Only after they got together did Mrs. Ainsworth discover that Mr. Ainsworth already had a wife and children.
She’d thrown tantrums and cried, but she couldn’t fight her own heart. She stayed with Mr. Ainsworth, becoming his hidden woman—a bona fide mistress.
Every ti they slept together, Mr. Ainsworth forced her to take birth control pills. The long-term use of the dication left Mrs. Ainsworth unable to conceive. She desperately wanted a child, but her wish was never granted.
In their youth, Mr. Ainsworth and Mr. Grant were schoolmates and had a fairly good relationship. Moreover, both had entered into political marriages and started families.
Over ti, Mr. Grant naturally got to know Mrs. Ainsworth as well.
Mrs. Ainsworth felt a deep sense of injustice. She saw all the successful, respectable n with wives and children of their own, while she herself was unable to get pregnant. Her sense of desolation grew with each passing day.
During a large party at the Grant Residence, as if possessed, she snuck into a bedroom and quietly carried away a child.
That child was Nora Ainsworth.
In truth, Mrs. Ainsworth didn’t know who Nora Ainsworth’s biological parents were either, so she simply told Nora that her biological father’s surna was Ainsworth.
Nora Ainsworth was raised from a young age in a separate house, looked after by a nanny. Mrs. Ainsworth visited frequently. At first, she was terrified, but when no news of a missing child ca from the Grant Family—as strange as that was—Mrs. Ainsworth gradually let her guard down.
This continued until the present day, when Nora Ainsworth brought up the subject and began to question it.
When Mr. Ainsworth eventually found out, Mrs. Ainsworth was, of course, punished for it. He tried several tis to send Nora Ainsworth away from Alveria, but each attempt was t with Mrs. Ainsworth’s staunch opposition.
In Mr. Ainsworth’s mind, only a handful of people at the party that day had brought infants.
Furthermore, all of them were from the Grant Family. He and Mr. Grant had been schoolmates in their youth, and Master Grant and Master Ainsworth had been as close as brothers back in the day.
No matter how you sliced it, a scandal would be unavoidable.
So, after his first wife passed away, he married Mrs. Ainsworth to prevent any further complications from arising. He then brought Nora Ainsworth to live in the Ainsworth family ho.
Hearing all of this, Nora Ainsworth’s fingers grew cold, her face pale as a sheet.
"That ti... I was outside your bedroom door and heard him say that everything he was doing was for my biological father—"
Mrs. Ainsworth replied weakly, "He’s always believed your father was from the Grant Family, and the Grants and the Ainsworths have a long, intertwined history, which is why he would say that. But the reason he threw us out wasn’t entirely because of the broken engagent. Nora, he thought I was comatose, that I only had a few days to live. He figured that if I died, the secret would die with . That’s why he has no fear when it cos to you."
Nora Ainsworth raised a hand, touching the corner of her mother’s clouded eyes. "Mom, if this is a secret, then let’s just keep it a secret."
However, she couldn’t stop the thought from surfacing: ’If I’m really one of the Grants, then Quentin and I... no matter how you look at it, our relationship would be incestuous—’
"Nora, please forgive . I know now that I was wrong, and I want to repent, but I know there’s no way I can ever make it up to you—COUGH, COUGH—"
"There’s nothing to forgive. I think this is just my fate. And heaven hasn’t been unkind to . Not knowing my biological parents ans I can live more freely. I don’t have to think about it, and that saves a world of trouble."
Mrs. Ainsworth closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. "Nora, I’ve gotten nothing in my entire life, but I got you. For , that’s enough."
She reached up and handed a Jade Pendant from her own neck to Nora Ainsworth. "This was around your neck when I took you. I haven’t dared to take it off all these years. Nora, I’m so sorry."
Mrs. Ainsworth could say no more. That long speech had completely exhausted her.
The sky faded, bit by bit, until darkness began to set in.
Nora Ainsworth saw that her mother’s complexion was good and that she was even able to eat that evening, which brought her a small asure of comfort. What she didn’t know, however, was that a candle always burns brightest right before it goes out.
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