Chapter 1196

Her single moment of indulgence had filled her with crippling guilt toward Nathan. After getting pregnant, she bent over backward to make it up to him.

But she had never, in her wildest nightmares, anticipated that he would swap the babies.

"Colin, Natalie was just here. She wants nothing to do with us anymore. She said she forgave me, but she only said it to get me off her back. Deep down, she hasn't forgiven me at all." Wendy looked up at the overcast sky, her voice thick with sorrow. "If Nathan hadn't swapped her out back then, your sister would have been the most cherished little princess in our family."

It was all because of that bastard Nathan that she and her daughter were forever estranged.

She hadn't cared who the father was. What was done was done, and she refused to live in regret. The child in her womb was hers, and she had never intended to treat her any differently. Back then, she had desperately prayed for a girl.

Knowing that Natalie's biological father was someone else had only made her pour even more love into her daughter after she was born. She constantly drilled it into her four sons' heads that they had to fiercely protect their only sister.

She had never once rejected Natalie for not being Nathan's child.

So why had everything fallen apart later?

It was because Natalie's return had disrupted the blissful, peaceful illusion of her home.

It dragged up the past. The daughter she had meticulously raised for twenty years wasn't her own blood.

That was a jagged pill to swallow. And with Joanna constantly framing Natalie, Wendy had been manipulated into believing her biological daughter was a bad seed a jealous, bitter girl who would do anything for attention. Looking back, Joanna's petty tricks had been so glaringly obvious.

She still didn't understand how her mindset had become so warped. Even after learning the truth, she couldn't rationalize it. Now that all the secrets were out in the open, she still couldn't fathom how she had been so blind in that crucial

moment.

It was just as the old proverb said: A single thought could turn someone into a

monster.

"Mom, time heals all wounds.

Natalie will forgive us eventually. As long as we stay out of her way, but show up right when she needs us the most, she'll remember we Care. You'll always be her mother. Nothing can change that."

Wendy looked at her son and smiled softly. "Colin, you've really grown up lately. You never used to talk like this."

Colin chuckled. "Mom, after everything we've been through, if I didn't grow up, you'd probably disown me for real."

"True!" Wendy nodded with a small laugh. "When you all kept making the same mistakes and refused to change, I genuinely considered cutting ties with all of you."

"But you and your older brother are both making an effort. I see the changes you're making. As your mother, I owe you a second chance."

Wendy took a deep breath, gazing out at the hazy skyline. As the New Year passed, the skies had started to clear, the spring snow was melting, and the city was bursting back to life.

Below them, traffic flowed endlessly

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along the streets, a chaotic symphony of honking horns and revving engines. Watching the bustling, noisy city, a renewed of hope and anticipation flickered in Wendy's eyes.

"You're right, Colin. Time will heal these wounds. As long as we show your sister our sincerity, she'll forgive us one day."

Colin hoped so too. He suddenly remembered the ambulance parked downstairs earlier. Nathan must have passed out from the shock.

He asked, "Mom, I saw an ambulance earlier. Was Mr. Scott rushed to the ER?"