Chapter 53

The atmosphere in the room shifted palpably, a thick tension settling like a heavy fog. Margaret stood frozen, her expression morphing as she processed my words. I could see the anger bubbling beneath her surface, her eyes momentarily glinting with an otherworldly light—her wolf peeking through the cracks of her control.

Her voice sliced through the silence, sharp and unyielding, “I’m your mother.”

A mocking smile tugged at my lips, though I felt drained, the energy to maintain it flickering like a dying flame. “And you should remember that, Mom. I’m your real daughter.” The words, though painful to utter, felt necessary, a cathartic release of the frustration that had been building for years.

Shock painted itself across Margaret’s face, her body rigid as she struggled to reconcile the anger swirling between us with the reality of what I had just said. It was as if time had stopped, leaving us suspended in this moment of raw emotion.

Just then, Sophia’s voice broke through the charged silence, trembling with a feigned innocence. “Aria… are you blaming me?”

I turned to her, already bracing for the familiar act. Her face was a mask of wounded innocence, eyes wide and glistening with false tears. It was a performance I had grown weary of, one that made my stomach churn with disgust.

Oh, not this again. I could see right through her charade, but Margaret, as always, was too ensnared in her need for control to recognize the truth. Sophia’s cheeks were flushed, a clear sign of her manufactured sorrow, and I knew every tear was a calculated move.