Rebirth: A Second chance at life-Chapter 41: Offering Charity?

Aurora stepped into the grand living hall, her presence demanding attention despite the air of quiet humility she carried. The golden chandeliers bathed the room in a warm glow, casting elegant shadows over the expensive furniture. Her gaze landed on Veronica and Lily, seated comfortably on the plush velvet couch, their tea cups resting delicately in their hands.

Lily’s eyes flicked toward Aurora, and for a fleeting moment, they widened in shock. The girl who had always been ridiculed for her plainness now stood before her with an ethereal beauty that was impossible to ignore. But just as quickly as the surprise appeared, it vanished, replaced by a sneer curling on her lips.

Her voice, sharp and laced with venom, shattered the fragile silence.

"You whore! What have you been up to these days? How dare you bring nothing but trouble the moment you set foot in this household? You should have never been born! I should have strangled you with my own hands the day you came into this world!"

The words dripped with malice, each syllable coated in years of resentment.

Luna—within Aurora’s body—felt her brow twitch ever so slightly, a barely perceptible reaction, but one that carried the weight of her growing irritation. The sheer audacity. The shrewdness in Lily’s voice. It was almost amusing.

Aurora found herself amused by Lily’s behavior. The sheer crudeness, the lack of grace—was this truly someone from a wealthy, distinguished family? She carried herself more like a bitter marketplace gossip than a woman of status.

How laughable.

"You bitch! What are you laughing at?!" Lily screeched, her voice shrill with fury. "Alexander has already divorced you, yet you, a shameless whore, are still trying to pester him!"

With rage contorting her face, she stormed forward, raising her hand to slap Aurora. But she had made a fatal mistake—she was no longer dealing with the weak, trembling girl she had tormented for years.

Before Lily’s palm could make contact, Aurora’s hand shot out, gripping her wrist with an iron-like hold. The strength behind it made Lily’s eyes widen in shock. Pain shot through her arm as Aurora tightened her grip, her fingers digging into flesh like claws.

"You bitch! What are you doing?!" Lily shrieked, her voice breaking with panic. "How dare you defy your own mother! You—!"

Her words were cut short as Aurora twisted her wrist slightly, making her stagger backward. Off balance, Lily crashed into the coffee table, her back slamming against the hard surface with a painful thud.

"Mom!" Veronica gasped, rushing to her mother’s side, her eyes wide with disbelief.

The head maid, Martha, who had been watching from the sidelines, stood frozen in place. Horror filled her features as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

Aurora—that Aurora—had just shoved her own mother.

Lily’s face contorted in fury, her eyes blazing with unrestrained rage. "Aurora, how dare you?! You hit your own mother!" she shrieked, her voice sharp enough to pierce glass.

Beside her, Veronica quickly put on an aggrieved expression, her delicate features twisting into a mask of sorrowful innocence. With a voice dripping in feigned concern, she stepped forward, playing her part flawlessly.

"Sister... if you have any anger, direct it at me," she pleaded, her tone trembling with emotion. "But why would you hurt our mother? She worries about you every single day!"

Aurora glanced at the duo, her gaze brimming with amusement. The sheer theatrics of their performance were almost laughable.

A smirk ghosted over her lips as she let out a low, mocking chuckle. "Worries about me?" she mused, tilting her head. "What a touching scene... truly, if I didn’t know better, I would have believed it."

She crossed her arms, studying them as if they were mere clowns performing on a stage.

"What an act. You two should have joined the entertainment industry instead of wasting your talents here," she mused, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "By now, you would have both been award-winning actresses."

Her sharp gaze flicked between the mother-daughter pair, her amusement fading into cold disdain. "And yet, despite all your efforts, you still behave like street hooligans rather than the so-called ’distinguished ladies’ of an affluent family. How disappointing."

Lily’s hands curled into fists, her fury barely contained, while Veronica’s face paled, her lips pressing together as she struggled to maintain her innocent facade.

"Mrs. Smith, don’t waste your time," Aurora said, her voice low yet laced with authority. Her piercing gaze locked onto Lily, who was still fuming from earlier. "Tell me the reason you called me. What is it that Grandmother left for me?"

Lily’s expression flickered, a storm of emotions flashing in her eyes—rage, greed, and something akin to unease. She clenched her fists, her body stiffening as if holding herself back from another outburst.

Veronica, standing beside her, bit her lip before speaking, her voice gentle yet calculating. "Sister... it’s not like that. We only wanted you to come home so we could talk properly. You misunderstood—"

Aurora let out a dry laugh, cutting Veronica off. "Misunderstood?" she echoed, amusement dancing in her cold eyes. "Veronica, you and I both know there is nothing left to misunderstand between us. Save your breath."

She turned her sharp gaze back to Lily. "I’ll ask one last time," she warned, her patience wearing thin. "What did Grandmother leave for me?"

Lily was fuming with anger, but she had something far more important at hand. She needed Aurora’s signature on the document. Taking a deep breath to suppress her rage, she called out, "Jamey!" Her sharp voice echoed through the hall. "Bring me that document," she ordered the butler, her tone laced with urgency.

Aurora, unfazed by the tension in the room, stepped forward and casually took a seat on the plush couch, her posture exuding an air of authority as if she owned the place.

The audacity of it made Lily’s blood boil. The mother-daughter duo—Lily and Veronica—scowled at her, their faces twisted in disdain. The maids standing nearby sneered as well, their expressions filled with contempt. No one in the Smith household respected Aurora; they never had. In the past, she wouldn’t have dared to sit in front of Lily, despite being her daughter.

But now?

Now, she sat with the confidence of someone who no longer played by their rules.

Looking at her, both Lily and Veronica had the same thought running through their minds—why had she changed so much?

Aurora had always been a dumb, pathetic fool, a spineless girl who did whatever they told her without question. She never had a stand of her own, never resisted, never looked them in the eye with anything but fear and obedience.

Now, she sat there with a refined grace, an arrogance that was foreign to the girl they used to mock. There was a quiet power in the way she carried herself, a confidence that sent an unsettling chill down their spines.

What had happened to her?

Lily’s nails dug into her palm as an absurd thought crept into her mind.

Was she possessed by a ghost?

Meanwhile, Jamey returned with the documents, handing them over to Lily before stepping aside. His gaze flickered toward Aurora, and a sneer tugged at the corner of his lips.

A fool will always be a fool.

Even if she had changed on the surface, it meant nothing. She would never hold a candle to Veronica.

Veronica was the true princess of the Smith family—elegant, refined, and raised with privilege. Meanwhile, Aurora was nothing more than an unwanted shadow, a black sheep with no qualifications, no grace, and no place among the elite.

No matter how she dressed or how she carried herself today, in his eyes, she would always be beneath them.

Lily placed the document in front of Aurora, her voice laced with condescension.

"Sign this, and we’ll arrange a good marriage for you. A simple family where you can live peacefully," she said, her lips curling into a forced smile. "You have no qualifications, no achievements to your name. The least you can do is settle down with an ordinary man and be a housewife."

Veronica nodded along, her expression sympathetic yet smug. "Mother is right, Sister. This is for your own good. You’ve already embarrassed the family enough. It’s time you stop causing trouble and accept your place."

Aurora leaned back against the couch, her fingers lazily tracing the edge of the document. A slow smirk played on her lips as she lifted her gaze to meet Lily’s.

"Settle down?" she echoed, amusement flashing in her eyes. "And here I thought you called me here for something important. Instead, you’re offering me charity."