CHAPTER 160: CHAPTER 160: MY DAUGHTER

Elarliya vanished from the room and walked toward Serena’s room. A triumphant smile was still on her face.

But the moment she opened the door, the smile disappeared from her face. Her face turned sad, and her eyes filled with tears.

Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched the edge of the doorframe, as if trying to gather the courage to step inside, but if they were not aware of her true intentions, this would have really moved anyone.

Serena instantly became anxious when she saw her mother like that. She rushed toward her and grabbed her hands.

"Mom, why is he here? Did he say something to hurt you? Why are you crying...? Mom, please tell me."

Elarliya only gave a sad smile and shook her head.

"No, my child... don’t think about him like this. He is not that kind of person."

"Then why did he abandon you?" Serena asked, her voice trembling. Her fingers curled tighter around her mother’s palm, as if clinging to a piece of truth that kept slipping from her grasp.

Elarliya’s lips quivered, but she answered softly, "Fate has made things difficult for us. We could not be together. Your father has always blamed me for things I never committed. And now... he wants to solve it. Still... Momma is happy that he decided to come back after so many years. And you know, right, how much Momma loves him?"

Her tears slipped down, but a gentle smile touched her face.

"Momma has only loved one man in her life. And it is your father. So you are also not allowed to hate him."

Serena stood silent. She was confused. How could her mother love a man who had abandoned her for twenty years? A man who had never once come to see his child?

The question churned inside her chest, but she swallowed it down.

Her chest ached, but she did not say anything. She only nodded at her mother’s words. She didn’t want to ruin that soft expression on her mother’s face... the expression filled with love.

Her heart hurt as she looked at her. Her mother had always longed for a man. And that man was her father.

Elarliya softly stroked her daughter’s hair, her voice low and gentle. "You are not allowed to hate him, my child. Do you understand? You have to love him just like Mama loves him. Right? We are a family. A happy family. There is no hate in our family."

Serena blinked slowly, her head feeling heavy. She tried to hold on, but when she looked into her mother’s eyes, a strange drowsiness filled her. Her lids grew heavier and heavier until at last they closed completely. Her body went limp as she fell into unconsciousness.

The world around her blurred, her thoughts slowing into incoherent fragments before fading into darkness. She wanted to speak, to ask what was happening, but no words came out.

Elarliya caught her and pulled her close, her arms tightening around her small frame. She held her daughter’s body tightly, her eyes glinting as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Baby, don’t worry," she whispered with trembling lips. "You have suffered so much... but I will make it right for you. Those bitch mothers of yours never gave you a good life... But I, Elarliya, will give you happiness. A life you deserve."

Her voice grew shaky, then stronger, filled with obsession. "It would have been good from the start if that bitch had not come between us. Then you would have been born from my womb. You would have been mine and his child. But she ruined everything. She stole everything from me. But it’s fine... it’s fine. I will make everything right now."

Her eyes darkened as she rocked Serena’s unconscious body back and forth, her lips brushing against her daughter’s forehead.

"Now I am your mother. He is my mate. He has to accept it. After all, I gave him a child. He cannot deny me anymore."

Her smile twisted strangely as she muttered again, almost as if speaking to someone who was not there. "Are you looking, my dear? Look carefully... Now your daughter is mine. Your mate is mine. And you... you can only rot in the depths of hell."

Her chest rose and fell with a strange excitement. The joy in her eyes looked unnatural, almost frightening. She pressed a kiss against Serena’s cheek and whispered, her tone soft but filled with obsession.

"Remember, my love... You are now my daughter, Serena. This is the name I have given you. Mommy loves you. Now sleep, because you have to work hard. You have to become the bridge between him and me... right, my child?"

She rocked the sleeping girl gently in her arms, her eyes shining with a madness that only grew with each word.

Elarliya slowly laid Serena’s unconscious body on the bed. She brushed the girl’s hair away from her face, her touch soft but her eyes glowing with something darker.

Then she lifted her hand over Serena’s forehead. Her lips moved, whispering words in a strange language. The air in the room grew heavy.

A faint light flickered on Serena’s skin. Slowly, a strange black mark began to form on her forehead. For a moment it glowed faintly...

Elarliya’s smile widened. Her eyes shone with both love and madness. "Yes... perfect..." she whispered.

The mark grew clearer, sharp lines binding together in an unnatural symbol. Serena’s body shifted slightly, as if in discomfort, but her eyes never opened.

"Don’t fight it, my child," Elarliya cooed. "This is for you... for us..."

The mark brightened one last time before it sank into Serena’s skin, disappearing completely as if it had never been there.

Elarliya’s lips curved into a smile; it almost looked strange and eerie. "Now... you belong to me," she murmured, her voice soft but filled with triumph.

She leaned closer, her breath warm against her daughter’s ear. "Sleep well, Serena. When you wake, you will carry my will inside you. From now on... you are mine."