"My mom is completely brainwashed by her side of the family."
Yolande let out a heavy sigh.
Being used by her mother to leech off the main branch of the family when she was a child had been painful enough.
Now, learning that her own mother was willing to sell her out just to benefit the Byrons had utterly shattered whatever hope Yolande had left.
For years, she had been caught in the crossfire between Tiffany and her great- uncle's family, living in constant embarrassment.
It was bad enough that her mother never considered her feelings, but she would even take the jewelry gifted to Yolande by Octavia and Patti and give it away to other people.
Yolande had always harbored a quiet resentment toward her mother, but because they were blood, she had forced herself to endure it.
Perhaps it was a child's natural yearning for a mother's affection. She knew her mother treated her worse than her two cousins, which only made her try harder to win her approval.
But after years of desperate effort, all she got in return was abandonment.
This time, Yolande was truly, completely done with her mother.
"Having a mother like mine is worse than not having one at all!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Yolande realized her mistake.
"I'm so sorry, Claire. I didn't mean it like..."
Claire raised a hand, gently cutting her off. "It's okay, Yolande. I don't need an explanation. I know exactly what you meant."
"Some people just aren't meant to have a strong bond with their parents. You shouldn't let it weigh you down."
"Your mom might not love you the way she should, but she definitely loves you at least a little."
"Unlike my adoptive mother. You'd think she loved her biological daughter, right? Yet she ruthlessly stood by and watched her rival swap their babies."
"She had to know that if her rival had been even slightly more vicious, her actual daughter would have been murdered."
"It's so easy for an infant to suffer a fatal 'accident.""
"Her rival hated her to the core because my adoptive mother had previously caused her to miscarry."
Yolande looked horrified. "She watched her baby get swapped and wasn't terrified her rival would kill the child?"
"So what if she died at her rival's hands? To her, that was still better than her husband finding out the baby wasn this because of her
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It was only recently that Claire had finally understood why Octavia had been so cold to her, even wanting her dead.
Octavia probably assumed her real
daughter wouldn't survive, so she
transferred all per hatred onto Claire, the girl who had taken Cindy's place.
She had twisted her immense guilt toward her own child into a venomous hatred for Claire.
Octavia had forced herself to forget that she was an active participant in Fallon's baby-swapping scheme, focusing only on the fact that Claire was occupying her daughter's rightful spot.
Claire couldn't muster an ounce of sympathy for a woman that malicious and stupid.
"So, you were never supposed to be swapped in the first place, Claire. Your
adoptive mother was basically an accomplice."
No wonder she had treated Claire so poorly all these years while knowing perfectly well she wasn't her own.
"Yeah," Claire nodded calmly.
"Thank God you were found and brought back. Otherwise, you would have suffered endlessly in the James family."
Yolande hugged her cousin tightly. This girl was truly remarkable.
"Honestly, Cindy is a tragic figure in all this too."
"Her biological mother abandoned her, knowing full well she might die, and still chose to throw her away."
"Compared to her, I'm incredibly lucky."
A sudden clarity washed over Yolande.
So what if her bond with her parents was a bit fragile? It wasn't the end of the world.
"You're right, Claire. I'm done. No matter what my mom does from now on, it won't break my heart anymore."
Yolande declared it with finality.
Claire wasn't sure if she had truly let it go or was just putting on a brave face.
But either way, Yolande was finally smiling again.