. lost their power, fading into uncertainty.
“Come on, keep going,” Aurora taunted, her voice sharp.
“Why don’t you tell me more? Or is it that you can’t say anything. else? I’ll help you out. That ‘sweet, obedient‘ daughter of yours -five years ago, she pushed her best friend down the stairs and left her in a coma. She’s the same one who, on the very first day I came home, accused me of ruining her birthday dress and humiliated me in front of everyone. It’s also the same ‘sweet, obedient‘ daughter who later tried to frame me for pushing her down the stairs again, leading me to get whipped by Joshua. She even made me chop off my finger to repay you for giving birth to me. And even after I was hospitalized, she went on and told Hubery about it. What? You just love watching me suffer so much that you’re hoping he’ll sue me?”
Aurora’s words hit like a slap to the face. Celeste’s heart tightened, her breath catching as her eyes filled with tears.
“Aurora…”
“Mrs. Elvador!” Aurora cut her off sharply, her voice filled with disdain.
“Did you really not know about Bertha’s actions? Or are you just pretending not to? Did you really not know about all the injustice I’ve suffered, or are you secretly enjoying my misery?”
Chapter 42 Love Me?
“No, that’s not it…”
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Celeste’s voice broke as she tried to explain, but the words came out in a pitiful sob.
Aurora looked at her, disgust written all over her face. “Your crocodile tears won’t work on me. You’ve lied to me for so long, pretending to be the loving mother while I waited for a love that was never there. You’ve been laughing at me behind my back, haven’t you? You get a kick out of watching me hope for something that will never come.”
“No! I didn’t mean it that way. Aurora, I love you just as much as I love Bertha.”
Aurora let out a harsh laugh, one that felt more like a release of pent–up pain than humor. Her shoulders ached, and her side throbbed with the memory of past injuries, but the pain only made her more aware of her own misery.
“Love me, huh?” She laughed again, bitterly..
“Five years ago, I was the brightest girl in the city. Now? Now I’m a crippled, broken fool. A crazy person, a former criminal. All of this, it’s because of you, isn’t it? You chose to protect Bertha, and you pushed me into hell. You call that love?”
Celeste shook her head furiously, tears falling. “No… No, it
wasn’t like that.”
Bertha, her face still streaked with tears, looked up at Aurora with feigned innocence. “Aurora, I know you hate me. But why
Chapter 42 Love Me?
do you have to hurt Mom too? Why are you doing this?”
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Celeste hugged her tightly, sobbing. “Bertha, stop saying that. It’s all my fault.”
Mother and daughter cried together, each in their own melodramatic performance.
Aurora stood frozen, watching them with cold indifference.
Just then, Joshua and Barnett emerged from the study.
Joshua immediately stepped forward, seething with anger. “Aurora, you ungrateful brat. After everything, you come back and start making trouble again. Do you have no heart? Can’t you feel how much your mother and sister have worried about you while you were in the hospital?”
Aurora raised her eyes, her gaze cold and mocking. Her cracked lips curled into a faint, humorless smile.
She didn’t need to speak–her expression said it all.
Joshua, enraged by her nonchalance, charged toward her, his hand raised, ready to strike.
