The script Lillian prepared in her head went blank when the woman's teary affectionate eyes remained on her.
Grace Lu.
The woman who gave birth to her.
Lillian had long divided her memories into two categories—those that came from her own experience in her previous life, and those derived from the novel that revolved around Eva as the female lead. The former, she trusted. The latter, she always viewed with suspicion.
In the novel, it was mentioned she and Mary had given birth to their children at the same hospital. However, due to an earthquake, all the facilites in the hospital was plunged into chaos. In the midst of the confusion, the two newborns—Lillian and Eva—were swapped.
From the stories she heard from Eva and content of the novel, Grace was painted as an irresponsible mother.
She frequented bars and clubs, reeked of heavy perfume and alchohol, brought strange men home, and stayed out of the house.
Eva often lamented, stretching paragraphs on how she was deprived of maternal affection from childhood, arousing pity and sadness. This only led Mary to bear a resentment towards Lillian.
In her previous life, Mary brought it up over and over again how blessed she was to be raised in privilege since Eva spent twenty years of her life suffering in place of her.
Lillian foolishly bought their words and remained subservient.
But only from the content of the novel did she get to learn how Grace's heart ached for her after her death. Her mother dragged her limped foot and haggard face to visit her grave, and cried in regret. The woman who barely looked thirty now aged overnight in her sorrow.
Grace believed she would have a better life at Chen's, but in the end, she only pushed Lillian to her early death.
If only she had approached her earlier, this wouldn't have happened.
Lillian too harbored slight resentment towards Grace. Although she had her devotion towards Chen Family, when she saw herself standing out of the picture, she wondered why her birth mother never paid her a visit.
Now, she had a feeling there were many complications behind it.
Behind the scenes, when she wasn't watching, Grace have been secretly keeping an eye on her. She stashed away her birthday presents in her closet.
In the end, Grace passed away from depression after losing all her loved ones.
It seemed that the fate held a grudge against the Lu bloodline. No one of the members met a decent ending.
"Are you hungry? I should get you something to eat," Grace voiced out in a hurry, breaking the silence. There was a slight panic and nervousness in her tone as she stood up from the sofa, heading towards the kitchen.
But before she could take more than two steps, Lillian's voice, quiet yet sharo, pierced through the air. "Why didn't you come and visit me?"
Although Lillian tried to control her voice, the twenty year old's voice trembled slightly, betraying her emotions.
The words hung in the room like thick fog.
Grace froze mid-step and turned back.
"Lillian..." Grace sounded hesitant.
"Why did you leave me in the Chen Family that made my life hell?" Lillian accused, each syllable sharper than the previous.
Grace's eyes darkened, storms swirling in them Taking a step closer to Lillian, she observed the negative emotions Lillian covered under her mask of indifference, resembling a wounded animal.
"What did they do to you?" Grace's voice was low and somber.
"That is none of your business," Lillian replied flatly, raising the guard around her.
Her understanding of Grace was enough to know the woman would go against Chen Family head-to-head if they dared to hurt her. She did that in her last life and got badly counterattacked by Chen Family.
Lillian carried on, "Don't worry. I am not here to beg for your affections. I just don't want to be associated with the Chen surname. Add me to your family register. I don't need you to protect me or pay for me."
Grace stood there in silence with her eyes fixed on her daughter.
Although Lillian's experience strenghtened her mentality, under her gaze, she couldn't help but feel exposed, vulnerable, and unnerved. Her nails dug into the sofa.
This was her first direct eye contact with the woman. Most of the details she had on Grace was from the novel, and they didn't go deep into her character and aptitude.
However, now, Lillian felt she was being watched by eagle.
Grace then closed her eyes and softly yet firmly expressed, "I am sorry. I will take accounts of everything Chen Family did to you and hold them responsible."
Until this point, there was not much damage Chen Family did to her. Even if everything was clearly presented in front of Grace, there wasn't anything she could hold them accountable for.
But Lillian knew even if she left the Chen Family, Eva will come after her. The laws of the world will only allow one of them to survive.
Lillian frowned. "There is no need for you to pity me."
Grace sighed. "I wonder what made my daughter so prickly and closed off. I will wait for you to open up. Take it slow and comfortably. Meanwhile, I will never let go of anyone who hurt you."
There was a solemn vow in her words.
Lillian raised her head, staring at the woman in surprise. "What?"
She walked over and wrapped her arms around Lillian, encapsulating her in unfamiliar warmth. Lillian stiffened and raised her hand to push Grace away.
But the woman's voice made her pause.
"Welcome home," Grace whispered. "Although it's shabby here, mom will make sure you never get wronged."