Don’t Fall for the Billionaire Lover novel Chapter 576

Leah was the first to break the silence, "Got some time? Let's grab a seat and chat."

They made their way to a cozy café nearby.

Once they settled in, Ann was visibly on edge, while Leah felt a storm of emotions swirling inside her. It had been three decades since they'd last seen each other. Even when the truth about their daughters came out, they hadn't crossed paths.

Leah had recently watched Lisa and Ann interact on some surveillance footage. Listening to Ann's words had stirred a whirlwind of feelings in her. As Lisa's biological mom, she'd hit rock bottom with disappointment.

She'd lost count of the times she'd wished Lisa wasn't her daughter, even going so far as to secretly do another paternity test. Her feelings had morphed from guilt and heartache to disgust and frustration. She couldn't muster the kind of affection Ann had. Maybe, deep down, she believed that a parent's love was conditional—whether for Chloe or Lisa.

"How've you been all these years?" they both asked at almost the same time. But after the words left their lips, they both sat there, awkwardly caught in the moment.

Seeing Ann again, Leah felt a surprising softening of her old resentment. In the end, she realized, it wasn't fair to hate her. The drama between grown-ups shouldn't have dragged Ann into it.

Leah studied Ann. She looked like she'd aged twenty years more than Leah. Her face showed the wear of time, grey streaked her hair, and her skin was worn and dark, with lines around her eyes. It brought back memories of their school days. Ann had been the picture of youthful beauty, admired by many boys.

Three months after her mom's death, her dad was set to marry Ann's mom. But a week before the wedding, they both died in a car crash. At that point, they'd already tied the knot legally. Ann was, in the eyes of the law, Leah's sister, entitled to half of their dad’s estate. But Leah, with her uncles' help, shut Ann out completely, leaving her with nowhere to go in the city. Bullied and shamed at school, Ann chose to disappear.

Leah had no clue where Ann had gone. This meeting, thirty years later, was their first encounter since then.

Leah suddenly asked, "So, you blame me, and that's why you switched our daughters and let her life fall apart as payback?"