Chapter 470



For a moment, Ruth stood frozen in place, but then determination surged within her. She knew she couldn’t let this chance slip by.

With a burst of resolve, Ruth hurried after Kallie, her awkward gait betraying her disability, but she didn’t care. She knew Kallie was her last hope.

“Miss Nixon!” Ruth called out, her voice cracking.

Kallie turned just in time to see Ruth drop to her knees. Shocked, Kallie rushed to help Ruth up. “What are you doing? If you have something to say, just say it.” Ruth wiped away her tears, her vulnerability laid bare for the first time in years.

“You’re right. I’ve lost my ambition, and I’ve been stuck in this rut for so long. But I’m unwilling to give up. I didn’t plagiarize! How could they force me to take the blame for something I didn’t do? Why should I bear the pain?”

As Ruth’s words hung in the air, Kallie felt the pieces of the puzzle click into place. She finally understood what Ruth had been through. There was a deeper reason behind Ruth’s actions; the truth was that Ruth and Jenny were half-sisters—a connection that was as painful as it was ironic.

Jenny’s mother was the legal wife, while Ruth’s mother was the other woman, unknowingly caught in a web of deception. When Ruth’s mother met Jenny’s father, Barth Patterson, she had no idea he was already married. She was deceived, and by the time she discovered the truth, she was already pregnant with Ruth.

Barth promised to divorce his wife and be with Ruth, but Ruth’s mother wanted no part in ruining the family. She tried to end their relationship, determined to break free.

But Barth refused to let Ruth’s mother go; he threatened to take his own life and even vowed to publicly shame her as a mistress if she left him. The threat was terrifying. If word got out, it would ruin her family’s reputation and cost her job.

Cornered and desperate, Ruth’s mother reluctantly agreed to stay, clinging to his promise of divorce. A year passed, Ruth was born, and the promised divorce never came. It became clear that Ruth’s mother had been deceived all along.

Exhausted by the lies and manipulation, Ruth’s mother finally decided to escape with her daughter, leaving Barth behind.

Years went by, and fate played a cruel trick when Jenny and Ruth ended up at the same university. The past that Ruth’s mother had tried so hard to leave behind resurfaced when Barth spotted Ruth on campus. He recognized her immediately—his daughter, the one he had abandoned.

The fragile peace of Ruth’s life shattered once more. Her mother, already in poor health, was unable to recover with the turmoil stirred up by their past.

Determined not to be threatened any longer, Ruth’s mother decided to confront the Patterson family directly. She went to their home, ready to reveal the truth to everyone, including Jenny’s mother.

However, tragedy struck. Jenny’s mother, unable to cope with the shocking revelation, jumped from the building, ending her life. Jenny and Ruth were both present, witnesses to the unthinkable.

No one could have predicted such a turn of events. From that day forward, Jenny harbored a deep hatred for Ruth. The situation worsened when Ruth’s mother passed away, and the Patterson family rejected Ruth entirely.

Only Barth’s mother, Tilda, stood by her side. Despite the family’s refusal, Tilda insisted that Ruth was her granddaughter and she wouldn’t abandon her.

Ruth reluctantly followed Tilda back to a small, secluded home. Initially, she believed it was a ploy by the Patterson family to keep her hidden away, ensuring she wouldn’t interfere with Jenny’s life. But what Ruth found was far from a trap. It was a life of hardship that Tilda had endured alone.

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