Born Into Villain's Family: I Have a 200\% Rebate System
Chapter 83: Painful Truth

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Painful Truth

"Aurora, what do you think? Why is Emily so good to us? Ah! How I wish I could jump into her mind and see what she is thinking." Olivia sighed.

After chattering for a while, she left for a lunch break.

Aurora heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Emily was doing her work properly.

After lunch break, Olivia taught Aurora some math.

The maths that had seemed boring to Aurora a few months ago now seemed very interesting.

What she feared the most was now...silence.

At night, Adriana took the night shift and caressed Aurora’s cheeks,

"Aurora, you asked me what I was hiding, right? I will tell you the truth. But not now. I will tell you when you wake up. You must be wondering why, right? Honestly, I am a coward.

I have seen in the movies and novels that the most loving and caring character after going in coma, gets to know all the secret and..."

A water droplet landed on Aurora’s cheek, and her heart skipped a beat.

For some reason, she felt her heart heavy.

Adriana’s voice was filled with raw pain. It was as if she was holding onto something that was hurting her a lot, but she couldn’t say it.

’My intuition was correct...eldest sister was indeed hiding something.’

"And Aurora...I will ask the mother to bring Alex home. I...I will compromise. So please don’t hate your eldest sister." Adriana continued softly.

Her breathing was slow, and a faint sound of sobs escaped her mouth.

It was clear that the decision of bringing Alex to their home hurt her.

Aurora felt as if someone had inserted a knife in her heart.

"You know, Aurora, I hate Alex. The big secret that I am hiding was indirectly related to him. He wasn’t the culprit...but he was the character because of whom I have to suffer.

Even though he is innocent, I couldn’t bring myself to like him. Do you know why? Because I have visited library in which mom was working."

Toward the end, Adriana’s voice was filled with bitter sarcasm.

"I can’t tell you about the incident that ruined my life, but...I can definitely tell you about the little secret Mother has been hiding.

She never mentioned Alex to us, but you know why she doesn’t get promoted or transferred to some other libraries, even though she has excellent bookkeeping skills?

It is because of that, Alex! That Alex visits the library, and she, to see him every day, refused the promotion or transfer.

Isn’t she selfish? She knew about our financial situation! She knew we needed more money. By just nodding her head, she could have solved so many of our problems.

But she didn’t! You know? Because she loved Alex more than us. To the point that she could let us suffer just to have a glimpse of that Alex!

When you proposed to bring him back, I thought you pitied him, and hence, I was so agitated. And in my agitation, I said nonsense stuff. I am sorry, Auro. I am truly sorry."

Tears slid down Adriana’s cheeks and landed on Aurora’s bare cheeks, leading to a burning sensation in Aurora’s heart.

Now she understood why Adriana opposed so much.

Adriana was envious of Alex.

While she shoulder the responsibility to get praised by Mary, Alex simply existed, yet he was cherished.

Aurora’s heart ached.

’Eldest sister... so that’s why you hate him so much.’

However, there was something else that made Aurora’s heart ache.

The way Adriana addresses her,

’Auro’

That was the nickname Adriana had given her when she was 10. It was something that only cheerful 15-year-old Adriana used to call her.

And now the broken 18-year-old Adriana was calling her the same.

Something inside Aurora broke.

Adriana’s voice trembled as she continued,

"I wanted to be the perfect daughter. I thought if I worked harder, if I excelled more, Mother would look at me the way she looked at Alex."

She laughed bitterly.

"But no matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. She still refused every opportunity for a better life because of him.

And I— I was too much of a coward to say anything. I pretended not to see it, convinced myself that she loved us all the same.

Sometimes I even thought of telling you all the truth...but I couldn’t bear to see you heartbroken.

I am telling you this now...because I don’t want to be misunderstood anymore. Auro, if possible, forget whatever I said. I wish to remain the only one who remembers this betrayal.

So that...you all can blame me for being selfish, and I can hate mother to my heart’s content."

Aurora wanted to tell Adriana that she was wrong.

That their mother loved them just as much. That Mary had never intended to make Adriana feel that way.

But she couldn’t.

Because deep down, Aurora knew that Adriana’s pain was real. And so was the facts said by Adriana.

Adriana took a shaky breath.

"You know, I told myself I would never let him step into this house. That I would never acknowledge him. But if bringing him home makes you happy... then I’ll compromise."

She wiped her tears away harshly.

"So, Auro, you better wake up soon, alright? Otherwise, I might regret this decision."

Adriana held Aurora’s hand with a bittersweet smile, her eyes turning red as she said,

"I am proud to raise you, Auro. You understood my pain when no one did. Thank you so much, sweetheart."

A light kiss landed on Aurora’s forehead.

A kiss that made Aurora want to wake up and hug Adriana and tell her that Adriana wasn’t alone and Aurora was with her.

But she couldn’t move at all.

Life was truly unpredictable.

Aurora had an entire month to hug everyone. But in the end she only remembered to hug Lucas.

She wished to go back in time and hug Adriana.

The room was silent except for the occasional sniffles that Adriana tried to suppress.