The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1537

After listening to her mom, Emily bit her lip and frowned, lost in thought for a moment. So it was true. Kenneth hadn’t lied when he said she’d fallen for him first.

“Mom, do you not want us to be together?” she asked, looking up with wide, serious eyes. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Norma reached over and gently touched Emily’s pale cheek. “If he really loves you, if he’ll take care of you for the rest of your life, then of course I approve,” she said quietly. “But sweetheart, someone who didn’t care about you for ten years now suddenly wants to be with you. How much of that is just gratitude? How much is real love?”

As she spoke, Norma gave a tired sigh, pain flickering across her face. “You’ve seen what my life’s been like all these years.”

Emily’s eyes trembled at that. She knew her mom had chased after her dad for years, pouring her heart into a one-sided love and risking everything just to win him over. One day, through a twist of fate, they slept together. Her dad stepped up and proposed after that. Her mom, blinded by happiness over finally marrying the man she loved, jumped into it all without thinking.

No one could have known… gratitude never lasts forever.

Emily could still remember overhearing her parents fighting. Her dad’s cold voice echoed in her head—“I only ever felt duty and some affection for you, never love. If it hadn’t been for that accident, I’d never have married you.” Emily could never forget how shocked and utterly crushed her mom looked that night.

“But…” Emily pressed her lips together, and for a split second, Kenneth’s face flashed in her mind. He’d been there for her, taking care of her in every possible way over the past two days she was sick. She could feel how much he cared.

Was he just doing all this out of gratitude, though? Or was it something more?

The more she thought about it, the more her head started to hurt.

“That’s enough,” Norma said quietly, noticing how unwell Emily looked. “Rest now. We can talk about this later.”

“Okay.” Emily nodded, letting her mom tuck the blanket around her. She closed her eyes, listening as the door clicked shut and Norma locked it behind her.

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