“Picnic?”
“Yes. Don’t you think Bonita would like it?”
“If Bonita is going, then of course I welcome it.”
Luke, with his arms crossed, glared at Aria’s excited face.
“It seems Miss Aria still has no intention of answering my interrogation.”
“Honestly, I have nothing to say about that matter.”
“You’ve taken care of Bonita for seven years, and you say you don’t know the reason?”
Luke’s lips twisted.
“That’s quite a convenient claim. I wonder how far you think you can get with such talk.”
“Of course—”
“Bonita is seven years old.”
He cut her off.
“A seven-year-old is old enough to forget the people who raised her afterward. She might resent me now, but eventually, as she grows up, Bonita will realize.”
His red gaze settled on Aria.
“The difference between herself and Miss Aria.”
Aria looked slightly hurt. It was the truth, but she didn’t want to hear it so bluntly.
Perhaps her resolve was too weak.
Despite her unwavering determination to protect Bonita, she was not used to such situations.
Nor could she easily reveal her true identity as Elodie. Even in her optimistic view, it was an implausible claim.
Already, she was facing accusations of being a fraudster in the mansion.
Honestly, revealing her identity could get her thrown out, even if it were the truth.
Hiding her inner turmoil, Aria spoke.
“Still, Bonita needs me right now.”
“Do you really think so?”
Aria’s lips trembled.
She had shuddered with anger at the bruises on Bonita’s body and the poor environment for her growth.
After a brief silence, she replied.
“Of course.”
She wasn’t sure herself if Bonita truly needed her.
But she needed Bonita. Aria continued in a calm tone.
“You may think Bonita is too young, but memories at this age greatly influence one’s values in life.”
“…….”
“Seven years old isn’t too young to forget everything when she becomes an adult.”
The Duke remained silent.
Aria’s words were undeniably true. The primary caregiver from birth has a huge impact on a child’s life.
He pondered deeply about what would be best for Bonita. If he was sure it was for her sake, he could tolerate Aria’s subtle advances.
The important thing was her intent.
Was she truly loving towards Bonita, or was she greedily approaching for money or the status of Duchess?
He had to continuously doubt and verify.
“When Bonita first came to the mansion, her body was covered in bruises.”
He chose not to force her to speak but instead probed into something that had been bothering him.
“Malnutrition and being thin are understandable. It’s a tough world for a woman alone to find a decent job.”
“…….”
“But the bruises… that’s impossible unless someone deliberately hit her.”
He accused sharply.
“I need an explanation for that, at least.”
“What will you do if I remain silent?”
“I can’t leave my daughter with a potential child abuser.”
Aria realized she couldn’t evade this question.
And truthfully, if she were in Luke’s place, she would have made the same decision.
However, the problem was…
That she was the alleged ‘child abuser’.
“Although the soul is someone else’s, there is no way to prove it. It’s too unjust to simply admit to a crime, and there’s absolutely no desire to be separated from the daughter I’ve finally found.”
Bonita must be raised by her hands. Even if the other person unconditionally loves the child, there are no exceptions.
Given this situation, there are two options.
First, tell the truth and get expelled.
Not worth considering.
Second, craftily lie.
This seems more realistic.
However, this method was not appealing.
It would mean covering for the culprit who supposedly abused the precious child.
So, Aria created a third option.
The third way out of this situation.
“Honestly, I don’t remember.”
Tell half the truth.
“You don’t remember? Are you trying to deceive me now?”
“It’s not a lie. My clear memories only date back a short while.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Since the real Aria’s body was taken over, her memories only began about four days ago.
Aria did not lie but skillfully edited and cut the truth.
“Recently, I hit my head, and it’s been a bit confusing. The entire situation.”
The head injury was real.
A self-inflicted act to regain a sense of reality, but nonetheless, not a lie.
“I don’t know what the past Aria thought. So I can’t answer you.”
“What are you saying…?”
Luke flinched at her blatant third-person speech. Was she crazy?
Silence fell between the two. Luke sat back, chuckling bitterly.
“What, are you expecting me to believe that now? You know that a long tongue gets cut off.”
“I did not lie to you, Your Grace.”
Luke narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Aria’s expression.
Most people wouldn’t notice, but a liar’s facial expressions, pupils, eye direction, and gestures usually give them away. Luke had a natural talent for catching such liars.
“…….”
He pursued her with relentless eyes but found nothing suspicious about Aria.
“Alright. Let’s say everything Miss Aria said is true.”
“It is true.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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