Aria’s POV

Laura looked at me, confused. “She’s your mother. Shouldn’t you know her best?”

“I have my reasons. Please, just answer the question.”

“Well, yeah, her real name bis /bJolene. At least that’s what it’s been since I knew her as a teenager.”

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Her first sentence made my heart sink, and what she said next made me feel like I’d been plunged into bice /b

water:

“I haven’t heard much about her in thest 5 years. Rumor was she went to the big city to make money, but it seems things didn’t work out for her. As for children…well she’s been sleeping with so many men. I’m honestly surprised she only had one kid.”

I stumbled back a step, my whole body turning cold.

I guess until today, a small part of me hadn’tpletely given up hope yet. A small part of me always thought that maybe my father had just found some random stripper to trick me, and this was all just a really bad joke.

But now, Laura had confirmed everything. There couldn’t be another woman named Jolene who happened to disappear for 5 years with a child named Aria.

Plus the DNA test. I waspletely out of hope now. She was really my mother.

“What’s wrong? You look like a ghost,” Laura asked.

I mumbled, “Just thinking about the fact that she’s my mother…”

She gave me a sympathetic look and patted my shoulder. “Well, I can’t think of anythingforting to say. It is very shitty yeah. My only advice was this–don’t underestimate Jolene’s ability to cause trouble. The worst might not have evene yet.”

With that, she carried the shoe box out. I stood there for a moment, then pped my cheeks hard to pull myself together before following her out.

In the VIP area, my mother was still acting like a total drama queen, picking on everyone who served her, especially Laura. Everyone kept their heads down and tried to suck it up. Nobody wanted to provoke this horrible woman. They just wanted to get it over with.

My mom had just put on an extremely luxurious dress with small diamonds embroidered from the chest down to the hem. It looked incredibly expensive. She twirled in front of the mirror, looking very pleased with herself.

“My darling Aria, what do you think of this dressb?/b” she called to me, grinning.

I frowned at her. “You have no asion to wear this. bIt’s /bobviously not for everyday wear.”

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“What are you talking about?” she giggled. “Now that you’re Alpha Grayson’s girlfriend, there must be all sorts of dinners, parties, and events for me to go to. A dress like this is perfect for those asions. It shows how noble your mother is. I need to wear something that fits my current status.”

Her assumption that she would just step into my life was irritating. My voice turned cold. “The mother of the Alpha’s girlfriend isn’t really that noble. And who said you were invited to those events?”

She stared at me in disbelief. “Well, to start with, I’m your mother-”

“There’s nothing special about being my mom,” I snapped irritably. “And don’t assume my life is so fancy and awesome. It’s not as smooth as you think.”

At that point, I really wished she would go ahead and ask me about my life in Red Stone Pack. Ask me what it’s like dating such a powerful man. If it’s stressful. If I’m even happy.

But no.

She just snorted unhappily and turned back to study her reflection in the mirror. Focusingpletely on herself.

“Well, I like this dress. And I want you to buy it for me,” she said, ring at me through the mirror, her tone sharp. “You have everything now, Aria. You wouldn’t turn down your mother such a small wish, would you?”

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My throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I took a deep, difficult breath to calm myself down. “… How much bis /bthis dressb?/bb” /b

She rolled her eyes at me. “Does it matter? You can definitely afford it.”

I turned to Laura. “How much is it really?”

“It–it’s… 5 million. Since it’s a limited edition.”

FIVE FUCKING MILLION?!

If it were a few thousand, I might have bought it for her just to shut her up, using my own money of course. But 5 million?! Does she even understand how much money that is? That’s enough for an ordinary family to live on for a lifetime!

I stood up abruptly. “Forget it! There’s no way I’m spending 5 million on a stupid dress for you. And stop treating my money like it’s yours. I worked hard for what I have. What have you done?”

The smile vanished from her face, reced by anger. “Worked hard? All you did was let a rich guy fuck you!”

The room fell dead silent.

I stared at her, wide–eyed.

God…I couldn’t believe any mother would say that to her child.

She seemed to realize she’d gone too far and quickly forced a smile. “Look, I didn’t mean it like that… Of course you worked hard. Making an Alpha fall in love with you isn’t that easy. But what’s i5 /imillionpared

b14:33 /bMonb, /bSep 22

to the love for your mother? I really like it and it’s such a small thing for you to do…”

“Take it off,” I cut her off coldly. “Or I’ll call the police and have security rip it off you.”

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She gasped sharply. She wanted to argue but I gave her a look that told her it’s definitely not happening. Then her face twisted with anger, humiliation, and resentment.

Suddenly, she swirled around and pped Laura hard across the face.

“I heard you giggling behind my back! Were youughing at me?!” she shrieked.

Laura held her red cheek, stunned. “What are you talking about? I didn’t make a sound-”

“Don’t lie, you bitch! I heard you. You wereughing at me just a second ago. Well I can’t afford this dress but you think you’re better than me? At least I have a daughter. You slutty whore had fucked so many men that your dirty cunt can’t even bear children!”

I gasped in shock. That was too much!

Laura let out an angry cry and shoved my mother. That gave her the excuse she needed. She lunged at Laura, grabbed her hair, and started pping her wildly. “You fucking hit me? I’m your VIP customer! You should be on your knees, licking my feet—”

“Stop it!” I yelled sharply, rushing forward with the other staff.

We managed to pull the two women apart, though my mother managed to kick Laura onest time. I was shaking with anger.

“Knock it off!” I screamed at her.

“You all remember this! I’m going to file aint!” she shouted over my shoulder at the staff. “All of you! Terrible service! I’ll have a word with headquarters and get you all fired!”

“Enough!” I shoved her hard. “Go change. Now.”

The VIP area was a mess. I took out the ck card with a trembling hand and shoved it into the manager. “I’ll pay for any damages. I’m so sorry… really.”

The manager’s expression was grim, and he avoided taking the card. “You’re a VIP customer. How could I possibly let you pay?”

I sensed the sarcasm in his tone, and it hurt. Not because of his attitude, but because he saw me as the same as my mother. I didn’t even know how to exin.

“Please take it,” I pleaded, forcing the card into his hand.

Just then, my mother came out of the dressing room in her regr clothes. She tried to yell something else at the staff, but I grabbed her and dragged her out.

“Can you believe those people?” my mother said indignantly once we were outside. “We’re like gods to them. They should be bowing to us, meeting all of our demands, not acting so rude.”

b14:33 /bMon, Sep 22

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I stopped in my tracks abruptly and red at her. “No, I can’t believe YOU! God! You are like…like the most ill–mannered, unreasonable person I have ever met!”

Her face changed. She hit me hard with her purse and shrieked, “Are you looking down on your own dear mother? Remember, we’re family. You share my blood! If I’m so horrible then what are you?”

“Oh, you have no idea how much that pains me to think we are rted—” I suddenly stopped, my eyes widening at a corner of fabric sticking out of her bag. “Wait, what is that?”

The thing tucked away in her bag was shimmering…

It was clearly the 5–million–dor dress she had just tried on!!!

She tried to hide it, but I grabbed her arm and pulled out the dress. My voice was shaky with horror. “You… you stole it?!b” /b

She snorted and grinned at me. “Just a little punishment for those people. When they find it missingter, don’t you think they’ll be punished by headquarters?”

I felt dizzy. I couldn’t even breathe.

How could she do thisb? /b

Did she not think about the consequences at all?

Did she not think about how this would affect me???

“Come on…e back with me,” I said, gripping her tightly, my breath unsteady. “You have to return it. NOW!”

She cried out, frustrated, “Are you crazy? I’m not returning it. They all deserve this. If we just leave quickly enough, nobody will notice and nothing will happen.”

I felt like I was about to lose my mind:

“Have you even thought about how this will affect me? They’ll find out it’s missing, and they’ll connect it to me. It’s already hard enough being Grayson’s girlfriend. There are thousands of people out there who want me gone, who want me dead. A scandal like this will definitely crush me! Do you… do you even care? Why are you making things harder than they already were?!”

She red at me, her eyes wide. “Don’t talk to your mother like that! Where are your manners?”

My vision blurred. I thought I might pass out from anger.

And to make things worse, I heard noise nearby.

I turned and saw a group of security guards rushing toward us.

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