"Your eyes look more like Lenore''s than even Lily''s. How could you not be her child? Here, let me show you a picture of Lenore."


    He pulled out a tablet and handed it to me. It was filled with photos of Lenore and no one else.


    This kind of intense, enduring love must be a family tradition for the Hiltons.


    After all, Max was the kind of person who would be reborn just for me.


    Just as Helen had said—a lovesick Mr. Hilton.


    Looking at the photos of Lenore, it was the first time I had seen a picture of my mother since I was ten. My memories of her were just fragments.


    She was beautiful and regal at every age. Her childhood looked so happy. Then there was her wedding photo with my father; they both looked so blissful.


    She was hunted by Princess Harriet''s mother all the way to Crestview Metropolis, where she lived under an assumed name, trying to build her own life, only to be murdered in the end.


    I didn''t even dare to cry right now.


    "Look at this one. That''s me standing next to Lenore. You can call me Uncle Babur.”


    Babur unted the time he had with my mother, a bond that stretched from childhood to adulthood.


    But he didn''t know that the one thing I had been missing my whole life was that kind of lifelongpanionship from my parents.


    In other words, Lily, Richard, and I were all starved for love.


    They left Lily for the family.


    They left me for Richard.


    But for me, they left nothing...


    "I''m sorry, but I''m not Lenore''s daughter. You have the wrong person."


    As I handed the tablet back to him, I couldn''t resist onest look at my mother''s


    photo. The only connection I had to her, it seemed, was how much we looked alike.


    "You don''t want to drag Ss into this, do you? That''s why you''re denying you''re Lenore''s daughter. But your very name is a testament to their love, ire Floyd. You are Lenore''s star and yton''s river


    A soft spot in my heart almost gave way, threatening to shatter.


    I couldn''t cry. I was afraid I''d drag Max down with me.


    "Did you know, ire? Ss is back in Serythia to get engaged to Lily. Did he not tell you why he was


    returning? It''s because he has t


    oppose me and save his brother. take you to see for yourself what truly matters to him-you, or his family and his brother."


    A chill ran down my spine. Babur was nning to use me to force Max''s hand.


    My first instinct was that Max would choose me. Because in both this life and thest, he had promised he would always stand firmly by my side.


    "Let''s make a bet. Will he choose you, or will he choose his family and his brother?" Babur suddenly smiled at me, a knowing, provocative look in his eyes.


    He was certain Max wouldn''t choose me.


    "Whether he chooses me or not has nothing to do with you," I retorted, matching his provocative tone.


    He seemed taken aback by that, pausing for a few seconds before pping his hands. "Excellent. Your spirit is just like your mother''s So defiant in the face of all hardship, ire Floyd, I''m finding you more and more interesting."


    Iughed coldly. "Uncle Babur, what you have is a twisted obsession born from


    unrequited love. You''re sick, and you should get help.”


    The more I acted this way, the happier he became.


    “It''s been a long time since anyone has cursed at me like that. It used to be Lenore."


    I let out a long breath. What a waste of a handsome face. No wonder my mother didn''t choose him back then.


    "We''re almost there. What do you think Ss will think when he sees you''vee to Serythia?"