Chapter 709: Chapter 705: No Point in Hiding It Anymore
The office fell silent, the only sound Jasmine’s weary sigh.
She’d been swamped lately, feeling completely overwhelmed. Just as she was starting to get a handle on things, the new store opened, throwing her off balance all over again.
That phone call from her mother only made her more irritated.
Just then, another knock sounded at the door. Jasmine quickly composed herself and called out, “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal Yvonne Sterling.
Jasmine stood up, a smile finally gracing her features. “What are you doing here?”
“I was just passing by and decided to stop at the flower market.” Yvonne’s eyes lit up when she spotted the enormous bouquet of red roses. “Ooh, you got flowers! Who are they from?”
Seeing her sister’s gossipy expression, Jasmine knew exactly what she was thinking. She pulled her down onto the sofa. “Don’t ask. I’m not in the mood.”
“Having a suitor is a good thing! Are you really planning on staying single forever?” Yvonne coaxed. “If you find someone suitable, you should give it a try. The kids are all grown up.”
“But he’s not suitable! We’ve met before. It didn’t work out.”
Yvonne blurted out, “Huh? You mean that wealthy CEO from before?”
“How did you know?” Jasmine was stunned, but then it dawned on her. “Cecilia told you, didn’t she!”
“She mentioned it once, in passing. Oh, well, if he’s not the one, then forget it. Don’t let something like that bother you.”
“It’s not that.” Jasmine sighed. “There’s just so much going on, I’m swamped, and on top of it all, our mom just called.”
“She called you again?” Yvonne frowned. Neither of the sisters enjoyed contact with their family back home. “What did she want?”
“Money,” Jasmine said, her expression turning cold. “She found out Lily’s an actress and came asking me for money. The second she opened her mouth, she asked for three hundred thousand!”
“What?” Yvonne said indignantly. “What does Lily’s income have to do with them? It’s not just Lily—even if Cecilia and Ethan were making money, it would still have nothing to do with them! In all these years, has anyone from that family ever helped you, even once? They were nowhere to be found when you were struggling, but now that Lily’s doing well, they come crawling out of the woodwork. They wish it were that easy!”
Yvonne’s heart ached thinking of all the hardships her sister had endured.
“She said it’s because Connor wants to start a business. I didn’t give her that much, but I couldn’t give her nothing, either. Otherwise, our mother would never let it go.”
Jasmine added, making sure to warn her sister, “And you can’t let a single word about your current situation get out. Remind Sarah and Ronald, too. If the family finds out Cecilia bought you such a big house, all hell will break loose back home.”
“Don’t worry, Sis. They don’t even know we moved to Lorcain from Veridia. It’s not like they ever paid us much attention anyway, especially me. A whole year can go by without a single person thinking to give me a call.”
Jasmine sighed, then a relieved smile touched her lips. “Well, at least we’ve finally made it through the hard times. Our kids are grown, and they’re all sensible and successful.”
“That’s Cecilia, Lily, and Ethan who are successful. As for my two… let’s not even go there.”
“Don’t say that. Sarah and Ronald might not have been top students, but Sarah is studying very hard in her vocational program and is about to start her internship. Ronald is a sensible boy, too. He’ll do just fine in the future. Don’t worry.”
Just then, her phone rang again. Thinking it was her mother, Jasmine picked it up with an impatient look on her face. But her expression changed the moment she saw the screen, and her tone softened as she answered, “Cecilia.”
“Mom, are you busy? I have something to tell you.”
“I-I’m still at the office. Your aunt is here, and we were just chatting. What’s wrong?” Noticing her daughter’s tone was more serious than usual, Jasmine’s own expression grew grave.
“It’s too complicated to explain over the phone. I just sent you two links on WhatsApp. Take a look. I’m heading to your office now.”
“Uh… alright. Come on over, then.”
Seeing the look on her sister’s face as she hung up, Yvonne asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Is Cecilia coming over?”
Jasmine nodded and tapped on the links her daughter had sent.
In the next second, her eyes widened in shock.
“Sis?”
Yvonne froze, then leaned over to see what was on the screen. Her expression immediately mirrored Jasmine’s.
The two of them read through the entire contents, their faces etched with shock. Goosebumps broke out all over their skin.
“I-It’s out?” Yvonne slowly turned to her sister, her voice trembling. “Do you think Lily already knows?”
Jasmine murmured, “I can’t be sure about Lily, but I think Cecilia knows.”
‘Twenty years. For twenty years, they had kept this secret, an unspoken pact between them. By now, she had almost forgotten Lily wasn’t her own flesh and blood, because from the very beginning, she had raised her as if she were.’
Soon, Jasmine composed herself. “Yvonne, if we can’t hide it anymore, then we won’t. It’s better for me to tell Lily the truth myself than for her to hear it from someone else.”
Yvonne snapped out of her daze and nodded in agreement. “You’re right, Sis. Lily is a sensible girl. She might have a hard time at first accepting that she’s not your biological daughter, but she’ll definitely understand your reasons.”
A short while later, Cecilia arrived at her mother’s office.
The moment she walked into the office, she saw her mother and her aunt sitting side-by-side on the sofa, perfectly upright, watching her with placid expressions.
“Mom. Aunt.” Cecilia greeted them before taking a seat across from the two women. “You saw the links I sent, didn’t you?”
They both nodded.
But even then, Cecilia couldn’t bring herself to believe it. She looked at her mother and asked, “This is all a mistake, right, Mom? Lily is your biological daughter.”
“Cecilia… I didn’t give birth to Lily. I found her in a park.”
Jasmine said it plainly. Since she had decided to tell the truth, there was no point in beating around the bush.
Cecilia froze. “What?”
Yvonne looked at Cecilia with heartache, knowing it wouldn’t just be Lily who would have trouble accepting this. Her older sister, Cecilia, and her younger brother, Ethan, would surely not be able to process it right away either.
‘The shock was immense. Twenty years… and no one had ever suspected a thing.’
“Cecilia, there’s actually one detail that doesn’t add up, if you think about it carefully,” Yvonne began tentatively.
Cecilia looked at her aunt, confused. “What?”
Yvonne said, “You’re twenty-two, Lily is twenty-one, and Ethan is twenty.”
Cecilia’s mind was a mess; she didn’t grasp the meaning at first.
Seeing her confusion, Yvonne explained, “Based on your three ages, for you all to be only one year apart, your mother would have had to get pregnant and give birth for three consecutive years with practically no break in between.”
Jasmine added, “I brought Lily home when you were one. A year after that, I became pregnant with Ethan.”
Cecilia stared at her mother, her mind filled with images of her sister—every smile, every frown. The little sister she had loved and protected with all her might… ‘She isn’t my real sister?’