Aria’s POV

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    “Are… are you sure the DNA test is correct?” I asked hastily, my voice trembling.

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    “We asked for her hair andpared it with your DNA,” he said quietly. “I’m afraid the result is urate. I’m sorry babe.”

    I sat up

    and buried my face in his chest. He held me tightly, his arms around my shoulders.

    “We’ve considered all the worst possibilities. You were prepared for this,” he said softly, stroking my hair in a soothing rhythm. “Besides, you’re a grown–up now. You don’t need either of them. The only reason we looked for them was to see if your mother could help with your wolf. Once you get better, you never have to see them again.”

    “I don’t know… I spent so long missing her, hating her. Now that she’s finally back, can I really never see her again?” I whispered, looking up at Grayson. “Or…maybe I overthought this. Maybe she just has a difficult personality because life has been hard on her. Maybe deep down, she isn’t a bad person after all.”

    He nodded. “Of course, that’s possible. You can try spending time with her if you want.”

    I shook my head, hesitant. I hadn’t decided whether to let her into my life yet, or how to even act around her.

    More importantly, I didn’t feel ready to forgive her for walking out that door all those years

    ago…

    The next morning, when I woke up, Grayson was already gone.

    He left me a message saying some local investors wanted to meet him while he was in town, and he’d see me at dinner. So I had the whole day to myself.

    I sat up slowly, yawning, wondering what to do with my day. I could spend it with my mom. But I debated with myself whether I should give her that second chance.

    Just then, I heard faint noises outside the bedroom.

    This was arge suite. Outside the bedroom was not just a living room but also a walk–in closet. Normally, the hotel staff wouldn’t enter without permission, and a fancy hotel like this wouldn’t let employees disturb guests during our stay.

    So who was making all that noise?

    I jumped out of bed and strode out of the bedroom.

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    Several people were standing outside the closet, hotel staff and our maids from Red Stone Pack. They looked flustered, trying to stop something.

    “What’s going on?” I asked, frowning.

    They turned quickly and bowed when they saw me. “Good morning, Lady Aria. It’s… It’s your mother… We can’t stop her…”

    I pushed past them into the walk–in closet.

    The room was a mess. Tworge suitcases we’d brought were open on the floor, everything inside rummaged through and thrown everywhere. Even mine and Grayson’s personal items were scattered.

    There were several brand–new dresses hung in the closet–high–end gowns the hotel had sent in case we needed something formalst minute. I never usually wore them. But now, all of those incredibly expensive dresses had their tags torn off and were tossed on the sofa.

    And standing in the middle of the room, the cause of all this, was my dear mother, wearing one of my fancy coats and admiring herself in the mirror.

    “What the hell are you doing?!” I asked in disbelief.

    “Oh, Aria, here you are.” She turned around cheerfully, showing off the coat. “Look, doesn’t this look better on me than you? But I’m a bit taller, so you should ask them to bring me a new one in arger size.”

    Was she kidding me right now?

    “Who let you in here?! I never said you could wear my clothes!” I snapped, grabbing one of the high–end dresses from the sofa. “And who said you could tear the tags off these?”

    She pouted. “They were just hanging in the closet. It’s a waste not to wear them.”

    “I was going to return them! I don’t need them, and you definitely don’t… Do you even know how much these cost?” bI /bpicked up one of the discarded tags and almost couldn’t breathe. “Oh… Okay, you just spent nearly a hundred thousand dors. Do you even have that kind of money?!”

    “God, you’re so stingy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re dating the richest man in the world. His money is your money, and your money is practically my money. A hundred thousand is basically nothing.”

    “What are you even thinking?! Grayson’s money has nothing to do with me. That’s not the kind of rtionship we have. And my money is most certainly not yours!” I yelled, furious.

    But she lookedpletely unfazed and even let out a small chuckle. “Come on, darling. He’s

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    a rich, powerful man, and you’re a young girl with nothing but a pretty face. Of course, your rtionship is like that.”

    I red at her angrily. If she weren’t my mother, I might have struck her right now.

    “Take off my coat right now,” I stepped forward, pointing a finger at her. “Now you owe Grayson a hundred thousand dors, and–WAIT. What is this?!”

    My eyes widened as I saw the sapphire ne around her neck. I pointed at her, trembling with disbelief.

    “What? I just thought it matched my new coat,” she said casually.

    “Take it off!!!” I was about to explode, red with fury. “Grayson gave that to me. You have no right to wear it. And I forbid you from ever touching it again!”

    She scoffed, took off the ne, and tossed it carelessly onto a nearby drawer. “The sapphire is decent quality, but it’s too small. With Alpha Grayson’s wealth, you should make him buy you something much more expensive. Dream bigger, my girl.”

    I hurried to pick it up and carefully put my ne away. Then I jerked at her, my voice sharp:

    “How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t want you touching my things. And I don’t want you acting like we’re so close and intimate already! You were gone for over 20 years. You are practically like a stranger to me! You left when I was a child and needed you most, and now you want to y this mother–daughter game? What… What are you even thinking?!”

    There.

    I got it out.

    I had to know what was on her mind. It was driving me crazy.

    Her expression softened slightly. “Oh, Aria, darling… I know I hurt you before…”

    “More than hurt. You almost killed me. Grandma and I was this close to starving to death,” I snapped.

    “Oh, I know. But I was just a stupid girl back then. Impulsive. Irresponsible. Fell in love crazily with the wrong guy and had a child too young… You have no idea how much I want to make up for it.”

    She stepped forward and took my hand. The cold rings on her fingers made me shiver, but I didn’t pull away. I guess part of me really wanted this–especially the little girl inside me.

    “So how about we have a mother–daughter day today?” she suggested enthusiastically. “Get to

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    know each other. Spend some time together. How does that sound?”

    I hesitated for a moment.

    I had nothing else to do today, and I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t give her a chance.

    “Fine,” I finally nodded. “What do you want to do?”

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    “Oh that’s wonderful!” She immediately beamed, pulling me into the closet to get ready together.

    In the end, I let her keep the two dresses she’d already opened. After all, as she said, I couldn’t return them once the tags were off and I might as well just give them to her.

    I also kept my mouth shut about her outfit choice for the day. Honestly, it was way too shy -an evening gown, not something for daytime, and she’d even essorized with full jewelry. It waspletely inappropriate.

    But she looked very pleased with herself. When she was done, she twirled in front of the mirror and sighed contentedly. “Don’t I just look fabulous?”

    …She looked tacky.

    But I was trying to learn how to be a daughter, so I lied, “Not so bad.”

    “Of course not bad,” she giggled, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me toward the door. “Alright, let’s go. I know exactly where we should go. Is your driver waiting downstairs?b” /b

    We

    got into the car. She eagerly told the driver our destination, which turned out to be the most luxurious shopping mall in the city.

    When we arrived, she strutted ahead proudly, ordering the driver to carry her handbag. I could barely keep up. It almost seemed like I was her maid.

    We walked straight into a high–end boutique. The saleswoman, who looked about my mother’s age, was about to greet us when her expression changed the moment she saw my mother.

    “What the hell are you doing here, Jolene?” she snapped.

    My mother smiled smugly and adjusted her fur coat. “Hello, Laura. I’m here to shop. I see that you are still stuck here being a pathetic saleswoman. Obviously seducing my customer and making him marry you didn’t help you move up in this world.”

    “Get the hell out of here, Jolene. You can’t afford a single thing here. Don’t make me call security.”

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    “Who says I can’t afford it?” my mother said loudly, pulling me in front of her. She hadn’t paid any attention to me the whole way here but now it suddenly changed. “Open your damn eyes and take a look! This is my daughter. So young, beautiful, and charming. And you know the man she’s dating? It’s-”

    “MOM!” I shouted, cutting her off. I didn’t want the whole world to know about me and Grayson being here.

    “Oh, what’s wrong, sweetie? You’re dating every woman’s dream. You should be proud of that.” She nced back at the saleswoman named Laura and sneered. “I’m here to shop, and you will serve me like I’m your fucking god. Because my daughter has all the money in the world. She’ll be very angry if you disrespect her mother.”

    I yanked my hand out of hers.

    Now I finally understood.

    Mother–daughter day? Bullshit.

    She was just using me as a trophy to show off.

    “You stay here. I’m leaving,” I said through gritted teeth, then turned and stormed out.

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