Aurora stepped inside and immediately spotted Grace sitting on the living room sofa, watching TV.
Even from the side, she could clearly see how thin her mother’s face had become. The once full cheeks were now slightly sunken.
Her brows tightened at the sight.
It had only been a few months—how had her mother deteriorated this much?
Her health had been fine before, yet now she looked frail and visibly worn down.
A sour ache rose in Aurora’s chest, warmth stinging at the corners of her eyes.
She quietly walked toward her mother.
Grace, however, was entirely absorbed in the television, her expression blank.
In truth, she couldn’t even say what the show was about.
She was only watching because the house felt too empty and quiet.
She wanted a bit of noise—some sign of life around her.
Otherwise, living alone in such a big house felt unbearably lonely.
Sensing someone standing beside her, she turned—her right-side vision completely blocked.
For a moment, she assumed it was Tessa coming home.
But when she saw Aurora’s face instead, surprise flickered across her features.
“What are you doing back here?”
The words slipped out of Grace’s mouth before she could stop them, and the second they left her lips, regret tightened inside her.
Would Aurora think she wasn’t welcome? That she didn’t want her here?
It wasn’t that at all.
Grace simply never managed her tone well.
Her mouth always moved faster than her mind, and sometimes things slipped out too bluntly.

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