Those involved were often blinded, while onlookers saw the truth.

Tessa had already seen right through Grace and couldn’t help but feel curious. Why did Grace clearly care about Aurora, yet always pretend not to? No matter how closely she observed, Tessa couldn’t figure out what Grace was truly thinking.

She had considered many possibilities–for example, maybe Aurora wasn’t actually Grace’s biological daughter. But the moment that thought entered her mind, it was dismissed immediately. After all, Aurora looked far too much like Grace and had perfectly inherited all of Grace’s best features–even more than that. She looked as delicate and flawless as a Barbie doll. Since childhood, Tessa had always been jealous of Aurora’s looks.

She never understood how the genes had worked out–looking like Grace was one thing, but Aurora had only inherited the most beautiful parts. To this day, Tessa still couldn’t understand it. They were both Grace’s biological daughters, yet she looked nothing like her mother. Why was that?

But if that was the case, then why did Grace still treat them so differently? Tessa watched Grace repeat herself twice, then simply smiled.

“Alright, Mom, I understand.” Tessa replied thoughtfully, “Maybe it’s just because she’s still young, that’s why she acts like this. We understand. Besides, who didn’t go through that phase as a child?”

Grace looked at her considerate daughter, and a sense of comfort filled her heart. She pulled Tessa into an embrace, her face full of relief. “Tessa, you really do understand me. You’ve always been my little darling.”

Tessa leaned her head against Grace’s shoulder, playing the part of the obedient daughter. That small gesture drew the two of them even closer. But deep down, Tessa knew very well that Grace still cared about Aurora. Otherwise, why would she have repeated that sentence once or twice? But then why pretend to treat Aurora so coldly in front of her?

Yes, pretend. At that thought, Tessa’s eyes darkened. She had seen through it long ago–Grace wasn’t truly harsh with Aurora. She just liked to put on an act in front of her. It had always been this way–showing indifference or even disdain toward Aurora in front of her, but in private, thinking back carefully, she never really mistreated her. Wasn’t that the truth?

Tessa curled her lips into a cold smile, finding it all rather ridiculous. She wanted to see what kind of game Grace was playing.

As for Grace, her heart was a mess of emotions. The question Aurora had just asked was still echoing in her mind. Did she love Aurora? Even now, she didn’t seem to have a clear answer. If it had been just a childish outburst, then fine, but Aurora was already in her second year of high school. She wasn’t a child anymore. She had won more awards than Grace could count. So, Aurora surely understood basic things like this. No kid these days was clueless. And then there was Tessa, already in college, several years older than Aurora. Compared to the younger Aurora, she did love Tessa more, partly because of her poor health, which required more care and attention.