"Alright, I understand."

Lucas didn’t press further.

The next day, Aurora showed up at the Walton estate unannounced. She was curious – after seeing everything that had blown up online, after learning what Tessa had done – whose side would Grace take this time? The evidence was already laid bare before her eyes; how could she possibly defend Tessa now?

Yes, defend.

That was the word Aurora used, because that was what her mother always did. Grace never admitted what Tessa had done – always covering for her, always excusing her. Even now, when the truth was glaringly obvious, Aurora knew she would probably still find a way to justify it.

Sometimes, Aurora couldn’t help but wonder why. Why could Grace lie so easily for one daughter while turning a blind eye to the other? Was she not her child too? Why couldn’t a mother treat her daughters equally? If she had only ever wanted one, then why bother having two? Those questions had haunted her for years. Even in her dreams, she’d never found the answer.

So now, she stopped asking. She had come to accept that some things would never make sense, and if that was the case, she might as well bury them deep in her heart and move forward.

When she entered the garden, Arnold was the first to see her. His voice carried both surprise and joy. “Miss Aurora, you’re back?”

Aurora’s lips curved into a faint smile. Despite everything that had happened, she still felt a quiet warmth seeing him again. But hearing his words, Aurora wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Had she really been away so long that even Arnold had to ask her that kind of question now? Still, she kept her composure and answered calmly, “I came back to take care of something.”

Arnold immediately guessed the reason. It must have been because of what had happened online. That was likely why she’d come back in such a hurry.

Seeing her standing there, his chest tightened with quiet sorrow. These days, Grace no longer sided with her at all; everything she did seemed to favor Tessa instead. Aurora was completely on her own now, with no one to speak up for her. And if he didn’t, who would? But he was only a butler. Even if he wanted to help her, what could he do? His position was now tightly controlled by the eldest daughter. If Tessa ever found out he was speaking on Aurora’s behalf, he’d lose his job in an instant.

Aurora noticed the hesitation on his face. “Arnold, what’s wrong?”

He froze for a moment. It had been so long since anyone in this house had called him that so gently. The warmth in her tone nearly brought tears to his eyes. Since Tessa had taken charge of the household, he’d been walking on eggshells every day, constantly adjusting to her moods just to survive. She was the one everyone catered to now, even Grace treated her like she was made of glass. But Aurora was different. She had always treated him with genuine kindness, not as a servant, but as family.