Bride behind the mask novel (Marguerite) novel Chapter 878

Even though Hayes had tried to brace himself on the way over, he was still stunned when he finally saw the old photo—before the weight gain, Margot had looked exactly like Teresa.

The shock hit him hard, mingled with a deep ache in his chest.

He couldn’t help but feel for Teresa. In his eyes, she had always cared about her looks, and yet she’d endured so much suffering from being overweight for so long.

Whatever the reason, he refused to believe Teresa would have let herself become unrecognizable without good cause.

His small trembling hands clutched the photo, his eyes reddening as tears threatened to fall. But he quickly ducked his head, not wanting his little sister to see him cry.

“I... I always suspected you were my Teresa,” he choked out, voice trembling. “I just knew it was you…”

Teresa reached over and squeezed Hayes’s little hand, then hopped down from the couch so she could sit right beside him.

Their hands clasped tightly together, Teresa’s free hand gently wiped away the tear trailing down Hayes’s cheek. Her voice, soft and quivering, still carried a note of comfort.

“Don’t cry, okay? I’m back now, aren’t I? No more tears, Hayes. Be brave for me, alright?”

She wanted to cry too, but everything she’d been through these past six months had made her stronger than she ever thought possible.

Swallowing her own pain and sadness, Teresa forced herself to smile, determined to lift Hayes’s spirits.

Hayes took a deep, steadying breath and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Slowly, his emotions calmed.

He turned to her, eyes still red and puffy, and met her gaze.

“What really happened?” he pressed. “When you and Dad disappeared, the news back home said Dad… they said he shot you. Grandma and Nana were so worried about me seeing it, they got all the reports taken down.”

He hesitated, voice barely above a whisper. “But I saw them anyway. Teresa, Dad would never shoot you, would he?”

Teresa knelt on the couch, sitting up straight and glancing around to make sure there was no one else nearby. Only then did she sit back down, her face clouded with sorrow.

“It wasn’t Dad who shot me,” she said softly. “It was Maurice.”

At those words, Hayes’s little hands clenched into tight fists.

Unbelievable!

I didn’t know what those chips were for, but I was sure it couldn’t be anything good. So I pretended not to understand what was going on and played dumb.

Not long after Maurice and that man left, a doctor and a nurse came in. They said they wanted to help me and Dad escape.

With their help, we got away. We never drowned like the rumors said—Dad and I paid someone to spread that fake story.

Dad woke up during our escape, but he’d lost all his memories. I knew right away it had to be because of that chip.

Once we were safe, I tried to get in touch with you.

I almost told Mom the truth a while back, but Maurice found out and started threatening me. That’s why I couldn’t tell anyone.”

“So you and Dad changed your names to protect yourselves? Did you pick Dad’s new name? Did you ever tell him anything about his old life?”

Dad’s new name…

Hayes’s question made guilt flash across Teresa’s face.