"But Lady Hughes did not have children," her father announced.
Barbara was startled by the announcement. She had assumed that a woman of middle age would have children, so she brought her kids with her. Who would have guessed that the woman was childless?
"From the information I got, Lady Hughes is a widow and didn't have any children," her father added.
"They are not my children, but I have raised them like my own," Barbara said, feigning a hurt expression. "They were my childhood friend's kids. Their parent died when their house collapsed but the kids survived. I took care of them for years and treated them like they were my children. The Marquis had opened a buried scar inside my heart," she said, squeezing her eyes for tears to drop, but not a single one had fallen.
The room became awkward. Barbra panicked, realizing the lie didn't work on her parents who stood looking at her suspiciously. As she was about to say something, Hans hugged her then Greta followed him.
