I lowered my gaze, suppressing the surge of emotion in my eyes. My voice came out soft, almost gentle.
“Auntie, my name is Aria Viremont. I’m here to see Mrs. Locke.”
Clara paused, as if searching her memory, then seemed to realize something.
“You mean Mrs. Whitmore, right?”
Mrs. Whitmore?
I repeated the name silently.
So, quite a lot must have happened between her and Nathaniel over the years. Did they divorce?
I nodded, offering a polite smile. “May I ask if she’s at home?”
“She is, she is.”
Clara warmly ushered me inside.
The moment I stepped into the villa, my pace faltered slightly.
Everything was exactly the same as I remembered—so unchanged it felt as though time had never moved, as though I had returned to the moment I was first brought back from the orphanage.
Only thi
