Chapter 197 Pure Soul

Chapter 197 Pure Soul
Two months later

Cora's POV

The sun shone brightly in the room as I opened my eyes, and I knew it was the weekend, so we didn't need to get up early. However, when I turned on my side and found the space next to me empty, I quickly opened my eyes wide. I looked around and sighed with a smile—I had slept in again.
I got out of bed, the new atmosphere still feeling a bit unfamiliar, but I loved it. Ever since Spencer and I found each other again, we have wanted to be together. My mum had offered us a place to stay, and while we both loved her, Spencer wanted to create a home for us as a real family. 
I still wanted to convince him to stay with my mum at least until he found a house, but I realised he also wanted to make up for the time he had missed as a father. We packed our things and, after discussing it with the letting agency, moved into the apartment Spencer had rented.
I walked out of the bathroom to find my loved ones in the kitchen. Ellie was sitting at the table, watching her father make pancakes. Seeing the scene of Spencer entertaining Ellie while trying not to burn Ellie's breakfast warmed my heart.
"Good morning, Mummy!" he greeted me when he noticed I was standing there, and Ellie attempted to mimic her father. I approached her with a broad smile, first kissing her on the cheek, then turning to Spencer to kiss him.
"Why didn’t you wake me up?" I asked him.
"You worked a lot during the week. I thought you deserved to sleep in," he replied.
I chuckled; he was right. I had changed our promotion strategy, and it had worked—our client base had grown, and even the Hearsts couldn’t do anything against us. They had tried to take action, but after consulting lawyers, we found they ultimately had no grounds to proceed.
We planned to visit my mum that day, as she wanted to host an authentic family dinner. Ethan and Jess were also invited, and both Spencer and I were excited to see her.
After breakfast, we got ready, and Spencer drove us to my mum's house. She was delighted when we arrived early and immediately picked Ellie up, refusing to let her go.
Before lunch, Ethan and Jess arrived. Though I had seen her in pictures a few times, I had to admit she was a beautiful young lady, and I loved the way she looked at Ethan with adoration.
We had a lovely time during lunch, but one thing cast a shadow over our mood. 
"Are you ready for Monday?" Ethan asked, and a quiet silence fell over us. 
Monday was the day the trial was set to begin. I trusted our legal team, who believed Ray had zero chance of winning. He was likely to face years in prison. 
The only person I felt sorry for was my mum. Even though she appeared strong, I could tell she was hurting. 
"I don’t think any of us is ready to see our father get locked away," Spencer sighed. I wanted to nudge him to observe Mum's expression, but it was too late. 
"I don’t know; I’ll believe it when it happens," Ethan added.
"According to our lawyers, he has no chance," Spencer said, and Ethan merely shrugged.
"He is still Mr. Raymond Astor. I’m sure he found supporters," I said.
"Then we can turn to the media," Spencer added, and Ethan nodded in agreement.
After our conversation, we started to play with a ball together, including Ellie, of course. However, I was the only one who noticed Mum leaving the garden. 
I excused myself and rushed after her, finding her in her bedroom. 
"Mum, are you alright?" I asked, and as I suspected, her eyes were teary. I stepped closer and hugged her.
"I am so sorry," I whispered, but she shook her head.
"Cora, I told you earlier. You have done nothing wrong!"
I sighed and hugged her tighter. 
"I just hate to see you suffer," I said, but Mum shook her head again and gently pushed me away.
"Cora, I am not sorry for him. It’s just that I lived with a man for so long, yet I didn't truly know him. I have never seen his true colours. Even if I knew he didn’t like you, I never thought he could harm you. I don’t understand how he could do this to you."
I sighed again as she took a tissue and wiped her tears.
"You were only a little girl, a pure soul who went through so much. I don’t know how he could be so heartless."
"Mum, it’s alright," I said. "Even if he never loved me, I had a life that a poor orphan child could only dream of."
"But he wanted to kill you."
I lowered my head. 
"I should have protected you better, Cora. I should have seen what kind of person he was and grabbed my children to leave him." 
I smiled bitterly. "Some women can't do that, even when they are treated horribly. Don't blame yourself, Mum. How could you have known what he was planning to do to me?"
She wiped her tears and walked over to a cabinet. Opening a drawer, she took out a folder. 
"I wanted to give you this, Cora." 
I took the folder and looked at her with a frown. 
"It took me a while, but I finally got all the information you need." 
I opened it and was surprised to find a few pictures of my biological mother along with some of her documents. 
I looked at her, confused. 
"When we adopted you, they said your biological mother had a sister. They contacted her, but she said her circumstances wouldn't allow her to keep you. Ray never let me contact her, and he forbade me from talking to you about her. She passed away years ago, but these things remained after her. I thought it was time for you to have them. I even found out where your mother was buried. You can find everything in there." 
What she told me caught me off guard. I felt my eyes well up, and I needed to hug her. She was the only one who understood how much I had thought about my biological mother since I had Ellie, and now she had found this for me. 
"I love you, Mum," I said, and she kissed my face. 
"I love you too, Cora."