Claudia POV
I didn't know what kind of manipulative mind games Miles and Clarissa were playing, but it was painfully clear that they were painting me as the unstable one.
Alienating me from my own daughter by calling me mother, while Miles encouraged Aurora to call Clarissa her second mommy.
But I refused to play along.
"Come here, Aurora," I said firmly. "There is something terribly wrong with your father."
Aurora hesitated and looked at Miles, but he didn't stop her. So, she got up and walked over to me.
Clarissa merely shrugged and turned to her daughter instead, "See that, Lara? Your Aunt Claudia is a crazy woman. That's why I won't let you get close to her. She'd beat you up and burn you with a curling iron~."
Lara stared at me with eyes full of horror, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I had no reason to linger there any longer.
Aurora had already been exposed to far too many vile words spilling from Clarissa's trashy mouth. It would be better if she stayed in her room and slept, so she wouldn't hear me screaming while I dealt with the two cheating bastards.
I couldn't deny the obvious truth.
Miles—the man I loved, the father of my child—had cheated on me with my own half-sister, and the affair had gone on for more than six years. I didn't yet know the details or the full extent of their affair, but I knew enough. Part of me was still terrified of Clarissa, but a stronger part of me refused to let her bully my daughter the same way she used to bully me.
Miles remained silent and he let me walk away with Aurora, as if the two of us were strangers to him. I tightened my grip on Aurora's wrist, to make sure that she wouldn't turn around and return to her father and Clarissa.
Just as I reached the staircase, a sharp voice followed close behind me.
"Are you just going to leave like that? I thought you'd ask me something about Lara."
I turned around.
Clarissa was standing there, holding Lara on her right.
Now it was just the two of us facing each other, while the two little girls stood silently between us, staring at one another.
"I see no need to drag innocent children into this mess," I retorted coldly. "You should put your daughter to bed too."
"I beg to differ. They deserve to know what's been going on between Miles and me."
As she spoke, Miles slowly stepped forward until he stood right behind her.
I glanced at him, and my heart twisted with hurt at the pleased look in his eyes. My husband was watching my distress like it was an enjoyable show to him. He cared so little for me. Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.
But I refused to cry in front of them, and certainly not in front of Aurora.
"Honestly, it's already obvious," Clarissa continued, relishing in my wet eyes. "Just look at Lara. Then look at Miles. The resemblance is uncanny, don't you think?"
Miles gave a slight nod.
That single gesture hammered the final nail in the coffin; Lara was his daughter.
I clenched my jaw and forced the tears back as I slowly released Aurora's hand.
Then I stepped forward, pointing my finger at Clarissa's shoulder.
"I'm not done with you. But I refuse to involve innocent children in your sick schemes," I said with a snarl on my face. "Just wait, Clarissa. I will unleash hell on you."
"Oooh~ scaaary~" Clarissa giggled mockingly. "But you're very wrong if you think I won't involve Aurora and Lara."
"What… what do you mean?" My heart skipped anxiously.
A chilling premonition crept over me.
"For my plan to work," Clarissa said lightly, "I need to push them—like this!"
She lunged forward and grabbed both Lara's and Aurora's arms. In one swift motion, she shoved both girls down the spiral staircase. I shrieked in panic, reaching out to grab them, but I was a split second too late. The girls fell, screaming with fear.
"Mommy—!"
"AURORA!"
I could only watch helplessly as my daughter tumbled down the spiral staircase—along with Lara. They stopped at the foot of the spiral staircase, lying motionlessly on the ground.
For a split second, it felt as though my heart shattered like fragile glass at the sight before me.
Then I snapped.
"No! No!"
My vision blurred as I fought back my tears. My body moved on its own, nearly tumbling down the stairs in my haste to reach my daughter. I dropped to my knees and pulled Aurora into my arms.
My hands trembled with fear and horror when I realized she had hit her head so hard that it was bleeding.
"Aurora… oh God… no!" I sobbed. "Baby, please wake up!"
I pressed my palm against her head, desperate to stop the bleeding, all while fumbling for my phone and dialing 911.
I barely remembered what I said to the operator. All I knew was that I was screaming for an ambulance—now.
"Stay with me, Aurora! Please—open your eyes!"
As if responding to my voice, Aurora's eyelids fluttered open.
She stared at me weakly, her gaze unfocused.
"M-mommy…" she whispered.
Then her eyes closed again.
There was nothing else on my mind except Aurora's safety. My vision tunneled as I completely shut out the witch who had pushed my daughter down the stairs.
However, I did notice the other helpless child who had fallen alongside Aurora.
Lara's condition was no better.
In fact, the wound on her head looked even worse.
My motherly instincts took over. I pulled Lara into my arms as well, pressing my hand against the gash on her head while waiting desperately for the ambulance to arrive.
As I focused on their injuries, a sharp pressure suddenly dug into my thigh.
A pointy high heel.
It forced me to look up.
My blurred vision slowly cleared, and I saw Clarissa standing over me, grinning maliciously at the sight of the two injured girls in my arms.
Behind her, Miles stood there in silence—watching me as if I were the one responsible for everything that had happened.
"You bastards!" I screamed, unleashing all the rage I had been holding back.
Neither of them reacted.
If anything, Clarissa's grin only widened.
Since I knew from the beginning that Clarissa was unhinged, I shifted my gaze which was burning with hatred toward Miles instead.
"Y-you—why aren't you doing anything?!" I shouted. "She just pushed our daughter!"
Then I glared back at Clarissa.
"And you—you heartless bitch! You pushed your own daughter too!"
"Well, I did tell you that I'd use both girls for my plan," Clarissa shrugged casually. She glanced over her shoulder at Miles, who nodded in agreement. "And Miles has been in on this from the start. We want to make sure you have no way to escape, Claudia."
"W-what are you talking about…?"
"You know," Miles finally spoke, his voice disturbingly calm, "I've been thinking about our marriage."
"I was very loyal to you for the first three years," he continued. "But that was when I was a broke man."
"And that was when I worked from one clinic to another and took on two extra jobs to fund your company!" I snapped back, reminding him of every sacrifice I had made so he could chase his dream without worrying about money.
"I know," Miles sighed. "But I think I've paid you enough for the next six years we were together, right?"
My blood ran cold.
"That's why I want… a second wife."
"What—?"
"Now, don't be rash," he added casually. "I don't want a divorce. But a successful man like me deserves more than one woman."
"But you're stubborn and selfish, Claudia. I knew you'd never agree. So…" Miles paused, then dropped the bomb. "Clarissa proposed an idea. She would hurt both Lara and Aurora, then blame everything on you."