Chapter 187 The Name I Never Needed

Chapter 187 The Name I Never Needed
Mia’s POV

The car stopped in front of the Vizondra mansion, and I had barely stepped out when the doors opened.

Vivian appeared, her gaze immediately shifting to the luggage being unloaded behind me.

“Mia?”

I managed a small smile. “Hi, Miss Vizondra.”

“You came.”

“I left the city. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but if it’s still okay with you, I’d like to stay here for a while.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Of course it’s okay.”

She hurried down the steps and pulled me into her arms. The embrace caught me off guard, but after a moment, I hugged her back.

“Oh, Mia.” Her voice broke. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to give me a chance.”

She pulled away and wiped her tears.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so happy you’re here.” She squeezed my hands. “But if you’re really giving me a chance, please stop calling me Miss Vizondra. I’m your mother’s sister. Call me Aunt Vivian.”

I hesitated. After spending most of my life not knowing she existed, the words still felt unfamiliar, but she waited patiently.

“Aunt Vivian.”

Her face crumpled before she hugged me again.

“I’ve waited so long to hear that.”

When she finally released me, she glanced toward my luggage.

“You can stay as long as you want, and you never have to ask permission to come here again. This is your home too.”

“Thank you.”

“Mia, this estate is already yours.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’re my only heir. Everything I have will eventually belong to you, including the estate, the companies, the properties, everything.”

My eyes widened. “I didn’t come here because of any of that.”

“I know.” She smiled. “You’ve already built a life without the Vizondra name or money. I’m telling you because I want you to know you have a family here.”

My throat tightened as she led me inside.

That evening, I discovered Aunt Vivian apparently believed welcoming one person required enough food for an entire wedding reception.

The dining table was covered with dishes, flowers, and crystal glasses, and before I could ask why, guests began arriving.

“You invited people?”

“Only a few.”

Her definition of a few included several friends from her social and business circle, some of whom I recognized from magazines and industry events.

Halfway through dinner, Aunt Vivian stood and lifted her glass.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice. Tonight, I finally have someone very special to introduce.”

She motioned for me to join her and took my hand.

“This is Mia Villaruiz, Amelia’s daughter and my niece,” she said proudly. “She’s a lawyer who placed first in the bar examination and built an impressive career entirely on her own. She’s also the sole heir to the Vizondra family and everything I’ve built.”

Applause filled the room.

I smiled politely, although being introduced that way felt strange. I had spent years building a name of my own, and now people were suddenly looking at me as a Vizondra.

But the pride on Aunt Vivian’s face told me this wasn’t about status for her. She was simply happy to finally call me family.

After the last guest left, Aunt Vivian asked me to stay downstairs.

We sat together in the living room, and she took my hand.

“Thank you for coming here, Mia. I know I wasn’t there while you were growing up, and I’ll always regret that, but I want you to know something.”

I looked at her.

“If you ever want to tell me anything, tell me. If you’re angry, hurt, or simply need someone to listen, come to me. I may not have been there for the little girl you were, but if you’ll let me, I want to be here for you now. You don’t have to face everything alone.”

My eyes burned.

“I don’t really know how to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Have someone like you.”

Aunt Vivian smiled through her tears. “Then we’ll learn together.”

She hugged me before we headed upstairs.

“One more thing,” she said. “Your mother’s room is yours now. Everything Amelia left there belongs to you.”

Emotion tightened my throat.

“Thank you.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Knowing I was no longer merely visiting my mother’s room made everything feel different. I went through some of her belongings until I found a leather-bound notebook beneath several things inside a cabinet.

Amelia Vizondra.

I sat on the bed and began reading.

The entries started with ordinary pieces of her life until I found my father’s name.

Bernard.

My mother had written about growing up with him, the son of their family driver who had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. Somewhere along the way, their childhood friendship had become love.

She wrote about the moments they stole together and the future they secretly dreamed of, even though they both knew her family would never approve. To them, Bernard would always be the driver’s son, someone they believed had no place beside a Vizondra.

The later entries became more painful. My mother wrote about hiding their relationship and how impossible it had become to pretend Bernard meant nothing to her.

Then I reached one of the final entries.

She was pregnant.

My hands trembled as I read. She was frightened of what would happen when her family learned the truth, but beneath that fear was something stronger.

She loved my father, and she already loved the child growing inside her.

Me.

Not long after writing those words, my parents had left everything behind to build a life together.

Tears fell onto the pages.

Reading my mother’s words gave me something I had never had before, a glimpse of who she really was and how deeply she had loved my father.

I pressed the diary against my chest as the tears came.

For the first time, Amelia wasn’t simply the mother I never had the chance to know. Through every page, she was becoming real to me.

The days that followed passed quietly.

I continued reading my mother’s diaries and asking Aunt Vivian about the people and places Amelia mentioned. Some of her stories made me laugh, while others left us both crying.

Slowly, the estate began to feel like home.

I walked through the gardens, read beneath the trees, and spent evenings with Aunt Vivian. Sometimes I joined her in her study while she handled business, and she explained the companies she insisted I would someday inherit.

I stayed away from the news and kept my social media accounts deactivated. For once, I wanted to live without worrying about what was happening beyond the estate.

But I still missed the people I had left behind, especially Josh.

And Liam.

No amount of distance stopped me from thinking about him.

Some nights, I wondered whether he was okay and whether his father had recovered, but I never searched his name. Whatever was happening in his life was no longer mine to know.

Aunt Vivian knew about Liam and me, but she never pushed me to talk about him. Then one evening over dinner, she casually mentioned something that made my entire body stiffen.

“Lucinda Alcaraz is an old friend of mine.”

My fork stopped halfway to my mouth.

“What?”

“We’ve known each other for years.” She studied my expression. “She doesn’t know you’re Amelia’s daughter.”

I slowly lowered my fork.

“I can tell her who you are, Mia.”

“No.”

The answer came so quickly that she blinked.

“Please don’t, Aunt Vivian.”

“But if Lucinda knew you were my niece…”

“That shouldn’t matter.” The familiar ache returned to my chest. “If they really wanted me or their son to be happy, they should have accepted me without judging where I came from.”

Her expression softened.

“I don’t want Lucinda suddenly deciding I’m good enough for Liam because she discovers I’m your heir. If knowing I’m a Vizondra changes how she sees me, then she never respected me for who I was.”

“Mia…”

“I studied, worked, and built everything I have without knowing any of this existed, yet they still decided someone like me didn’t belong in their family.” I swallowed against the ache in my throat. “I’m not going to use your name to prove I’m worthy of their son.”

Aunt Vivian reached across the table and covered my hand.

“I won’t tell her. You have my word.”

“Thank you.”

“For what it’s worth, anyone who needs to know your inheritance before recognizing your worth never deserved the right to judge you.”

I gave her a sad smile. “I know.”

Weeks passed, and although I had settled into life at the estate, I missed Josh more every day. I missed his ridiculous jokes, his teasing, and even the lectures I used to complain about.

Then one afternoon, I came downstairs carrying one of my mother’s diaries and heard voices in the living room.

One belonged to Aunt Vivian.

I immediately recognized the other.

I hurried toward the room and stopped.

Josh sat across from my aunt with a cup of coffee in his hand.

He looked up, and relief crossed his face before giving way to hurt and anger.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? That’s all you’re going to ask me after disappearing for weeks?”

“Josh…”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Aunt Vivian stood. “I think I’ll leave you two alone.”

“No, you don’t have to…”

“Yes, she does,” Josh interrupted.

Aunt Vivian tried to hide her smile. “I like him.”

“Aunt Vivian.”

“Good luck.”

She disappeared, leaving me alone with Josh.

“I can explain.”

“You’d better. I went crazy looking for you, Mia. Nobody could tell me where you were.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I almost strangled Daniel because I thought he knew and wasn’t telling me.”

Despite myself, I nearly laughed.

“Don’t laugh.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m sorry.”

He glared at me before his anger finally cracked. Crossing the room, he pulled me into his arms.

My eyes filled with tears as I hugged him back.

God, I had missed him.

“You idiot,” he muttered.

“I missed you too.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“I know.”

His arms tightened around me.

“You could’ve called. One message, Mia. That’s all I needed. Just tell me you were safe.”

“I’m sorry.”

Josh finally pulled away, but instead of continuing his lecture, his expression became serious.

“What?” I asked.

He hesitated, and something about the way he looked at me made my stomach tighten.

“I didn’t come here just to yell at you.”

My fingers tightened around the diary.

“What happened?”

Josh looked at me for a long moment before sighing.

“It’s about Liam.”

My heart stumbled painfully.

“What about him?”

His expression softened, and somehow that frightened me more than his anger.

“Mia, there’s something you need to know.”