Chapter 149

The summer sun was merciless.
Aurora had been kneeling for half an hour, her face flushed a deep red, sweat soaking through her dress.
Payne was the only thing keeping her going. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on ⓝovelFind.net
Suddenly, the sound of a car engine broke through the stifling silence.
The car door swung open so close it nearly brushed her cheek. A pair of silver heels touched down on the driveway.
Monica stepped out.
She let out a low, mocking laugh. “Well, Ms. Quinn, what did you do to deserve this? Let me guess… got a little too friendly before the wedding, did you?”
Aurora’s face betrayed no emotion. She shifted her gaze across the yard, locking eyes with Daniel for a split second.
She bit the inside of her lip, humiliation burning inside her.
Daniel looked at her only briefly before turning away.
With a little skip, Monica rushed over and hooked her arm through Daniel’s, parading him inside as if staking her claim.
Aurora watched their retreating figures. They looked perfect together.
A heavy ache settled in her chest.
Inside, Jordan greeted them with open arms. “Dan, Monica, you’re here!”
He couldn’t help but gush over his youngest daughter’s connections: now the
sister of Mr. Chambers, and best friends with the Cooper heiress.
For the first time, he realized Eleanor was far more useful than Samuel.
He was glad he’d kept his daughter close.
Daniel nodded politely, while Monica stood demurely at his side.
Daniel took a measured sip of tea and glanced out the window. “What’s going on out there?”
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Jordan’s face. “Forgive us. We’ve clearly failed in raising our daughter, letting you see this spectacle.”
Mrs. Quinn chimed in, her voice trembling as she bowed her head and dabbed at imaginary tears. “We only just found out-Aurora… she has a three-year-old child. We had no idea she’d done something so shameful back home. I’m so sorry.”
Daniel’s expression remained unreadable, giving nothing away.
He said quietly, “I know about this. I know the child’s father.”
Jordan blinked in surprise. “You do?”
“It’s Louis.”
“Louis?”
Jordan was stunned.
In Fairvale, the Winters family enjoyed a towering reputation.
Unlike the Chambers, whose legacy was built on generations of business, the Winters were a political dynasty-except for Louis and his aunt, Susan Winters, both of whom had defied the family’s carefully laid plans. Susan became a perfumer, Louis a lawyer.
Three years ago, disaster struck the Winters family. Susan died, and Louis left the country with the child.
Since then, the Winters had kept a low profile.
Yet their name was still one everyone in town would kill to be connected to.
Jordan squirmed in his seat. The thought of becoming linked by marriage to the Winters family made his skin crawl with anxious anticipation.
He glanced at his wife, hoping she’d offer a way out, maybe show some mercy to Aurora.
But Mrs. Quinn kept her head down, pretending to sip her tea. Ever since Samuel had gone abroad, she’d acted as if Aurora were no longer her daughter.
Letting her kneel in the sun was its own kind of justice.
As for the Winters, Mrs. Quinn saw things more clearly than her husband. If the Winters truly accepted Aurora, why would Louis have left the country alone with the child?
There was no place for Aurora in the Winters family.
Jordan, receiving no help from his wife, sat awkwardly in silence.
Outside, Aurora’s phone rang. It was Louis-Payne needed an injection and was crying for her.
Aurora stared at the heavy front doors, biting back frustration. She offered Payne a few soft words of comfort.
She couldn’t give up now, not halfway through.
After a moment’s thought, she simply shut her eyes and let herself crumple to the ground.
A maid burst into the living room, shouting, “Ms. Aurora Quinn has fainted!”
Jordan shot to his feet. Fainting now was almost a relief—if she’d knelt any longer, who knew whether Louis might take offense.
Daniel stood up as well.
At that moment, Eleanor appeared on the staircase, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “You’re all here? Why didn’t anyone wake me?”