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Married to Grey
Chapter 31: The Secret Juliana Buried
Ava clutched the letters to her chest as if they were the only proof that she wasn't losing her mind.
Juliana walked in slowly, shutting the door behind her with a quiet click. She didn't yell. She didn't rush. She looked at Ava like a chess master about to explain the final move.
"You weren't supposed to find those," Juliana said calmly, almost too calmly.
Ava's voice cracked. "Who is Leonardo Grey?"
Juliana raised an eyebrow. "Your real father."
The words shattered through Ava like glass.
"No. That's not true. My father—he—"
"Raised you. Paid your school fees. Took care of your mother when she got sick. Yes," Juliana said, cutting in. "But he wasn't your blood. He never was."
Ava's knees buckled, and she sat heavily on the edge of the bed. Her world was tilting. Everything she thought she knew about herself felt like a beautifully constructed lie.
"Why didn't she tell me?" she whispered.
Juliana sighed and walked toward the window, drawing the curtains open. The moonlight poured in, bathing the room in silver and shadows.
"Because I asked her not to."
Ava looked up, stunned.
"She was in love with him," Juliana continued, "but Leonardo wasn't the man she thought he was. He had power. Money. Enemies. And a family who would've destroyed her if they found out about you."
Ava's hands shook. "So you protected me? Is that what this is?"
Juliana turned to her, her expression unreadable. "No, Ava. I protected the name. The family. Grey."
Ava's breath hitched.
"You were a scandal waiting to happen. A bastard child of a man who had no place dragging your mother into this world. I told her to walk away and never look back. And she did."
Ava stood slowly, every nerve in her body pulsing with rage and disbelief.
"All this time… you judged me, looked down on me like I was nothing," she said through clenched teeth. "But I'm a Grey. Just like Dominic."
Juliana's lips curled into something between a smirk and a warning. "By blood, perhaps. But not by legacy."
That did it.
"You're not God, Juliana," Ava snapped. "You don't get to rewrite people's lives to suit your standards."
Juliana stepped forward, icy calm. "And you, Ava, don't know the cost of carrying the Grey name. Be careful what truth you think you're ready for."
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The door burst open.
Dominic stood there, his eyes wild. "What's going on?"
Ava turned to him slowly, her eyes burning.
"Ask your mother," she said, holding out the letters like a sword between them. "She's been writing our story behind our backs."