The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 324

Autumn Lopez was old enough to remember when her mother died.

That was precisely why she had kept her desire for revenge so well hidden for so long.

She knew exactly what that trashy couple was capable of. And for a long time, she held on to the belief that her father was still her father, that maybe one day he would see her value as his daughter.

She had always been manipulated and controlled by a twisted sense of family loyalty. She’d thought she could change them, only to make the tragic discovery that an animal will always be an animal. You can’t turn them into people.

Over the years, almost everyone had forgotten that Penelope wasn’t Autumn’s biological mother- that she had a mother of her own.

Whether intentionally or not, the people around her forgot about this fact until, gradually, Autumn’s mother simply vanished from memory.

It was as if she had never existed at all.

الله لا

Because Autumn’s mother didn’t really have any family left, Autumn was the only one who went to visit her grave each year.

The file Owen Bennett had compiled filled in the blanks, painting a picture of a vibrant, young mother Autumn had never known.

“My mom studied abroad when she was young?”

Autumn was stunned. She had never heard about any of this.

“Yes.”

Owen said, “I tried to look into your mother’s family background, but I didn’t get very far.”

“The records show that her parents passed away a long time ago, and she had virtually no one left on her side of the family. The trail went cold there.”

Autumn searched her memory. “My dad never mentioned it, either.”

On the other hand, Penelope’s relatives had visited the mansion a few times, all of them just there to freeload. At first, Penelope was happy to host them, but she eventually decided they were just

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Chapter 321

embarrassing her and stopped letting them in..

“Maybe your dad didn’t know.”

“You probably don’t know this, but the reason your mother married your father was because she had just returned to the country to look for a job and ended up saving your grandfather’s life by chance.”

“At the time, your grandfather saw that she was a top student who had studied abroad, was beautiful, and had a kind heart. He thought she could help straighten out your father, so he did everything he could to set them up.”

“But why would my mom agree to that?”

The mother she remembered was not someone who would just give in.

Besides, what kind of way was that to repay a debt?

Making her marry his good–for–nothing, spoiled son who was a complete lost cause? That was more like punishing her for his kindness.

“Most likely because she was nursing a broken heart.”

A jolt went through Autumn.

She stared at Owen, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief that screamed, *Are you kidding me?*

Owen gave a helpless smile. “It’s the most logical explanation.”

“By all accounts, your mother was doing very well in her studies abroad. Even if she wanted to come back and build a career here, she wouldn’t have just returned on a whim.”

“But she came back completely unprepared. When she ran into your grandfather, she didn’t even have a change of clothes–just her ID and some spare cash.”

“My guess is that your grandfather arranged for a place for her to live and a job to repay her for saving him. Your mother felt indebted to him, so when he proposed the marriage, she hesitated but eventually agreed.”

“After that, your mother settled down here. You couldn’t say her relationship with your father was great, but it wasn’t terrible, either.”

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“You were born soon after. Your grandfather was thrilled, and he passed away not long after that.”

“Without your grandfather reining him in, your father quickly went completely off the rails.”

“And my investigation shows that your mother’s attitude toward all of this was very cold.”

Autumn’s eyes widened. “How could she have been cold?”

In her memory, her parents had fought fiercely over his affairs.

*Was my memory wrong?*

Or was it because she was so young back then? Maybe different memories had all blended together, making it hard for her to tell what was real and what wasn’t.

“It’s true. She was cold.”

Owen said with certainty, “We even managed to find one of your father’s old mistresses.”

“When she talked about your father, her eyes were filled with scorn. But when she mentioned your mother, it was much more complicated.”

“She even said it was a shame. If your mother had just paid a little more attention to your father, the current Mrs. Lopez would have never been able to take her place.”

Autumn sucked in a sharp breath.

“You mean…”

Owen nodded, confirming her suspicion.

“It seems there’s a hidden story behind your parents‘ relationship. I’m even starting to suspect that your mother’s return to the country was a complete accident–or maybe a decision she made on impulse when she had no other choice.”

“She never expected to run into your grandfather as soon as she got back, which then kickstarted

father.” her toxic relationship with your

Autumn’s hand tightened around the file.

It wasn’t that hard to investigate things that happened years ago.

But trying to do it when most of the people who knew anything were gone was like finding a needle in a haystack.

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Without any leads, what good was modern technology?

“Oh, right. I also found the name your mother used while she was abroad. It was Giselle.”

“Giselle?”

“Yes.”

“That’s an unusual name. Not like the typical ones people pick, like Lucy or Louise.”

“I heard she picked it herself.”

Autumn smiled, an image of her mother’s bright, smiling face flashing before her eyes.

“About your mother… if you want to know more, I can have my people dig deeper.”

“But I have a feeling that if we do, we might uncover a lot of things that were meant to stay hidden.”

“What do you think?” Owen left the decision to her.

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