With just one sentence, Kayla laid it all bare. It was all gone.

“Kayla, what nonsense are you talking about?” Gloria’s body, aged and frail, trembled as her face turned pale in an instant.

‘How could my only sister possibly hate me? What reason would she have to hate me?’ Gloria couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“Mom, you just don’t understand. Aunt Shelby has always held a grudge about having to stay home and bring a husband into the family,” Kayla said.

Gloria still couldn’t understand it.

In families with only two daughters, it was common for one to stay and carry on the family name, while the other married out.

It was a decision the Gellar family had made themselves. It wasn’t something she and Shelby ever fought over.

‘How could Shelby possibly hate me for that?’ Gloria thought in confusion.

“And how could she go after my kids, too?” she wondered, her heart aching.

“Mom, Aunt Shelby and Tristan have never had a good relationship. And she’s always been jealous of how well you married,” Kayla continued, her voice soft but steady.

Gloria was on the verge of tears. “Is that really why she would hurt my kids?”

She stepped forward, her hand trembling as she gently touched the scar on Kayla’s face. She finally broke down in tears.

“All these years, Kayla has suffered so much. She almost didn’t make it back,” Gloria thought, her heart breaking.

‘Was it really all just because of jealousy between sisters?’ she wondered, unable to believe it.

It was just too much to take in, too hard to believe.

“Mom, we really didn’t want to tell you this, but we just can’t keep dealing with Aunt Shelby’s family anymore,” Amelia said softly.

Gloria felt her heart clench in pain with every word.

Her kids would never lie to her, but could she really bring herself to sever ties with the Gellar family?

“Gloria, better a short pain than a long one,” Amelia sighed softly.

In the past, she endured endless suffering, and it ruined her whole life.

This time, she chose to end things before they got worse, and that was why she could finally live happily.

Gloria had lived through enough to understand this truth.

“Alright, I’ll do as you say,” Gloria said, biting her lip. “I won’t have anything to do with Shelby anymore. But your grandparents…” They were her own parents, the ones who gave her life and raised her. She just couldn’t cut them off either.

If her parents ever found out what Shelby had done, the Gellar family would fall apart completely.

So, after weighing it over in her heart for a long moment, Gloria decided not to say anything. “Let’s just not tell your grandparents about this,” she said softly.

“Okay.” Landon had seen this coming from the start, so he just nodded in agreement.

Gloria let out a sigh of relief.

Knowing her son, he was never one to let things slide. He was definitely going to make Shelby pay for this.

Gloria looked at Kayla, then, thinking of her sister and their aging parents, she asked in a low voice, “Are you really going to do something to your Aunt Shelby?”

“Yeah,” Landon and Kayla answered at the same time, not even hesitating.

Gloria was left utterly speechless.

‘I knew it would come to this,’ she thought with a helpless sigh.

‘Both my kids have always been the type to stand their ground and never let anyone walk all over them. How could they possibly just take it lying down without fighting back?’ she thought, a mix of worry and pride swirling in her heart.

Gloria felt a pang of fear. “Just… don’t take things too far, okay?”

“Mom, are you really still defending Aunt Shelby?” Landon asked, his voice sharp. “Just look at Kayla’s face.”

At that moment, Landon was almost glad Kayla hadn’t had her scar treated yet.

That scar was a constant reminder to Gloria of the wrong Shelby had done.

“Kayla, do you know how you got your name?” Gloria suddenly asked.

Kayla frowned. “Dad picked my name. It means ‘a pretty and smart girl.’ You insisted Aunt Shelby be my godmother. But there was nothing wrong with that, right?”

If Shelby used that as an excuse, that was just absurd.

“When you were little, you were always sick. The fortune-teller said you needed to borrow some of your aunt’s good luck to stay healthy. That was why we let Shelby be your godmother,” Gloria explained.

Amelia had always found it odd that Gloria insisted Shelby be Kayla’s godmother. Now she finally understood.

“What’s that has to do with the whole thing?” Landon frowned, clearly unconvinced.

He couldn’t help but suspect that Gloria was just coming up with an excuse for Shelby.

“Gloria, this whole name thing and the fortune teller’s little story don’t matter much, do they?” Amelia asked, her tone calm but probing.

Gloria hesitated, searching for words. After a long moment, she finally said, “The fortune-teller said it was your aunt’s blessing…”

“Blessing?” Landon scoffed, his voice laced with cold sarcasm.

He fumed inwardly, ‘Kayla almost lost her life in Aunt Shelby’s hands!

‘Because of her, Kayla’s life was nothing but bitter suffering for the past twenty years.

‘This isn’t a blessing at all–it’s a curse, plain and simple.”

“Gloria, even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean Shelby did us any favors. If just being a godmother was supposed to bring Kayla so much luck, then why did Kayla have to go through all that suffering?” Amelia said bluntly, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

Honestly, to her, it was nothing but bad luck–a curse, not a blessing.

But since Gloria insisted, it didn’t feel right to say that out loud.

Gloria was left speechless, her voice growing even smaller. “So… what are you going to do?”

“We’ll cut off all support from the Kingsley family to the Gellar family,” Landon said firmly.

The Gellar family was already well-off. Even without the Kingsley family’s help, they’d be just fine.

Gloria let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“If they try anything else, don’t blame me for coming down hard on them!” Landon added, his voice cold and unyielding.

“I’ll tell your Aunt Shelby to stop stirring up trouble,” Gloria said hurriedly.

Then, right there in front of her kids, she dialed Shelby.

“Gloria, you made it home, right? Oh, now that you’ve left, I feel so lonely. When are you coming over to visit again?” Shelby’s voice was gentle and kind, the very picture of a loving aunt.

If one didn’t know what was really going on, he’d think she was the model aunt.

Kayla’s face turned cold as she snatched the phone away. “Aunt Shelby, drop the act.”

“Kayla, what are you talking about?” Shelby asked, her voice full of confusion.

“Aunt Shelby, I’ve regained my memories,” Kayla said flatly.

Those words struck Shelby like a bolt of lightning, leaving her speechless for a long moment.

‘Kayla’s memories came back? How could this happen?’ she thought, her mind reeling.

Just a few days ago, she hadn’t remembered a thing.

“Aunt Shelby, it’s over,” Kayla said coldly. “I don’t want to make things harder for my mom. From now on, our families are done with each other. I hope you get the message.”

With that, Kayla hung up, and Gloria finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone had their own families. Not keeping in touch wasn’t a big deal anymore.

Better to just forget each other and go our separate ways.

Gloria finally let herself relax, utterly exhausted. She slumped onto the couch, catching her breath.

Everything that happened today had hit her way too hard.

Amelia had the nanny bring her son over and handed him to Gloria. “Mom, Kimsey’s been missing you.”

“My sweet baby…” Gloria murmured, hugging her grandson close. The tight lines on her face slowly softened.

Kimsey’s innocent smile was the best remedy she could have asked for right now.

That night, after Landon and Amelia had made love, the two of them leaned against the headboard, catching their breath.

“Landon, is it really over just like that?” Amelia asked softly, a hint of doubt in her voice.

She couldn’t help but feel that everything had been handled almost too crudely, too straightforward.

After all that drama and tension, it just ended with a simple ‘we’re cutting off support and breaking ties.’

It was the classic case of all thunder and no rain–honestly, it felt almost surreal.

“The Gellar family is no match for the Kingsley family. Aunt Shelby won’t be able to do anything,” Landon said, reaching for a cigarette. But then he remembered they were in the bedroom and stopped himself from lighting it.

Honestly, this was being downright merciful to Shelby. It didn’t even begin to make up for a fraction of the pain Kayla had suffered.

This really wasn’t his or Kayla’s style at all.

But they had to take Gloria’s feelings into account.

For the moment, this was the only way to handle it. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any more friction between the families.

“What if Shelby isn’t willing to let it go?” Amelia asked with worry coloring her voice.

She had this nagging feeling that things wouldn’t end so easily.

“Then let her try!” Landon scoffed, his tone icy.

He thought, ‘If Aunt Shelby dared to stir up trouble again, that would be the final straw for Mom–she’d have nothing left tying her to her sister.

‘And then, I can go all out, no more holding back.’