Claudia POV
11:00 P.M.
I checked my watch for God knows how many tis over the past three hours. I was still wearing the party hat that Aurora—my daughter—had put on that morning, while I anxiously stared down the empty road with my sleepy daughter in my arms.
It was now the last hour of Aurora’s sixth birthday, and my husband, Miles Hoffman, had yet to arrive ho. Ever since his company beca successful five years ago, he barely spent any ti at ho—often pulling sleepless nights at the office, burying himself in work.
Over ti, an invisible wall ford between us. No matter how much I tried to shatter it, I could feel Miles slowly drifting away in the ten years of our marriage.
But I had hoped he would at least rember our daughter’s birthday. I bit my lip and fought the urge to send him yet another ssage. He hadn’t replied to my previous ssages, nor the ones sent before.
He’s just a workaholic that’s married to his work. At least he’s not a cheater. He doesn’t reply to anyone’s ssages that’s not about work-related matters.
I consoled myself with that thought. That was my one silver lining in this fragile marriage. I could not tolerate infidelity and Miles knew it too.
After all, I had told him about how I suffered as a child, tornted by my father’s mistress and her daughter, Clarissa. I still bore the scars of her bullying, and on cold nights like now, they ached terribly.
And at the very least, with all his work commitnts, Miles hadn’t had the ti to build a second secret family outside of our marriage. My sweet daughter would never suffer the way I did.
As if she heard my thoughts, the little blonde angel I was carrying stirred and woke. There was also a crooked party hat on her head, and she blinked her soft bleary eyes, staring at the empty road for a hint of her father.
"Aurora, baby, let’s get you inside," I said gently. "It’s getting colder."
My daughter shook her head, but she sniffled weakly as she continued to stare at the empty road. The cold wind blew, causing her to shiver. I tucked her closer to , hoping she would not catch a cold.
"Mommy... maybe Daddy forgot about ," Aurora whispered sadly as she hung her head low.
"Hush. Don’t say that," I corrected her imdiately. "Your Daddy promised he’d co, didn’t he?"
Aurora seed to have already accepted her father’s absence. I noticed a thin, sorrowful smile forming on her lips.
"Daddy also said he would attend my school play. But he lied, Mommy... he didn’t co," she said as she quietly ntioned about the performance where she had played Sleeping Beauty. "Maybe he lied this ti too."
I was going to give Miles a stern talking to tomorrow. It was one thing to disappoint , but he should never disappoint our daughter.
"I’ll smack him on the head if he dares to lie again," I declared with an exaggerated, proud smile, like a mama bear. "Then I’ll lift you up and let you smack his head too!"
Aurora finally smiled, a mischievous giggle escaping her lips. "Mommy, you’re bad."
"Hmph! I can be bad if he’s bad to you!"
For a brief mont, the atmosphere felt warr.
"Mommy, let’s just cut the cake together," Aurora decided. "It’s okay if Daddy isn’t here. I still have you."
My heart ached when I heard her words. Aurora was a sensible child. Perhaps she had grown up understanding that her father wouldn’t always be there for her.
Yet I knew—deep down—that she was hurt by his absence.
How did I know?
Because I saw myself in her.
The sad yet reassuring smile she wore was the sa one I had when I was her age.
Aurora had inherited the sa sensibility I once had, born from a father who rarely ca ho.
"Of course, baby. Mommy will even let you eat two pieces of cake," I promised, hugging her tightly. Aurora sniffled and nodded. It was for the best. Miles wasn’t coming ho tonight, and I wasn’t going to risk my daughter’s health any longer. The air was getting colder by the minute.
But just as I was going inside, I heard the sound of a car engine, followed by headlights shining directly toward .
"Is that Daddy?" Aurora asked hopefully.
I looked over my shoulder instinctively and saw Miles’ car enter the driveway, stopping right in front of . He stepped out first, wearing an apologetic smile.
"I thought you weren’t going to make it," I confessed. A quiet sha tingled on my chest for doubting Miles before. After all, Miles had proved once again that he was indeed a responsible father.
"I’m sorry, Claudia. Sothing urgent ca up at the office," he said. "But at least I made it back in ti, right? There’s still an hour before the date changes."
That apologetic smile lted my heart instantly.
Yes, I had to admit it—I was weak to that honest smile. It was one of the reasons I had opened my heart to him in the first place.
"Daddy!" Aurora cried out happily.
"Oh-ho, my little angel," Miles said warmly as he opened his arms. "Daddy’s here, and I brought you a gift."
I gently handed Aurora to him, and her eyes sparkled with excitent at the ntion of a gift.
"What gift? Daddy, I want—umm—a castle!" she said eagerly.
"A castle can wait. I’m here with an even better gift," Miles said as he turned toward his car and gestured. "You can co out now."
I frowned.
The way he said it gave an ominous feeling. His gift wasn’t an object—it was a person. Did he get us a nanny?
At first, I didn’t expect anything.
But when the car door opened, my heart skipped a beat.
An awfully familiar woman stepped out, carrying a child who looked to be around Aurora’s age.
The mont I got a clear look at her, my heart began to pound like a war drum—my instincts screaming fight or flight.
She had long, wavy brown hair, slightly tanned skin, and wore a dress far too revealing for a child’s birthday party.
She smiled at . But I knew the cruelty behind it, because she always wore that damned smile when she tortured .
Yes, this woman was none other than Clarissa, my half-sister.
The one who had turned my childhood into a living hell.
She had inherited my father’s crooked smile and her mother’s dark-as-coal heart—both carefully hidden beneath a gentle, sweet-looking face. Whenever she smiled at , my skin crawled with fear and disgust, leaving with an overwhelming urge to scrub my skin raw after coming into contact with her.
"Long ti no see, sister," Clarissa said smoothly, still maintaining a smile. "It’s not too late to celebrate my niece’s birthday, right?"
"Oh, I’m here with my daughter, Lara."
I had no idea Clarissa had a child. But when I lowered my gaze to the child in her arms, my heart sank even deeper into the abyss.
Because the resemblance between Clarissa’s daughter and my husband... was unmistakable.
Both Lara and Miles had the sa curly red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Unlike Aurora—who was practically a perfect copy of —Lara was a perfect copy of Miles.
Lara stared up at and blinked innocently, looking more like Miles’ daughter by the second.
My stomach churned when I noticed the resemblance. The longer I stared at them, the more I wanted to vomit. I swallowed thickly in disbelief.
Clarissa sensed my discomfort like a shark sensing blood in the water. Her grin widened, "My daughter turned six about a month ago. So they’re the sa age now."
Clarissa put Lara down, and the girl imdiately walked over to Miles and held his hand. With Aurora in one arm and Lara clinging to his other hand, Miles looked like a man with two beautiful daughters.
Six years. The words echoed in my head. My heart pounded violently as I turned towards him. "Miles, what is the aning of this?"
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