But now, Mina Thorne has grown up, already capable of distinguishing right from wrong. Moreover, now that linda Linton and her daughter have been found, Sienna Thornton and Mina Thorne have beco the only blood-related relatives in this world. Quentin Thorne still hopes that after his ti has passed, the two sisters can support each other. Therefore, erasing the resentnt and bias in Mina Thorne’s heart has beco an urgent matter.
Ian Grant doesn’t have long left, and even though he knows Mina Thorne is not in a good mood now, he still has to clarify the things from back then. Now is the best ti because if Mina Thorne has doubts, she will go to Ian Grant. Ian Grant, now eager to atone for the events of the past, is very likely to tell the truth.
Quentin Thorne returned to the study again, and the letters were spread out on the table.
Mina Thorne held the last unopened letter in her hand, lost in thought.
Quentin Thorne sat back in his seat, glanced at the yellowed and brittle papers on the table, and asked, "You should be able to recognize your grandfather’s and grandfather’s handwriting, right?"
Mina Thorne lowered her head and said nothing.
Quentin Thorne stacked the letters one by one and put them back into the envelope.
As he tidied up, he said, "You’re a prosecutor, with such solid evidence in front of you, you should have a clear understanding of the truths back then. As the letters state, I was in love with Annie’s mom first. Your grandfather and grandfather secretly arranged a marriage with your mom without my knowledge. After I found out, I went back to the city to ask to cancel the engagent. Your grandfather, threatened by your grandfather, detained , and your grandfather sent people to the countryside... At that ti, if it weren’t for Annie’s mom being pregnant and pushed out by her natal family, wandering outside, perhaps Annie wouldn’t exist now..."
"Stop talking!" Mina Thorne shouted, throwing the last letter in her hand onto the table, "I already know!"
She covered her face and broke down crying, her shoulders jerking with each sob.
Quentin Thorne felt a pang of compassion, stepped forward to embrace her, and comforted her, "Although this is the case, Dad still welcos your birth very much. You and your sister will always be Dad’s most beloved daughters."
Mina Thorne cried loudly, unarticulated: "But I... I’m no longer your only daughter!"
She cried so sadly, as if she were a child heartlessly abandoned by her parents.
Quentin Thorne knew where her heart’s knot was. How could he not know what his daughter of thirty years had in her mind?
He gently patted Mina Thorne’s back, speaking softly: "Don’t think that Dad’s love will be taken away by your sister, leaving you with less. That’s not how it works. Dad’s love isn’t just a hundred portions. Because your sister ca, it doesn’t an you only have fifty left. Dad’s love can increase infinitely, and while I still love you very much, I will also give your sister the corresponding love. And now, you also have a sister who loves you, which ans you will receive even more love..."
Mina Thorne wailed, pounding on Quentin Thorne’s shoulder: "I don’t want it! I don’t want to share father’s love with her! I hate her!"
Quentin Thorne felt a stab of grief and still felt injustice for his elder daughter.
Sienna Thornton’s face, so much like his own, appeared before his eyes. He hadn’t seen his elder daughter for quite so ti.
Quentin Thorne closed his eyes, choking up, "Your sister hasn’t done anything wrong. She ca into this world because of love. During those thirty years when you were enjoying father’s love, do you know what your sister was enduring?"
Mina Thorne just cried and said nothing.
Quentin Thorne swallowed the pain in his throat and said, "From childhood to adulthood, things went smoothly for you. You went to the best schools, wore the most beautiful clothes. Whether it was phones, MP3s, digital caras, any digital product you wanted, Dad would buy it for you. Every year on your birthday, Dad would celebrate at a hotel, letting you invite your classmates and friends. During your school years, Dad lowered his status several tis to personally et your teachers to ask them to look after you. While others worried about teachers’ indifference and harshness, you never had to, and you enjoyed the affection of teachers and the envy of your peers. Even your college entrance exam score fell short of Braden University’s law school admission line, but Dad and Grandma went all out for you to get you into Braden University’s law school. After your undergraduate degree, you said you didn’t want to pursue a master’s degree, and Dad supported you to work at the county court as a courtroom clerk. You said the commute was too long, taking the subway was too tiring, so Dad bought you a car. You said sotis you worked late and didn’t want to go ho, so Dad got you an apartnt near your workplace... You’ve enjoyed everything Dad brought to you, but do you know what kind of life your sister was living at the sa ti in the sa space-ti?"
Mina Thorne, with reddened eyes, said nothing.
"Your sister started middle school in town by herself at ten years old. A ten-year-old girl, so thin and short, could break an arm at a twist, but she had to wash clothes by herself, make her own bed, wash the sheets and take care of herself; at thirteen, she graduated junior high school and beca the city champion of their hotown, but her adoptive father didn’t let her continue studying and burned her admission letter to Z City No. 1 High School, she almost couldn’t attend school; her adoptive father secretly plotted with the village bully to marry her off to the stupid son of the village head in exchange for a thirty-square-ter land to build a house for his son to marry a wife..."
At this point, Quentin Thorne’s sorrow rolled down his face in tears, overwheld with grief, he had to pause the conversation.
He let go of Mina Thorne, sat back in his place, turned his chair, and faced away from Mina Thorne. Looking at the many official portraits in front of him on the bookshelf, he felt no sense of success in his life.
Ian Grant wasn’t the only one with debts of resentnt...
Quentin Thorne was steeped in regret, silent for a long ti.
Mina Thorne gradually cald down.
She said, "I don’t believe it. If she was really in such difficult circumstances, how could she go to Harvard for a Ph.D.?"
"The admissions office of Z City No. 1 High School, seeing she hadn’t reported, several days after term started, found the village. At the ti, her adoptive father happened to be out, the admissions officer communicated with her mother, and her mother gritted her teeth and, one night, while her adoptive father was asleep, contacted a village brick truck to send her to the city... It took a whole night of bumpy rides to leave the mountains, and she changed to a minibus in town, arriving at the school that afternoon... Then, she was only thirteen years old! Only thirteen years old..."
"Knowing her difficulty, the school gave her six hundred yuan for living expenses each month, supporting her through high school. Over those years, her adoptive father continuously threatened her, and she didn’t dare return ho even once, spending every Spring Festival alone in the school dormitory... Her college entrance exam scores were excellent, she was the science champion of that year, but she had no money for college... Originally, she should have been your classmate because she also yearned for Braden University... But she couldn’t afford to go north to college, so she went south to HKU, which offered her a full scholarship. In Azure Harbor, she had no support, had to learn Cantonese, correct her English pronunciation, study a double degree, work to save money to return to Brimfield for a master’s degree... Because of language difficulties, she could only work washing dishes in restaurant kitchens... Your sister... had such a tough life..."
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