Her words hit Tanya’s weak spot.
She kept quiet for a while before she finally said, “Okay.”
Jill said, “Let’s go to the cafe over there.”
Opposite the Golden Sunshine Kindergarten was a relatively empty and luxuriously-decorated cafe. It was opened for parents who came to the kindergarten to pick up their children.
It was a very high-end cafe, and the menu was expensive.
After Tanya and Jill entered the cafe, Jill said, “Two cappuccinos please, thank you.”
The service staff nodded. He was about to leave when Tanya said, “Change mine to a latte.”
After speaking, she looked at Jill and said, “Cappuccinos are too bitter.”
Jill frowned. “Hillary loves cappuccinos the most because it’s good for diet… Forget it, you can drink whatever you want.”
… Tanya did not say anything.
Jill even knew what kind of drinks Hillary liked, yet she never knew what she liked.
She lowered her head. Too lazy to waste any more time with her, she said straightforwardly, “So, what exactly do you want to say? Is there any problem with how I was born?” “Of course.”
After Jill replied, the service staff served them their coffees. He placed them on the table.
Jill picked up the cappuccino and stirred it with a spoon. She slowly said, “I presume you’re already aware? You and Hillary were not born a year apart. The two of you were born on the same day. In fact, Hillary was born an hour earlier than you.” Tanya clenched her fists when she heard this.
When she was still young and ignorant in her childhood, she had fought with Hillary for her mother’s love. However, Jill had always said, “She’s your younger sister! You have to give in to her!”
“If you don’t give in to your younger sister, I will beat you up!”
“What are you fighting with your younger sister for? She is the eldest daughter of the Joneses while you are nothing!”
Hillary had troubled her a lot just because she was younger than her…
Who would have thought that age actually wasn’t the issue at all in the end?
Tanya clenched her fists. “And then?”
Jill didn’t feel that what she was saying was in any way embarrassing or shameful. She merely spoke as if she was just narrating a story from the past. “When I was still with your dad, he was very unreliable. He often disappeared for long periods. Even after dating him for two months, I still didn’t even know what he was really doing for a living. All I knew was that he was always fighting and never behaved decently. I had no future with him.”
Tanya clenched her fists. “Then why did you give birth to me?!”
Jill raised her head and glanced at her. Then, she lowered her eyes and slowly replied, “Do you think I wanted to? I thought you were Jo…”
She suddenly paused and calmed herself down. Then, she said, “I thought you were also the Joneses’ child… When I was pregnant, even after computing the timeline, I still couldn’t tell if you were Karl’s or Hillary’s father’s child. But did you know? My social status was not good enough back then. If I wanted to marry into the Joneses, then I could only do so by having their child. Therefore, I steeled my heart and kept the child.”
Her lips curled into a smile. “But in the end, when I did a DNA comparison after you two were born, I instead discovered that you were not his daughter. I realized Karl must be your father.”
She stared at Tanya. “Because of this, Hillary’s father flew into a rage and we almost broke off the engagement… Although he still married me later, my position in the Joneses was still very awkward! All of this was because of you!”
Tanya clenched her fists. “So, that’s why you hate me so much?”
Jill nodded. “That’s right. This is the truth behind what happened back then. Hillary elevated my status and allowed me to marry into the Joneses, whereas your existence brought shame to me! Do you think I could have still liked you?”.
Tanya took a deep breath.
She suddenly understood why Jill treated her two daughters so differently.
She had always wondered why Jill had given birth to her if she didn’t love her father or her.
Now, she finally knew the truth.
She lowered her eyes and slowly asked, “Why are suddenly telling me all of this now? Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”
She sneered, “Because that’s not going to happen.”
Jill, however, shook her head. “No, I don’t need you to feel guilty about it. I know you are innocent, but this is the truth. Whether you feel guilty about it or not, this is the truth. It is also a fact that, because of you, I was unable to hold my head up high in the Joneses for so many years! I came to you this time because I want to make peace with you.”
Tanya was taken aback. “Make peace?”
“Yes. I’ll let you off while you also let me off… We go our own separate ways in the future. How does that sound?”
Tanya looked at the person in front of her.
She was very calm, and her thoughts were also very clear. Her words made Tanya feel as if her heart had turned cold.
Tanya said, “I have nothing to do with you in the first place.”
Jill kept quiet for a while before she finally said, “You still have to promise me something.”
Tanya knew that the highlight of the show was finally here.
Despite all the things that Jill said thus far, she was but just appealing to her emotionally.
The condition was what she truly wanted.
She said, “There is no way I’ll ever write a letter of forgiveness. Not in this lifetime, not in the next.”
Her words made Jill’s eyes flash with hatred. However, she quickly suppressed it and said, “I know you are heartless and don’t care whether Hillary lives or dies! So, I’m not here for that.”
“Then?”
Jill lowered her head. “It’s for my own sake.”
Tanya was taken aback.
Jill said, “Because of Hillary’s incident, I am close to having no place in the Joneses anymore! That’s why I have to reconcile with you. You are at least Joel’s girlfriend now, so you will be able to keep me safe and worry-free in the Joneses.”
Tanya: “?”
Seeing that she was about to speak, Jill cut her off at once and said, “No matter what happens, I am the one who gave life to you. The fact that I am your mother will never change. Because of you, for so many years, I wasn’t able to enjoy life for even a day at the Joneses. Now that you have finally become distinguished, why don’t you let me ride off your coattails a little? If not… With a daughter like Hillary, the Joneses are already in talks about having your Uncle Jones divorce me.”
“I signed a prenuptial agreement when I married into the Joneses back then, so I can’t take even a penny with me after the divorce. If life really becomes hard for me, I would have to trouble you in the end.”
Tanya: “…”
For a while, she actually found herself at a loss as to what to say.
Jill got up and said aggressively, “I know you have someone spoiling you and loving you now, so you are not afraid of anything. But I am your mother, the ties between the two of us will never be severed. You cannot refuse me, can you?”