Claudia POV
11:00 P.M.
I checked my watch for God knows how many times over the past three hours. I was still wearing the party hat that Aurora—my daughter—had put on me that morning, while I anxiously stared down the empty road with my sleepy daughter in my arms.
It was now the last hour of Aurora's sixth birthday, and my husband, Miles Hoffman, had yet to arrive home. Ever since his company became successful five years ago, he barely spent any time at home—often pulling sleepless nights at the office, burying himself in work.
Over time, an invisible wall formed between us. No matter how much I tried to shatter it, I could feel Miles slowly drifting away in the ten years of our marriage.
But I had hoped he would at least remember our daughter's birthday. I bit my lip and fought the urge to send him yet another message. He hadn't replied to my previous messages, nor the ones sent before.
He's just a workaholic that's married to his work. At least he's not a cheater. He doesn't reply to anyone's messages that's not about work-related matters.
I consoled myself with that thought. That was my one silver lining in this fragile marriage. I could not tolerate infidelity and Miles knew it too.
After all, I had told him about how I suffered as a child, tormented by my father's mistress and her daughter, Clarissa. I still bore the scars of her bullying, and on cold nights like now, they ached terribly.
And at the very least, with all his work commitments, Miles hadn't had the time to build a second secret family outside of our marriage. My sweet daughter would never suffer the way I did.
As if she heard my thoughts, the little blonde angel I was carrying stirred and woke. There was also a crooked party hat on her head, and she blinked her soft bleary eyes, staring at the empty road for a hint of her father.
"Aurora, baby, let's get you inside," I said gently. "It's getting colder."
My daughter shook her head, but she sniffled weakly as she continued to stare at the empty road. The cold wind blew, causing her to shiver. I tucked her closer to me, hoping she would not catch a cold.
"Mommy… maybe Daddy forgot about me," Aurora whispered sadly as she hung her head low.
"Hush. Don't say that," I corrected her immediately. "Your Daddy promised he'd come, didn't he?"
Aurora seemed to have already accepted her father's absence. I noticed a thin, sorrowful smile forming on her lips.
"Daddy also said he would attend my school play. But he lied, Mommy… he didn't come," she said as she quietly mentioned about the performance where she had played Sleeping Beauty. "Maybe he lied this time too."
I was going to give Miles a stern talking to tomorrow. It was one thing to disappoint me, but he should never disappoint our daughter.
"I'll smack him on the head if he dares to lie again," I declared with an exaggerated, proud smile, like a mama bear. "Then I'll lift you up and let you smack his head too!"
Aurora finally smiled, a mischievous giggle escaping her lips. "Mommy, you're bad."
"Hmph! I can be bad if he's bad to you!"
For a brief moment, the atmosphere felt warmer.
"Mommy, let's just cut the cake together," Aurora decided. "It's okay if Daddy isn't here. I still have you."
My heart ached when I heard her words. Aurora was a sensible child. Perhaps she had grown up understanding that her father wouldn't always be there for her.
Yet I knew—deep down—that she was hurt by his absence.
How did I know?
Because I saw myself in her.
The sad yet reassuring smile she wore was the same one I had when I was her age.
Aurora had inherited the same sensibility I once had, born from a father who rarely came home.
"Of course, baby. Mommy will even let you eat two pieces of cake," I promised, hugging her tightly. Aurora sniffled and nodded. It was for the best. Miles wasn't coming home tonight, and I wasn't going to risk my daughter's health any longer. The air was getting colder by the minute.
But just as I was going inside, I heard the sound of a car engine, followed by headlights shining directly toward me.
"Is that Daddy?" Aurora asked hopefully.
I looked over my shoulder instinctively and saw Miles' car enter the driveway, stopping right in front of me. He stepped out first, wearing an apologetic smile.
"I thought you weren't going to make it," I confessed. I felt guilty for even doubting Miles. It turned out that my husband was indeed a responsible father.
"I'm sorry, Claudia. Something urgent came up at the office," he said. "But at least I made it back in time, right? There's still an hour before the date changes."
That apologetic smile melted my heart instantly.
Yes, I had to admit it—I was weak to that honest smile. It was one of the reasons I had opened my heart to him in the first place.
"Daddy!" Aurora cried out happily.
"Oh-ho, my little angel," Miles said warmly as he opened his arms. "Daddy's here, and I brought you a gift."
I gently handed Aurora to him, and her eyes sparkled with excitement at the mention of a gift.
"What gift? Daddy, I want—umm—a castle!" she said eagerly.
"A castle can wait. I'm here with an even better gift," Miles said as he turned toward his car and gestured. "You can come out now."
I frowned.
The way he said it gave me an ominous feeling. His gift wasn't an object—it was a person. Did he get us a nanny?
At first, I didn't expect anything.
But when the car door opened, my heart skipped a beat.
An awfully familiar woman stepped out, carrying a child who looked to be around Aurora's age.
The moment I got a clear look at her, my heart began to pound like a war drum—my instincts screaming fight or flight.
She had long, wavy brown hair, slightly tanned skin, and wore a dress far too revealing for a child's birthday party.
She smiled at me. But I knew the cruelty behind it, because she always wore that damned smile when she tortured me.
Yes, this woman was none other than Clarissa, my half-sister.
The one who had turned my childhood into a living hell.
She had inherited my father's crooked smile and her mother's dark-as-coal heart—both carefully hidden beneath a gentle, sweet-looking face. Whenever she smiled at me, my skin crawled with fear and disgust, leaving me with an overwhelming urge to scrub my skin raw after coming into contact with her.
"Long time no see, sister," Clarissa said smoothly, still maintaining a smile. "It's not too late to celebrate my niece's birthday, right?"
"Oh, I'm here with my daughter, Lara."
I had no idea Clarissa had a child. But when I lowered my gaze to the child in her arms, my heart sank even deeper into the abyss.
Because the resemblance between Clarissa's daughter and my husband… was unmistakable.
Both Lara and Miles had the same curly red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Unlike Aurora—who was practically a perfect copy of me—Lara was a perfect copy of Miles.
Lara stared up at me and blinked innocently, looking more like Miles' daughter by the second.
My stomach churned when I noticed the resemblance. The longer I stared at them, the more I wanted to vomit. I swallowed thickly in disbelief.
Clarissa sensed my discomfort like a shark sensing blood in the water. Her grin widened, "My daughter turned six about a month ago. So they're the same age now."
Clarissa put Lara down, and the girl immediately walked over to Miles and held his hand. With Aurora in one arm and Lara clinging to his other hand, Miles looked like a man with two beautiful daughters.
Six years. The words echoed in my head. My heart pounded violently as I turned towards him. "Miles, what is the meaning of this?"