When she was little, she really had been afraid of thunder. As she grew older, she started to overcome it bit by bit. If she remembered correctly, it was around this age that she was most afraid.

So, what about Grace? No matter what, she was still her child—did that really mean nothing to her? The thought left Aurora feeling heavy inside. This kind of blatant favoritism—was it really fair to her? Was she truly Grace’s daughter? At times, Aurora found herself questioning that.

But every time those thoughts surfaced, she forced them away. There was no need to guess too much about something like that. Just judging by how much she resembled Grace, their biological connection was undeniable. Aurora’s appearance even outshone Grace’s, surpassing the original in every way. Not to mention, anyone with eyes could tell they were mother and daughter. There was nothing for Aurora to deny anymore. So, she wasn’t foolish enough to doubt their relationship. Now, the only real question was what exactly had happened between Grace and William.

Aurora clenched her fists, deciding not to dwell on it any longer. There had never been an answer. Even if she kept obsessing over it, she wouldn’t get anywhere. She might as well bury the question deep in her heart and wait until Grace chose to speak on it herself. Aurora had always known that Grace wasn’t the type who liked being pushed. She liked everything to be reasoned and orderly. She couldn’t stand being rushed and always saw people like that as reckless—people who acted without thought or structure. It was exactly because of this that she preferred to follow the rules step by step.

And just like that, both sides drifted off to sleep. Grace was exhausted and, holding Tessa in her arms, fell into a deep sleep. Tessa had originally still been thinking about her next move, but the sound of thunder outside actually helped her fall. In just a short while, she really dozed off and slipped into dreams. Breathing in the sweet scent from Grace, for some reason, she felt a rare sense of peace. Was it always this scent before? Her nose had always been sensitive—even if the packaging changed, she could still pick out the ingredients inside.

From the start, Tessa knew she wasn’t a likable person, so no matter what she did, she always greeted others with a smile. As the saying goes, no one hits a smiling face. Tessa firmly believed that if she smiled enough, she could ease people’s suspicions and wouldn’t have to think too much. She didn’t care whether Aurora liked it or not—Tessa went ahead and did it anyway. No matter what, she wanted Grace’s attention fixed solely on her. That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything else. As long as she held tightly to Grace’s love and concern, even if Aurora recovered later, Tessa wouldn’t be too worried.

She was curious, too—what exactly was the relationship between them? And after all this time with William gone, why couldn’t Grace let go? Even in her dreams, Tessa was still thinking about it. All she wanted was to crush Aurora under her feet, to make her understand that she was the one and only heiress of the Walton family.

Over here, the two of them slept peacefully.