Mom's Possessed (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“A picnic?”
“Yes. Don’t you think Bonita would enjoy it too?”
“If Bonita’s coming along, then I’m absolutely all for it.”
Luke, arms crossed, stared intently at Aria’s excited face.
“Miss Aria, it seems you still have no intention of answering my questioning.”
“To be honest, there’s really nothing I can say about that matter.”
“You raised Bonita for seven years, yet you claim you don’t know why?”
Luke’s lips twisted bitterly.
“That’s awfully convenient of you. Do you even realize how much patience I’ve shown you to dare say something like that?”
“Well, of course—”
“Bonita is seven years old.”
He cut off Aria mid-sentence.
“At seven, a child is already old enough to forget the person who raised them once they become an adult. She might resent me now, but eventually, Bonita will come to understand.”
His sharp red gaze settled on Aria.
“The gap between herself and you, Miss Aria.”
Aria’s expression flickered with slight hurt. It was true, yet she hadn’t wanted to hear it so bluntly to her face.
Perhaps her resolve had been too weak after all.
Her determination to protect Bonita at all costs hadn’t wavered, but she simply wasn’t accustomed to situations like this.
Yet she couldn’t easily reveal her true identity as Elodie either. Even the optimistic Aria knew that would sound utterly absurd.
She was already being called a fraud by the maids in the mansion.
Frankly, if she said that, getting thrown out wouldn’t be surprising at all.
Even if it were the truth.
Hiding her inner anxiety, Aria spoke.
“Still, Bonita needs me right now.”
“Do you truly believe that?”
Aria’s lips trembled.
How many times had she shuddered at the sight of Bonita’s bruises and the miserable conditions hindering the child’s growth?
After a brief silence, she answered.
“Of course.”
Truthfully, she wasn’t entirely sure herself. Did Bonita really need her?
Maybe not.
But she needed Bonita. Concealing her true feelings, Aria continued calmly.
“Your Grace seems to think Bonita is still too young, but memories formed at this age profoundly shape one’s values and, ultimately, one’s life.”
“……”
“Seven is certainly young, but not so young that everything will be forgotten once she becomes an adult.”
The Duke fell silent.
There wasn’t a single flaw in Aria’s words. He knew all too well how deeply a primary caregiver, present from birth, could influence a child’s entire life.
He wrestled fiercely with what choice would truly be best for Bonita. If he were certain this woman acted solely for his daughter’s sake, he could overlook her subtle attempts to climb closer to him.
But her motives were crucial.
He had to constantly question and verify: Did she genuinely love Bonita, or was she greedily pursuing wealth or the title of Duchess?
“When Bonita first arrived at the mansion, her whole body was covered in bruises.”
Instead of forcing her to speak immediately, he pressed on the issue that had nagged him all along.
“I can overlook malnutrition or being underweight—after all, it’s a hard world for a woman alone to find decent work.”
“……”
“But those bruises… they reached a level impossible unless someone deliberately inflicted them.”
He shot back sharply.
“At the very least, I need an explanation for that.”
“What will you do if I refuse to speak?”
“I can’t possibly leave my daughter with a woman who might be a child abuser.”
Aria realized this question was impossible to evade.
And honestly, if she were in Luke’s position, she’d make the same choice.
The problem was…
She herself was now labeled that “child abuser.”
Though her soul was different, she had no way to prove it. Admitting guilt outright felt unjust, and she had no desire whatsoever to be separated from her daughter again after finally reuniting.
After all she’d gone through to find her child.
Bonita absolutely had to be raised by her own hands—no exceptions, not even for a man who might love the child unconditionally.
Thus, she faced only two choices here.
First: Tell the truth and be cast out.
Not even worth considering.
Second: Deftly lie.
The more realistic option.
Yet this path didn’t sit right with her either.
After all, wasn’t she essentially shielding the very person who’d abused her precious child?
So Aria created a third option.
A way out of this dilemma—the third path.
“To be honest, I don’t remember.”
She told half the truth.
“You don’t remember? Are you seriously trying to deceive me right now?”
“It’s not a lie. The period I clearly recall isn’t very long.”
It wasn’t a falsehood.
Elodie had no knowledge of the time when the real Aria inhabited this body; her own memories began merely four days ago.
Without lying, Aria skillfully edited and omitted parts of the truth.
“Ever since I hit my head recently, everything’s felt a bit muddled.”
She really had hit her head.
Though it was self-inflicted to regain her sense of reality, it still wasn’t a lie.
“I don’t really know what the past Aria was thinking, which is why I can’t give you an answer.”
“What did you just say…?”
Luke flinched at her blunt use of the third person. Was she mad?
Silence fell between them. Luke, still crossing his legs, let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha! Are you seriously expecting me to believe that? You must know tongues get cut off for talking too much.”
“I’m not lying, Your Grace.”
Luke narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Aria’s expression.
Most people didn’t realize it, but liars usually gave themselves away through facial expressions, pupil dilation, gaze direction, or body language. Luke possessed a natural talent for catching such deceivers.
“……”
He relentlessly examined every detail of her, yet found nothing particularly suspicious about Aria.
Leaning back against the sofa, he straightened his slightly hunched posture.
“Fine. Let’s assume everything you’ve said, Miss Aria, is true.”
“It is.”
“Then why do you go to such lengths—emotionally and materially—to care for Bonita if you don’t even remember her? If your words are true, my daughter would be nothing more than a child suddenly thrust upon you.”
“That… honestly, it’s hard to explain logically. But…”
Luke gave a slight nod.
“One thing is certain.”
Aria quickly added.
“I’m the person in this world who can love Bonita the most. Of course, the same goes for Your Grace.”
“……”
Luke deliberated.
He could always resort to torture to force her to talk. It wouldn’t be difficult.
But again, the problem was Bonita.
It was obvious at a glance.
Bonita genuinely regarded that damn woman as a mother and craved her affection.
Of course, there was no single right way to raise a child.
Yet simply showering a child with expensive clothes, fine food, excellent education, and financial support didn’t guarantee healthy adulthood.
Those things mattered, certainly, but emotional attachment during formative years was irreplaceable—especially now, when the child was already sensitive due to drastic environmental changes.
It was a dilemma.
Should he tentatively trust this suspicious woman, or resort to torture until she couldn’t bear to stay silent?
Choosing the latter would be irreversible. The situation felt like a thorn stuck in his throat—uncomfortable and grating.
“I don’t trust you.”
“……”
“For now, I’ll keep watching. And if you ever step out of line—”
Luke warned with a deadly glare.
“Remember this well, Miss Aria: I cannot guarantee your life. Your very breath exists only because I’ve allowed it.”
Aria watched Luke’s actions with quiet satisfaction.
‘Good. That’s exactly what it takes to protect a daughter.’
She’d been worried he’d act like a fool in love, but thankfully, he hadn’t.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And you’d better recover those ‘lost’ memories quickly.”
Luke’s expression was severe. His distrustful gaze laid bare the hostility he held toward Aria.
“Because I have absolutely no intention of letting anyone who’s harmed my daughter go unpunished.”
“On that point, we agree.”
Aria asked the frowning Luke,
“So… will you join us for the picnic?”
“……I suppose I have to.”
A narrow escape.
Aria secretly let out a light sigh.
[This is the timeline separator]“Will Mother be alright?”
“Of course, Miss. And please, feel free to speak more casually with me.”
“But His Grace doesn’t seem to like Mother very much.”
The maid Mary, looking worried, picked up Bonita—who was fidgeting with her feet—and sat her down on a chair before the mirror to properly fix her tangled hair.
“Which ribbon would you like, Miss? Blue? Or red?”
“Huh? Anything’s fine…”
Bonita gave a vague answer, gazing at her reflection in the mirror.
It had only been four days since she arrived at the Duke’s mansion, yet compared to her life on the streets near the slums, she seemed like a completely different child—especially her cheeks, now flushed with healthy color.
Her thin frame and stunted growth still made her smaller than other children her age, but with this lifestyle, even that would soon return to normal.
Bonita absentmindedly smoothed the fabric of her dress.
‘It feels like a dream.’
At first, she couldn’t believe it, but after seeing the Duke’s behavior yesterday, it seemed clear he truly cherished her. She still didn’t understand why he was so certain she was his daughter, though.
But that didn’t matter—it was undeniably good for her.
A slum girl versus the sole princess of a ducal house.
Even a five-year-old could tell which was better.
‘But…’
Her mother remained a concern.
She knew Aria wasn’t her birth mother. Yet since Aria had raised her, that fact hardly mattered to her.
Her earliest memory had always been of Aria as her mother—there was no longing for anyone else.
Bonita believed this, and everyone in the village knew she was Aria’s daughter. There had never been any doubt.
But here, it was different.
Bonita had noticed the uncomfortable glances people gave her whenever she called Aria “Mother.”
They denied that Aria was her mother.
They claimed the truth she’d believed her whole life was a lie and insisted she now accept a stranger—someone whose face she’d never seen—as her real mother.
That was something Bonita simply couldn’t accept easily.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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😅😅 They are about to die mentally, sooo exhausting