"Then whose daughter I am?" Barbara asked, looking at her father.
"I will tell you the story from the day you were born," Her mother, Susie said, getting her attention.
"Eighteen years ago, I was returning from my family's house after attending my father's funeral. Halfway through the journey, I started feeling unwell, so we stopped at a nearby inn. I thought the pain would go away with some rest, but it got worse, and I went into labour. I was scared because your father wasn't with me, but he sent knights to protect us, which reassured me. My maid found a midwife from a nearby town who assisted me. When my daughter was born, I fainted.."
Her mother paused for a moment. Her voice conveyed sadness and guilt. "When I woke up, I found you beside me. At first, I didn't notice anything wrong. However, as you grew up, I started to have doubts. After years of searching, we finally found the midwife, who then revealed the truth," she explained.
Barbara listened carefully, guessing where her mother's doubt came from. "Didn't you say I resemble my great aunt?" she asked but heard no response.
As her heart pricked inside her chest, she couldn't help but feel a surge of bitterness. It unfolded to her that her mother had been untruthful, just to protect her reputation and to ward off any suspicions regarding her fidelity. To conceal the fact that her child bore no resemblance to her, and this realization weighed heavily on her.
"Who are my real parent?" she asked coldly.
"We didn't know. The midwife told us she found you wrapped in a white silky quilt in the inn's stable. She handed us the quilt if you want it—"
Barbara nodded. "Please continue."
"The midwife was the one who switched the two babies upon seeing Aurora didn't scream and could not breathe. She thought it would be great for us to raise a lonely child in replace of our dead daughter. No one noticed anything as it was nighttime. She confessed that she was afraid of our reaction when Aurora moved, so she hid the truth," her mother narrated with tears falling from her eyes.
Her Father came to her mother's side. "Susie, it is not your fault. Stop crying," he consoled her, wiping her tears with his hand.
"I shouldn't have fainted and let our daughter get lost from us," she said and more tears fell.
"It was that cunning woman's fault. She dared to do something awful like that. Now, our daughter is living with us. You heard Aurora telling us that the couple who raised her was so kind to her and they never mistreated her. I investigated them too, and it was true. Besides, the midwife will be sentenced to death the following days, so rest assured, she is getting what she deserves," the marquis said, and his wife cooled up a bit.
"The only thing that matters is that our daughter is with us," he added.
Barbara looked at her father, and her eyes began to sting. She remembered her beautiful childhood days with her father. He never left her side. He was the pillar she would lean on in her harsh days. He would listen to her blabber, encourage her, help her with his best, and never complain about her mistakes opposite to what her mother did. He was so good to her that she felt jealous hearing him calling someone else his daughter in this gentle tone, warm smile and glittering eyes.
Something was changing very fast in her family, making her think of her fate. She was afraid that they would forget her. Her heart thumped as anxiousness took over her.
She stood up, unable to listen more. "I heard what I had to. Excuse me, I have to go," she said.
"Barbara—" he called, and she stopped. "After knowing the truth, I want to say that we are still your parent. This truth will never change."
"Then make me the heiress to Reylson's business," she proposed.
Seeing her father's astonished look, her heart trembled. He shifted his gaze away and the tiny piece of hope she held crushed. 'Real parent! If he was his real father, he wouldn't refuse.'
"You have already promised me," she said, her voice almost cracking.
She waited for a response but all she got was endless silence. Living with her father for years, she knew what this silence meant. Whenever her father disagreed with her while she insisted, he would be silent like now.
Barbara smiled mockingly. "You promised me to talk with the king about the matter two months ago. When you told me yesterday, you have great news to announce, I thought it would be about me being the heiress."
"I — I apologize for the misunderstanding. I still haven't met the king as you know, the crown prince's health is deteriorating. Besides, you were busy dealing with the trading contract with Lord Victor," he explained, wiping the sweat from his cheeks.
"So it's my fault then?" she said, not being convinced by her father's excuses. Both of them were busy but they would meet with each other at least!
"I didn't say that. You do try to understand the situation, our family now is in the limelight as your identity was exposed. Let the matter cool down and we will discuss it later."
"I want to ask you one thing. Why did it have to be my birthday party?" she asked, and her parent evaded her stare. She laughed and added. "You could have organized another party to introduce her--"
"We thought you would be happy by the news. Didn't you always want a sister?" her father said, justifying his actions.
Barbara gazed at her parents and suddenly didn't recognize the people sitting in front of her then turned around and left.
Did they think of her as stupid? They deliberately revealed their daughter's identity at her birthday party for the whole noble society to know about such a piece of news.
It would be the perfect time for Aurora's introduction party. Now, the whole kingdom knew the story her mother narrated earlier with more emotional details to gain people's compassion.
The kind girl named Aurora was a helpless young girl who lived in a poor family, while the bad girl took her place in the house. How unfair it was!