Mom's Possessed - Chapter 70

Aria’s mind went blank upon hearing Bonita’s words.

The enormous sadness and frustration she had felt just moments ago dissipated in an instant.

Her heart pounded.

“H-How……”

“You told me. At first.”

Aria tried to recall when this ‘first’ Bonita mentioned could have been.

The first thing that came to mind was right after giving birth, but that was obviously impossible.

It wasn’t a matter of whether Bonita remembered or not. To begin with, Elodie had died facing a stillborn baby without ever seeing Bonita’s face.

Then it must be referring to the day she possessed Aria.

Aria took a sharp breath as she recalled the memory of that time.

Yes, that was definitely it.

She had said such things.

Aria’s blue eyes wavered like driftwood floating on waves as she recalled the memory.

Was it because it felt unreal? Or did she think that as a child, Bonita wouldn’t notice even if she heard such things?

It was probably both.

Aria had to admit her mistake. Her daughter was more sensitive and intelligent than she had thought.

“Since when.”

Aria asked in a trembling voice.

“Since when have you known?”

In fact, at this point, there was no question more meaningless than that.

At least it was certain that the moment of realization wasn’t just now. After all, Bonita hadn’t easily noticed that she was a different person from the real Aria in the first place.

Bonita came into Aria’s view.

The next moment, Aria felt warmth touch her cheek.

It was a small, cute hand.

That tiny, wriggling thing wiped away the tears remaining on Aria’s cheeks. The small hand became damp.

“I’m not sure either.”

Bonita said.

“I probably just naturally knew. Because Aria and Mom are clearly different people, you know.”

Aria’s lips trembled.

She had no idea what to do with her daughter in front of her.

It was a completely different feeling from when Renan discovered her identity.

A tightness in her chest, a mix of tenderness, sadness, and shock washed over her. Bonita looked at Aria like that and spoke in a low, calm tone.

“And since when I knew, that’s, not important, is it? Right?”

“……That’s right……”

A terribly hoarse voice came out.

Aria swallowed hard.

It didn’t help much.

“Y-You’re right. Yes. Since when isn’t, important……”

Right.

As she thought earlier, that wasn’t really important.

There was only one thing Aria wanted to ask.

“Aren’t you scared…… or dislike me? I’m already a dead person, you know. And Aria is the one who raised you anyway……”

She continued her question in a stammering voice. Her heart was pounding so much as she spoke that she had the ridiculous thought that she might die at this rate.

“Mom!”

Bonita shouted then.

Aria, who had been tensed up and shrinking, flinched in surprise.

Bonita, who felt that tremor fully in Aria’s embrace, grabbed the collar of Aria’s shirt with both hands and lifted her head. Thanks to that, Bonita’s face came directly into Aria’s view.

“Why are you so scared?”

“……Huh? What do you mean, scared, why would I……”

“But that’s how you look.”

Aria’s mouth gaped open.

Afraid?

That word wasn’t wrong.

No, rather it was accurate.

She was afraid that Bonita might find her unsettling, or think of her as some kind of evil spirit.

She was scared that she might no longer be loved because of it.

Bonita keenly noticed Aria’s emotions.

“I told you last time too.”

“……”

“I like you, Mom. I shouldn’t say this, but much more than Aria who raised me.”

Bonita continued in a tone full of certainty.

“I realized while being with you. Love isn’t always…… determined by the time spent together.”

“Bonita……”

“When Aria looked at me, she called someone else’s name. I think, maybe Aria had someone more precious than me.”

Bonita, snuggled tightly in Aria’s arms, murmured.

“But I’m the most precious person to you, right Mom? Ah, maybe not……”

“Of course you are!”

Aria cried out in surprise.

Seeing that reaction, Bonita smiled brightly.

“Right? That’s why I like you the most too, Mom.”

Aria’s eyes glazed over.

She had thought the pregnancy, achieved against slim odds, had ended in stillbirth.

Afterwards, her health rapidly deteriorated.

As she was slowly dying like that, when she finally woke up as Aria, she thought a miracle had occurred when she first met Bonita.

It would have been fine if Bonita never knew.

Even if others, even her beloved husband, didn’t recognize her, she was going to be satisfied just being able to watch her child grow up while she herself was already dead.

But Bonita was much smarter and sharper than she thought, and not only did she realize that she wasn’t the real Aria, but she even figured out who she was inside.

Without her telling her.

And then,

She gently wiped away her tears,

Knowing everything,

Yet still saying she loves her.

What name should she give to the emotion she’s feeling now?

Thinking about that, Aria suddenly couldn’t hold back and kissed Bonita on the forehead.

Bonita, receiving the kiss, had rabbit eyes for a moment, then soon smiled and held Aria’s cheeks with both hands and kissed her on the lips.

Relationships between people tend to become closest right after a secret is revealed.

It was the same between Bonita and Aria.

Immediately after Bonita uncovered the secret, the distance between the two rapidly closed.

In particular, the biggest change was that the vague fear standing between them disappeared.

From Bonita’s perspective, she became certain that Aria would always be by her side, and Aria in turn gradually gained a sense of security seeing that Bonita still loved her even after discovering her true identity.

However, in contrast, the relationship between Aria and Luke remained cold.

Luke began to completely avoid Aria after that day. Aria likewise didn’t try to approach Luke.

After all, she was human too. It couldn’t feel good to be accused by the man she loved for something she didn’t do.

However, if there was a problem here−

“Bonita, do you want to play a game with Dad? I got a new board game.”

“In a little bit!”

It was the fact that Bonita, who had been gradually getting closer to Luke, had turned into Aria’s shadow.

Luke was somewhat disheartened but tried to soothe his disappointment. He knew well that it wasn’t because Bonita disliked or felt uncomfortable around him, so he didn’t feel frustrated.

He was just worried.

And curious too.

‘What could have happened?’

Luke noticed that the relationship between the two had changed starting from the day he confronted Aria.

But he didn’t have the confidence to face Aria, and he lacked the courage to ask Bonita directly.

Feeling frustrated, Luke caught Catherine and complained.

“Mother, what should I do?”

“Why are you asking me?!”

“You’ve raised two children, Mother. Surely you must have some way?”

Catherine shook her head after hearing Luke’s troubles.

“How can a boy and a girl be the same? Besides, you knew who your parents were from birth, so it can’t be compared to Bonita’s situation.”

“You chose her birthday present well though.”

“That and this are different!”

Catherine burst out angrily.

“Then what do you think of that woman, Mother? I mean Aria Hilton.”

“……Well.”

Catherine fiddled with her cane upon hearing Luke’s words.

There probably wasn’t a stranger existence to this family than her.

Even Catherine, who had wanted to drive Aria away so badly at first, couldn’t immediately say so after hearing Luke’s troubles.

For one thing, Bonita was so fond of Aria. To Catherine, this was quite unexpected.

“To be honest, I thought Bonita would soon detach herself from Miss Hilton if you treated her well. The reason children are blindly attached to bad guardians is because they have no one else to rely on, so I thought she would soon notice the unfair treatment she had received and gradually distance herself.”

Young children are not fools.

Because they are small and weak, they keenly perceive adults’ attitudes towards them and read the room.

In Catherine’s view, Bonita was not much different. Rather, she thought Bonita was much smarter and more perceptive than other children.

For such a Bonita to still like Aria the most even though she now had other people to rely on, there must surely be some secret.

Catherine rubbed the bridge of her nose while sitting in a comfortable rocking chair. Her wrinkled mouth opened.

“Anyway, you’d better find out what the secret is between the two of them. This is very serious advice I’m giving you as a mother.”

“……How do I find out?”

“By asking. The two of them.”

“Me?”

“Should I ask instead?”

Luke cleared his throat as he received Catherine’s incredulous gaze.

“Honestly, I’m not confident I won’t explode again if I talk to Miss Hilton now. I’m also not sure if the secret is big enough to cover up the fact that she abused Bonita.”

“Hmm.”

Catherine’s purple eyes scanned her son.

It had been a long time since she’d seen her son, who was always annoyingly perfect, so shaken.

And sitting side by side talking with him like this too.

Catherine, who had been lost in these newfound sentiments, soon suggested offhandedly.

“Try giving that woman some alcohol.”

“Pardon?”

“You never know.”

She said, raising an eyebrow.

“She might turn out to be surprisingly talkative when drunk.”