Chapter 827
With just one glance, Aurora understood. She lowered her eyes slightly. Clearly, Lucas was going to tell her mother about Julian. She thought keeping it hidden forever wasn’t a solution. Sooner or later, the truth would come out. It was time to face it. Thinking that, Aurora gave Lucas a small nod. It was her way of agreeing to let him handle it.
What had she gained by covering for Julian all this time? Could that man even be considered her future brother-in-law? All that silence and tolerance had only led to more people taking her for granted. There was no reason to keep enduring it anymore.
On the other end of the line, Grace was growing anxious, unsure of what was going on. She wasn’t a fool–she could clearly sense that the kids were hiding something from her. When she heard Lucas was about to take the phone, her heart unexpectedly tightened. She had a feeling that whatever he was about to say, it wouldn’t be good. She met Arnold’s eyes and noticed his clenched fists and grim expression. Seeing that, Grace immediately understood that they were both equally tense.
“Hello? Mom?” The deep voice finally came through the phone, snapping Grace back to her senses. She let out a quiet “Mm” into the receiver. Once Lucas confirmed she was listening, he went on, calm but steady. “Mom, there are some things we hadn’t planned to tell you, but… I think you have a right to know.” Lucas’s voice had always carried the smooth, resonant weight of a well-aged baritone–like fine wine, it only grew deeper and more compelling the longer one listened. But right now, Grace had no interest in appreciating his voice. All she could feel was the weight in his tone, the serious edge that instantly made her heart leap to her throat. “Alright, whatever it is, just say it,” she said, drawing in a deep breath, deciding to push him to speak quickly. There was no point in dragging it out; whatever it was, she’d have to face it sooner or later. Lucas didn’t hesitate anymore. “The sound you heard at the end of that call was really Aurora.”
Grace sat up straighter. She knew it. She had known all along she hadn’t misheard. She would never mistake her own daughter’s voice. “And then?” Grace almost didn’t want to hear the rest, but she couldn’t stop herself. If that really had been Aurora, then why had they all acted so evasively earlier? Why did it feel like they were afraid of her finding something out? The thought only made Grace more anxious.
Beside her, Arnold was pacing back and forth. He could have left by now. After all, it wasn’t exactly appropriate for a house steward to linger while the family made personal calls. But it was as if his feet were glued to the floor. He just couldn’t bring himself to leave. Not because he didn’t want to–but because, in his head, the floor was far too dirty to be left unattended. So, very sensibly, he began looking around Grace’s room for things that needed tidying. It gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse to stay and listen to the rest of the call. Grace noticed his little act but didn’t say anything. If he wanted to stay, she’d let him. Besides, if something happened that she couldn’t handle alone, at least someone would be there.