Chapter 232

What kind of wound could force her to live behind a mask, day and night?

‘Damn it! How did I end up sending that stray bullet her way?’ Tuff cursed to himself, frustration boiling inside.

He was so annoyed he wanted to slap himself.

But if he did that now, he would give himself away.

Thinking of this, Tuff gripped his own hand tightly, sneaking a glance at Brian.

Brian’s lips curled in a half-smile, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at Tuff. Then, without a sound, he mouthed three words, “Such a coward.”

Tuff quickly turned his head away, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

“Mom…” Kayla’s voice was barely audible as she placed her hand over Gloria’s, stopping her from lifting the mask any further.

Gloria spoke softly, her tone full of comfort. “It’s alright, honey. As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters.”

Kayla hesitated for a long moment, then slowly let her hand fall, allowing her mother to remove the mask.

Tuff froze as he saw the half-faced beauty before him.

One half of her face was so beautiful it could topple a kingdom, while the other half was disfigured by ugly scars.

It was like a flawless piece of diamond marred by a crawling centipede.

Smack! Without thinking, Tuff slapped himself hard across the face.

The sound was so loud that everyone turned to look at him.

Gloria looked at him, confused. “Tuff, what are you doing?”

“It’s nothing. I just… I need to go. You guys go ahead and catch up,” Tuff muttered, turning to leave.

‘If I stay here any longer, I really won’t be able to stop myself from slapping myself again,’ he thought, barely holding himself together as he hurried out.

“Mom, am I… ugly?” Kayla lowered her gaze, letting her vulnerability show.

Gloria smiled through her tears, standing on tiptoe to kiss the scars on Kayla’s face. “No, you’re not. You’ll always be the most beautiful daughter to me.”

“But…” Kayla hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Don’t let other people’s opinions get to you. We live for ourselves, not for anyone else,” Gloria said, her smile full of encouragement.

Gloria gave her daughter an encouraging smile.

Slowly, Kayla couldn’t help but smile too, her mother’s warmth finally breaking through. “Mm.”

“Come on, let’s go home! Your room is just the way you left it. I’ve kept everything for you–all your old things, your clothes, everything,” Gloria chattered on, her voice overflowing with warmth.

Listening to her mother’s gentle rambling, Kayla felt her heart grow soft and warm, wrapping her in comfort.

Landon and Amelia had been waiting in the garden, and when they saw Kayla without her mask, both of them were completely taken aback.

‘How could her face be hurt so badly?’ Amelia and Landon both thought, their hearts twisting with pain at the sight.

But they quickly pulled themselves together, putting on gentle smiles as they walked over to Kayla.

“I always said your family hit the genetic jackpot–everyone’s so good-looking. Especially those eyes, you all have the exact same ones,” Amelia said with a soft smile.

“Yeah, we all got our eyes from Mom,” Landon added, his smile warm and genuine.

Kayla looked at them, and for the first time, she truly felt at ease.

Kayla asked, “So, when did you first start to suspect?”

“It was because of Landen. His eyes look so much like the Kingsleys’,” Amelia said, then suddenly paused mid-sentence.

Landen was missing.

By the time the police came to arrest Aiden, Landen was already gone–and to this day, no one knew where he was.

“Landen must have been taken away. Don’t worry,” Kayla said with a breezy smile, not looking worried at all.

But honestly, what mother wouldn’t worry about her child? Everyone could tell she was just pretending. “Kayla, I’ll find a way to bring Landen back,” Landon said, his voice full of determination.

But Kayla just shook her head. “Not for the time being.”

“Kayla?” Amelia stared at her, clearly taken aback.

‘Even if she lost her memories, there’s no way she doesn’t care about her own son, right?’ Amelia thought, her heart aching for Kayla.

“If we start searching for him now, we’ll just be exposing our weakness to the enemy. I know the Kyle family–they won’t hurt Landen,” Kayla said, her voice steady.

Landon furrowed his brows, itching to ask who Landen’s father was.

“Landen is a child of the Kyle family–his father is Jonny. Have you heard of him?” Kayla asked.

Everyone looked surprised.

The Kington Gang was so famous, and the only son they ever talked about was Aiden–no one had ever even heard of Jonny.

“He was the eldest son, but he’s already dead,” Kayla said, her face completely expressionless, her voice calm.

Everyone was even more surprised by how unfazed she was.

‘Wasn’t it supposed to be a marriage of love?’ everyone wondered.

“There are still some things I can’t remember yet, but I’ll let you all know when it comes back to me,” Kayla said with a gentle smile. “Mom, where’s my room?”