2.

Avalon’s POV

As Radnor climbed into the car and drove off without looking back, I casually tossed the so-called “gift” he’d left behind—that hand-me-down dress from Sharice—straight into the trash bin.

Then, I made two phone calls.

“Do you have time next week? Come with Mom to an engagement party.”

The twins agreed without hesitation. My heart softened with warmth. Zion and Zeniah were smart, thoughtful, and driven—so filial to me. Ever since I adopted them, my life had been full and content.

A few days later, as promised, I attended the grand engagement party.

The moment I stepped into the lavish lobby of the five-star hotel, I spotted the Ralston twins—Radnor and Shawna—alongside their father’s beloved woman: my ex-best friend Sharice.

She was now over sixty, yet still wore her blonde hair elegantly styled. Dressed in a champagne-colored evening gown with a silk shawl draped gracefully over her shoulders, she stood at the entrance, beaming warmly as she welcomed the guests.

When she saw me, her lips curled into a smug smile as she walked over.

“Avalon, after all these years, you finally decided to come see Rufus and the children again,” she said sweetly, linking her arm with mine. Then she deliberately raised her voice, just enough to catch the attention of those nearby. “I heard from Radnor that you’re working as a maid in someone else’s home? Oh dear. If you ever need money, you could’ve just come to us.”

All at once, curious guests turned their heads to look. Their gazes were layered with mockery and thinly veiled disdain.

Rufus had always kept up appearances and never publicly admitted that Radnor and Shawna were actually Sharice’s children. To those attending the event, I was nothing more than a woman who had once kidnapped her own son and, for years, completely neglected the children.

I knew Sharice was trying to humiliate me, so I kept my mouth shut.

Just then, Radnor, who had been standing nearby, noticed I wasn’t wearing the used dress he’d given me. His face darkened in displeasure. He strode over to Sharice and theatrically pulled out a pearl necklace.

“Mom, I picked this out for you during my business trip. Look—aren’t the pearls beautiful?”

Sharice looked delighted. “Oh, honey, you’re so thoughtful! This necklace is gorgeous. It must’ve cost a fortune?”

With a showy smile, she turned and let Radnor clasp it around her neck, deliberately showing off in front of me. Her smugness practically overflowed from her eyes.

“Well, the family company is doing well. You’ve sacrificed so much for us all these years. Now it’s my turn to repay you,” Radnor replied dutifully.

Watching this picture of motherly love and filial devotion unfold before me, I gave a cold, silent smile. He certainly was a devoted son—just not to me.

Suddenly, a voice called out from the entrance, “Avalon, how have you been these years? You’ve lost so much weight.”

It was an elderly man in his late eighties—Bowden, Rufus’s father, my former father-in-law.

His eyes held a flicker of guilt as he looked at me. And he should feel guilty. When I met Rufus, their family business was on the verge of collapse.

It was me who poured every last cent of my savings into rescuing the Raltrex Prime.

It was me who endured humiliation and sat through endless drinking sessions with clients—until my stomach bled and I was hospitalized—just to secure the deal that saved their business.

Once the company stabilized, I quietly withdrew from the spotlight and took on the role of the dutiful housewife, managing everything behind the scenes.

But what did all that sacrifice amount to?

They lived comfortably off my labor and money—money that was used to send Sharice to study at an Ivy League school.

Sharice, poised and cultured, looked every bit the refined lady of the house. And me? I was just a rough, unfashionable woman who wasn’t presentable enough.

Even when Rufus attended social functions, he always brought her along.

The truth was, I was the one who helped resurrect the Raltrex Prime, the one who raised the children, the one who gave everything.

And yet I didn’t know: on the night of our wedding, my husband had already crawled into my best friend’s bed.

The day the affair was exposed, even Bowden—who had always treated me the kindest—stood on her side.

“Avalon,” he said, his voice full of shallow justification, “Sharice is the mother of the children. She’s family. She’s educated, gracious—she’d make a wonderful matriarch for the Ralstons.”

Radnor stood there, sizing me up with cold detachment.

“Exactly, Mom. In families like ours, appearances are everything.”

Shawna nodded in agreement. “Besides, you’re not our real mom anyway. Dad supported you for twenty years. What more do you want?”

It was only then that I realized, ‘The whole family has known about Rufus and Sharice for years. I’m the only one kept in the dark.’

Rufus didn’t bother pretending anymore. He draped his arm around Sharice’s waist with intimate ease.

“Sharice has worked so hard to earn a name for herself in the entertainment industry,” he said. “You can’t ruin her future just because you’re selfish, right?”

The way the two of them leaned into each other, so cozy and blatant, made my eyes burn with unshed tears.

Bowden looked away, his tone evasive. “Just let Sharice take your place as Rufus’s wife.”

Each word, each phrase, struck like a knife straight to the heart.

In the end, without a legal proof of marriage to protect me, I was cast out of that home with nothing to my name.

3.

Avalon’s POV

Rufus once told me that he had given our biological children to a wealthy older couple. He said they were doing well now, and he didn’t want me disturbing their lives.

I searched for a long time but never found a trace of them.

None of his family ever knew that, before my parents passed, they left me more than just money. I also inherited real estate worth tens of millions.

I sold the properties, built a small house in the countryside, and spent my days tending to flowers and vegetables, living a very leisurely life.

The twins believed I had kidnapped Radnor just to maintain being the matriarch of the Ralstons. From that moment on, they refused to acknowledge me as their mother, branding me as a cruel and manipulative woman.

But they didn’t know—after that, I adopted a pair of orphaned twins.

Back then, the girl was gravely ill and couldn’t afford treatment. Her brother had been working on a construction site to earn money for her but fell and broke his leg.

When they were at their lowest, clinging to life in a slum, I happened to pass by. I couldn’t bear to walk away. I rushed them to the hospital and paid for the best treatment.

When I saw the faint light return to their dull, lifeless eyes, it felt as if I were seeing my own children—those I had never met.

My heart softened on the spot. I completed the adoption papers and gave them names: Zion and Zeniah.

Over the years, I watched them grow up, and they stayed by my side as I grew old.

“Why don’t you just stay this time?” Bowden said gently, snapping me out of my thoughts. There was a trace of tenderness in his eyes. “Quit that maid job of yours. You don’t have to keep struggling outside anymore.”

“She was the one who had me kidnapped back then!” Radnor snapped from the side, scoffing with clear disapproval.

“Dad said it clearly,” he went on, voice cold. “As long as she admitted her mistake, he’d let the past go and let her stay. But she wouldn’t even say a single ‘sorry.’ Now she’s suffering out there, and suddenly she regrets everything?”

I had already explained it all—again and again. I didn’t do anything. In fact, I had nearly fallen off a cliff trying to rush over and save him. If a passing local hadn’t pulled me up, I would’ve died down there.

But it wasn’t just Radnor who didn’t believe me. Rufus and Shawna had also lashed out in anger, accusing me of being a monster.

In their eyes, I was toxic and cruel. Only Sharice—sweet, soft-spoken, and oh-so-perfect—could ever connect with them. She was their confidante, their ideal of the kind and graceful mother.

I looked at Radnor standing before me and thought of everything I’d once done for him. A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

When he was little, he was always sick. I stayed by his bedside day and night, nursing him back to health, cleaning up after him, feeding him—raising him and his sister with my own two hands.

But the older he got, the colder he became. He only had eyes for Sharice, who spoiled him without limits.

Back then, I thought he simply didn’t like being disciplined. What I didn’t realize was that he had already known the truth all along—that Sharice was their biological mother.

And me? In their hearts, I was just a nanny—one they could call or dismiss at will.

Before I could respond, the hotel manager suddenly walked over and announced that tonight’s engagement party had been upgraded to VIP service—it’s on the house.

“This is a premium, VIP-level treatment. The Ralstons really must have some powerful connections!”

Gasps and whispers filled the room as the guests looked around in awe.

Tucker Thornton, the manager, gave the overjoyed Radnor a look—polite but indifferent.

“The owner made it clear—tonight’s upgrade is all in honor of the groom’s mother. It’s a special gesture. We hope you all have a wonderful evening.”

Instantly, all eyes turned to Sharice, especially Radnor, who looked at her with nothing but admiration.

“Mom, your connections are amazing! When did you get to know the hotel’s owner?” he asked in awe.

Sharice quickly wiped the confusion from her face and gave a modest smile, pressing her lips together and signaling him to keep it low-key.

I watched Radnor shower her with adoration, and all I could do was laugh to myself.

Tucker gave me an awkward glance and looked like he wanted to explain something. I subtly signaled for him to let it be.

The hotel had been a birthday gift from Zion and Zeniah—a present for my sixtieth birthday last year. I hardly ever visited, leaving the entire place in the manager’s care.

Just then, Shawna walked in, arm-in-arm with Rufus. The father and daughter were chatting and laughing as they entered.

Shawna had grown into a stunning beauty. As for Rufus, even in his sixties, he remained tall and elegant, every inch the charming gentleman.

The moment he saw me, he froze for a second.

“Grandpa! Mom!” Shawna called out sweetly as she flung herself into Bowden’s arms. But the moment her gaze landed on me, her smile stiffened. Then, disgust flashed across her face.

“What is that bitch doing here?!”

4.

Avalon’s POV

Before I could say a word, Bowden sighed heavily, his voice falling like a hammer.

“Tonight is your brother’s moment. No matter what, Avalon was like half a mother to you all. She ought to be here.”

“What a curse!” Shawna snapped, turning her head away. Her voice was so sharp it scraped like nails on glass. “Why bring her here now and ruin everything?!”

Rufus’s gaze swept over me like a scanner, his eyes brushing across the deep navy dress I wore—elegant, understated but unmistakably expensive. His brows furrowed slightly, as if confirming something that displeased him.

“Avalon rarely comes back to visit. Shawna, don’t be so harsh,” Sharice cut in gently, looping her arm around Rufus’s tense one. Her smile was soft, serene—the perfect guest welcomer. Yet the way she looked at me brimmed with smug superiority.

Nearby, the guests whispered among themselves.

“Sharice really is something else—an Ivy League artist with such poise. She deserves being the matriarch of the family.”

“Exactly! Remember how Avalon tried to win affection back then? She even went so far as to kidnap one of the twins…”

“Now those two kids are incredible. The boy runs the Raltrex Prime, and the girl’s a famous influencer with millions of fans! Avalon was really a fool back then.”

Someone nearby tugged urgently at the speaker’s sleeve, eyes darting toward Rufus with visible panic.

His expression had darkened completely. He stepped up to me, his voice low and menacing.

“You’ve got the nerve to show your face? You ignored the kids for over a decade, and now that you’ve run out of options, you crawl back to us like we’re your golden ticket?”

Shawna folded her arms and sneered at my modest appearance. “Now you know how miserable it is to be on your own, don’t you? Too late! There’s no place for you in this family anymore!”

I met their gazes calmly and said clearly, “I have two children. They’re busy with work, but they’ll be arriving later.”

“What?!”

Rufus’s rage froze into stunned disbelief. A flicker of something complicated passed through his eyes.

“You remarried? When did that happen? And the kids are already working? Avalon, did you go and have illegitimate children behind my back?!”

“Enough! You disgraceful brat! Do you even know where you are?” Bowden’s face turned thunderous. He slammed his redwood cane against the polished marble floor with a thunderous crack.

Rufus flinched, clearly holding back more words. But before he could say anything else, a stir rippled through the entrance of the party hall.

Several young men in crisp black tailcoats entered, carrying a massive gift box.

The box was wrapped in thick, matte black velvet, luxurious to the eye. At the center, a subtle yet unmistakably commanding logo gleamed: a silver crown.

“Oh my God! That’s Crown! The legendary brand that only serves the world’s elite!”

“I heard only royalty and top-tier financial giants can get on their client list. Even if you’re rich, it doesn’t mean you’ll ever get close!”

“Excuse me,” one of the men stepped forward. “Which of you is Sir Radnor’s mother? This is your child’s engagement gift. Please sign to receive it.”

Sharice’s smile bloomed like a flower. She clicked toward them in her stilettos, her shoulder ramming into mine with force as she pushed past.

I stumbled slightly, frowning as I regained my balance.

She had already stepped in front of the attendants, voice raised slightly with excitement. “That’s me!”

“Wow, Sharice, what a gift you have! Your child must be truly remarkable. What an honor!”

A wave of gasps and compliments swept through the room like a rising tide.

Just then, Elyse Quinlan—Radnor’s fiancée—arrived with her family.

Seeing the scene before them, her parents beamed with pride, basking in the spotlight.

Luodan threw her arms around Radnor, showering kisses on his cheek. “Baby, I can’t wait to see what it is!”

Sharice was practically floating with pride, her face flushed with delight. She grabbed the pen—its barrel encrusted with tiny diamonds—and eagerly signed the delivery slip.

But just as she finished, the lead attendant, his gloved hand poised and calm, stopped her from opening the box.

He looked at her with a complicated expression, then spoke clearly, his voice echoing across the hall.

“I’m sorry. The recipient on our list is Miss Avalon Delamar.”