The following morning, Lila awoke feeling a strange sense of foreboding. The air was thick with uncertainty as she went about her day, trying to distract herself with the ranch work and simple routines. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to change. The mysterious visitor who had appeared at her door the previous night weighed heavily on her mind.
As she was finishing up the morning chores, a knock sounded at the back door. Lila hesitated before answering, her heart pounding. To her surprise, it was Vivian her mother's best friend and a figure she had only ever known through her mother's stories.
"Lila, can we talk?" Vivian's voice was soft, laced with a mixture of concern and sorrow.
Lila nodded, stepping aside to let her in. Vivian moved through the small kitchen, settling at the table with a weary sigh. "I need to tell you some things, Lila. Things about your mother and… about Charles Blackwell."
Lila's stomach dropped. "What do you know?"
Vivian looked up, her eyes haunted. "Your mother was… was forced into a relationship with Charles Blackwell. She didn't want it but she didn't have a choice. It was an arrangement for his benefit not hers."
Lila's breath hitched. "You're saying my mother was… was his mistress?"
Vivian nodded, her voice breaking. "Yes. Charles Blackwell never loved her. He only cared about the business arrangement. When she got pregnant with you, he saw an opportunity—a way to strengthen his hold on the Blackwell empire."
Lila's hands shook, the world suddenly spinning out of control. "But why didn't she tell me?"
"Because she loved you," Vivian said quietly. "She didn't want you to grow up feeling like a burden, like you were born out of some terrible mistake. She kept the truth from you, hoping you'd never have to deal with it."
Lila's heart felt like it was breaking. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would Charles Blackwell come back into my life now?"
"He wants to control you, Lila," Vivian said bluntly. "He sees you as his last chance to secure his legacy. He wants to use you to clean up his mistakes to make his empire whole again."
Lila's voice was a whisper. "But what about me? What do I want?"
Vivian reached across the table, taking her hands. "You get to decide, Lila. You don't have to play by his rules. You can choose your own path, whatever that may be. Your mother would have wanted that for you."
Lila left Vivian's house feeling lighter, a burden lifted from her shoulders. She went back to the ranch, finding Aiden and Damon waiting for her, their expressions tense.
"Well?" Aiden asked, his voice filled with urgency.
"I know everything now," Lila said, her voice steady. "My mother… she was forced into a relationship with Charles Blackwell. He never cared about her, just about the power and the money."
Damon's jaw tightened. "And what does that mean for you?"
Lila looked at them both, her heart heavy. "It means I don't have to do what he says. I don't have to inherit his empire if I don't want to."
Aiden's face softened. "Then what do you want, Lila?"
She took a deep breath, her voice resolute. "I want to find my own way. I want to live my life without Charles Blackwell's shadow hanging over me."
Damon stepped closer, his eyes soft. "And what about us? What do you want from us?"
Lila's heart raced. "I don't know if I can have both. I can't keep playing this game, Damon. I need to be free to be myself."
Aiden took her hands, his expression pleading. "Lila, you don't have to choose. You can have both; a future with us and a future that's yours. We'll make it work, I promise."