Vera Xavier hugged Mrs. Xavier. "Mom, you gave me the most selfless mother’s love. You’ve never done anything to wrong me, so you certainly don’t need to apologize to me!"

’She knew Mrs. Xavier was really apologizing on Cara Preston’s behalf. A woman as honest as Mrs. Xavier probably felt that giving birth to a daughter like Cara was a disgrace.’

Mrs. Xavier’s eyes welled up. Looking at Vera, whose aura and appearance had changed so drastically since leaving the Xavier family, she couldn’t tell if her heart ached or swelled with relief.

She took Vera’s hand and said, "Vera, if Cara continues to be this unreasonable in the future, you don’t need to give in to her for my sake. I’ll just pretend... I’ll just pretend she was given away at birth, that she’s someone else’s child and has nothing to do with me anymore."

’Vera knew that for a woman like Mrs. Xavier to say such a thing, she must be utterly desperate about Cara. And when Vera finally drove Cara out of the Preston Family for good, Cara would have no way of returning to the Xavier Family either.’

’Besides Cara, Mrs. Xavier had another son and daughter. Losing a daughter like Cara wouldn’t have too great an impact on her.’

Vera said softly, "Mom, I will always be your daughter."

All the motherly love she had ever felt in her past life had come from Mrs. Xavier.

Mrs. Xavier was never a woman of many words. She was usually busy with farm work and didn’t have much time to talk with Vera, but whenever there was a special treat at home, Mrs. Xavier would always make sure the children had it.

Vera still remembered how in her past life, every time she had a fever, Mrs. Xavier would watch over her, placing a damp towel on her forehead to bring her temperature down, rubbing her palms and the soles of her feet with homemade liquor, and cooking her simple, light meals.

’Such gentle, motherly love was a warmth Vera had rarely experienced in her previous life. She felt she must have been driven mad by Cara’s manipulations back then; after leaving the Xavier Family, she had never once returned.’

Tears welled in Mrs. Xavier’s eyes and began to fall. This simple, unpretentious woman awkwardly wiped them away, yet still forced a smile. "Vera, your father is very ill. Life isn’t easy for him. You need to look after him and be a good, dutiful daughter."

Vera nodded, changing the subject. "Have Chloe and Drew been behaving lately?"

Chloe and Drew were the nicknames of Mrs. Xavier’s other two children.

Mrs. Xavier sighed. "Those two little rascals aren’t half as well-behaved as you. On their final exams, Chloe ranked first in her grade, and Drew ranked dead last. I scolded Drew a bit, and Chloe actually jumped in to say it was a pact between them. She said Drew lost a bet to her, so he had to come in last in the whole grade."

"Drew’s homeroom teacher even came to see me about it. She said Drew has always been first in his class, so how could his grades have plummeted so drastically? I have a feeling that rascal did it on purpose!"

Vera couldn’t help but laugh. Mrs. Xavier shot her a glare. "How can you be laughing when they’ve pulled a stunt like that!"

Vera quickly stifled her laugh and tried to soothe her mother. "Drew was definitely doing it on purpose. I’m sure he won’t dare to do it again, so don’t be mad."

Mrs. Xavier laughed too. "Out of all three kids, you’re the only well-behaved, sensible one. Every time I look at those other two, my hands start to itch!"

In reality, Mrs. Xavier was the most good-natured mother in the world and never hit her children. It was just an empty threat.