Wendy''s eyes were filled with pain. She gave a bitter smile, her already pale face making her look even more frail. "Evelyn, your mother is doing well, but she won''t be taking you back."


    "The reason I agreed to your mother''s request today was to tell you something. She was strict with you, but that strictness got you into a good university. Yet, all you wanted was a life of mour and excess."


    A sharp pain pierced Evelyn Carrington''s chest, making it hard to breathe. Tears welled in her eyes.


    Deep down, she knew who treated her best.


    But her mother''s strictness had driven her to Sophia, where she found a sense of ease. That''s why she had fallen for itpletely. Her mother was strong-willed because she wanted her children to be independent.


    Evelyn lowered her head in shame, saying nothing.


    Wendy continued, "My story is the opposite of yours. I was cruel to my biological daughter. After she came back to us, I rarely treated her with kindness. I was ashamed of her, thinking she didn''t know anything and would embarrass me. But she was actually an excellent and kind person.


    "But I turned a blind eye to it. I doted on the mistress''s daughter instead. For that girl''s sake, I said the cruelest things in the world to my own child."


    "It''s just like what you said to your mother. You wished she would disappear from your life forever, wanting only the love of your father''s mistress. We''re the same, you and I."


    "I wanted to give all my love to the mistress''s daughter because she was the treasure I had carefully raised and cherished for over twenty years. I truly gave her everything I had."


    "So, when my real daughter returned, I didn''t even buy her nice clothes. I wouldn''t let her beauty outshine the other girl''s."


    "I never truly cared for her. I knew she was desperate for a mother''s love, but I still chose to ignore her feelings."


    "Perhaps I thought she couldn''t live without me, her mother. She humbly begged for affection. When Joanna framed her, we always sided with


    her.


    Joanna, hurling insults and


    Natalie would always back down, which made being a mother feel easy for me."


    Wendy''s mind filled with images of Natalie, always looking like she wanted to say


    something but holding back, enduring in silence.


    She broke down, sobbing. "My


    daughter pleaded for my love with haunted eyes, looking so small and broken that it should have shattered me. Every time I think of it, my heart breaks But I, her own mother felt not a shred of love for her time and again, she cautiously tried to get closer, searching for a hint of warmth in my words and actions. Even when I saw it, I chose to ignore it.


    "She cried silently through countless nights, and paid her no mind. In the end, my indulgence of Joanna and my coldness toward Natalie shattered her heartpletely. She signed the papers to walk out of my life forever, and from that day on was nothing more than a stranger to her. Now, every time I remember her resolute expression, it''s like a knife plunging straight into my heart, leaving me to struggle in endless, agonizing regret."


    "So, Evelyn Carrington, do you understand how lucky a child is to be loved by her mother? I think, once, you truly experienced what a mother''s love felt like from your own mother."


    "You''re an adult now. Deep down, you know who is best for you, but your pride is in the way. You can''t bring yourself to admit you made the wrong choice. Evelyn, living like this is pointless. A simple, healthy life is the true source of happiness."


    Wendy grew more distraught as she spoke, realizing everything far toote. "Ahem, cough..."


    She coughed violently, feeling as if her lungs were convulsing.


    "Mrs. Scott," Evelyn Carrington sobbed, unable to control herself. "Are... are you okay?"