Tiana Thorne’s words sent a chill of fear through her heart.

The thought that, back then, if Tiana had been harmed by Meredith Ford and died in the elevator accident, this lifetime she truly would never have seen her beloved again.

This taste of fear was exactly the same as when she first learned that Poppy had been taken away, as if she was submerged in the ocean, suffocating, with every breath becoming more difficult.

When she first learned of this matter, she was merely furious, unable to believe that Meredith would do such a cruel thing. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Now, thinking back on it, not even anger remained in her heart, only a still pool of dead water, without a ripple for her tears.

It seemed that the girl crying her heart out while kneeling before her now was just an insignificant stranger.

She finally understood why Maxim, who had always doted on Meredith, would confine her to the temple, never to let her out again for life.

That he even spared her life was just out of consideration for her as his mother.

"Mom... It’s not as she says, she’s sowing discord. She’s jealous because for the past twenty years, you’ve lavished love on me, never once loving her, so that’s why she’s doing this. You need to stay calm, I’m your daughter, the one who accompanied you through those hard twenty years."

Rouge Jarvis looked at her with disappointment.

Look at that.

Still trying to drive a wedge between them.

Does she really think I’m senile, that I can’t hear the double meanings in her words?

Unable to get anywhere with me, she decided to trouble Tiana, trying to create a rift between us mother and daughter.

Rouge gave a smile, her eyes devoid of tenderness: "Shouldn’t she be jealous? The honor you have was given by me. Now that you’ve made a mistake, I am taking it back—so what?"

Meredith still forced herself to stay calm, speaking pitifully in a soft voice: "Mom, you once said that I was your treasure. You said that having me made you very happy. Celia Ford is clearly still alive in this world, but you never found her, and now that you have, you can’t just abandon me because of it, right?"

This statement, in many ways, hurt her heart; not for Meredith, but for Tiana.

For twenty years, she really didn’t search, even preventing her sons from looking.

Poppy lived so miserably in the Thorne family, losing twenty years of a mother’s love, and it was all her doing.

Tiana’s eyes were dark and deep; had it been before, she might have resented her mother, been upset and unwilling to return to the Ford family, but the truth behind it was revealed by her fourth brother that night.

She knew well how deeply this statement would cut her mother.

She laughed coldly, answering on her mother’s behalf: "Yes, you were indeed once my mom’s treasure, and everything she could give, she gave to you, but did you cherish it?"

Meredith was stunned, seemingly surprised that she wasn’t shaken by what was just said.

As her thoughts drifted, her gaze softened, and she adopted a gentle demeanor: "Tiana, now that you’re back, in terms of seniority, you’re my younger sister. I’ve been with mom for twenty years, and having one more daughter isn’t a good thing? We are one family. Once it’s talked through, it’s over. Don’t make things difficult for mom, okay?"

Ha.

One more daughter.

Isn’t that just saying I’m the one who’s superfluous?

Tiana initially wanted to speak.

"No difficulty." At this moment, Rouge Jarvis suppressed her painful emotion and said coldly,

Meredith looked at her: "Mom..."

Rouge suddenly called out: "Maxim, help mom with something."

Maxim nodded: "Alright."