Rebirth Revenge Is Everything (Ariana) novel Chapter 710

Ariana stared straight into Kendra’s eyes.

She could see the subtle shifts within them. When she first entered, those eyes had held a faint trace of guilt and something else—an emotion she couldn’t quite decipher. But now, it was as if Kendra sensed that she already knew the truth. The restraint in her gaze had vanished, replaced by something raw and unfiltered.

She was looking at her with cautious vulnerability.

Ariana’s chest tightened. Keeping her voice steady, she spoke slowly, deliberately. "A few days ago, my father told me something. He said I wasn’t his biological daughter, nor was I my adoptive mother’s. And just now, my adoptive mother called me. She told me a few things. I wonder if Mrs. Harper would be interested in hearing them."

Kendra’s eyes burned as she gazed at her daughter, her fingers trembling slightly.

"I’m sorry," she whispered.

Those two words felt like an admission, and Ariana could no longer contain the emotions she had been suppressing. She met Kendra’s gaze, her expression caught between a bitter smile and unshed tears. After a long pause, she finally spoke. "Why?"

Kendra lifted her eyes to Ariana’s, her own filled with a tangled mess of regret and silent agony.

Ariana’s voice was icy calm. "Why did you hand me over to her?"

Kendra’s throat tightened. "I—"

Ariana gave a humorless smirk. "If Mrs. Harper has her reasons, then perhaps you shouldn’t have stayed in S City all these years." What was this? All this time, she had been raised by her own aunt? And then there was what Georgia had just said—her lips curled in derision.

Of course. If she did the math, Kendra hadn’t even married the current head of the Kendrick family when she was born.

It made sense that she would dump her on her younger sister.

And as luck would have it, that very same sister had needed a child to secure her position.

**So...**

What was this? What was she? Some kind of bargaining chip?

If not, then how else could she explain it? And all these years, her birth mother had been right here in City S—the same city as her. Yet she had stood by, watching coldly as she struggled, was ignored, and even faced danger. Or perhaps... she hadn’t been watching at all.

After all, to her, she wasn’t really her daughter. Maybe she had adopted Irene just to shut Georgia’s mouth? Or to ease her own conscience?

Heh...

A sharp pain throbbed in Ariana’s chest. She forced down the sour, metallic taste rising in her throat and fixed Kendra with a heavy, unreadable gaze.

Under that stare, Kendra panicked.

Shaking her head, her voice thick with regret, she stammered, "I’m sorry, Ariana... I’m so sorry." Her hands fluttered uselessly, wanting to reach out but unsure how. In this moment, the ruthless, decisive businesswoman was no different from any other mother—utterly helpless before her child.

A fragility and pallor she had never shown before crept over her face.

Her fingers trembled as she reached up, brushing away the single tear that had escaped Ariana’s tightly controlled eyes. The sight of it sent waves of anguish crashing through her. Kendra had never known heartache like this.

"I never meant for you to be raised by Yasmin," she whispered.

Kendra watched from behind, her gaze desperate but not daring to step closer.

From the safety of Ariana’s embrace, Grace’s curious eyes landed on the unfamiliar woman behind her mother.

The little girl blinked, her bright, inquisitive gaze fixed on Kendra.

In that instant, Kendra’s heart melted.

She gazed at the child, her thoughts drifting far, far away. Through this little one, she seemed to catch a glimpse of Ariana in her younger days. For a fleeting moment, a faint smile tugged at the corners of Kendra's lips.

The child, captivated by the presence behind her, naturally drew Ariana's attention.

Her eyes met Kendra's—the woman who had followed her inside, perhaps hoping for another glance at her daughter or another chance to explain herself. Yet Ariana's expression remained utterly unreadable, her gaze as still as undisturbed water.

"It's getting late, Mrs. Harper," she said coolly. "If there's nothing else, you should go."

Kendra's face paled instantly.

Her eyes darted between Ariana and the wide-eyed little one nestled in her arms, who stared back at her with innocent curiosity.

Her heart twisted as if gripped by a vise.

She knew the best thing she could do now was leave—to give Ariana space, even if every fiber of her being ached to stay. No matter how desperately she longed to be near her daughter, she had to walk away.