The Billionarie's Daughter

CHAPTER 13: NO TIME FOR US/ FLASH BACK

CHAPTER 13: NO TIME FOR US/ FLASH BACK

Elsa's stomach churned as Grandma Wura continued, each word a shard of truth slicing through her heart. "Charlotte," Grandma Wura rasped, "she displayed unmistakable signs, yet she concealed it, bound by the cruel test your father had imposed."

Elsa sank her face into her hands, a wave of nausea washing over her. "Oh God," she whispered, the weight of this revelation crushing. What cruel twist of fate could drive someone to such actions?

Grandma Wura placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Your grandfather," she explained, her voice laced with pain, "faced his own mortality, desperate for progeny. He was willing to gamble with lives, blind to the devastating consequences."

"What test, Granny?" Elsa pleaded, her voice trembling with urgency. "Please, don't hold back any truth now."

A wave of sadness clouded Grandma Wura's eyes. "Some things," she conceded, "even I cannot utter. But your father, he holds the answers. Promise me, dear child, you'll seek them from him."

Elsa, seeing the genuine conviction in her grandmother's gaze, nodded solemnly. "She... she tried, didn't she?" Elsa choked out, a glimmer of admiration for her mother flickering amidst the storm of heartbreak.

"Your mother," Grandma Wura confirmed, her voice thick with pride, "she was fiercely determined to prove herself. Your father presented her with a challenge – to manage the household, deflecting the scrutiny of the house inspector, while simultaneously tending to her own blossoming business."

Elsa closed her eyes, tears tracing warm paths down her cheeks. The image of her mother, burdened yet unwavering, filled her with a bittersweet ache.

"He left," Grandma Wura continued, her voice cracking. "He traveled abroad."

"For how long?" Elsa whispered, a tremor of dread lacing her voice.

The silence that followed was heavy, an unspoken answer hanging in the air. Finally, Grandma Wura's voice broke, barely a whisper, "Four agonizing months."

Elsa's grip tightened on the bedspread, her heart twisting with a dawning realization. "Did he know?" she asked, her voice barely a choked sob.

"No, trust me, he didn't," Grandma Wura pleaded, tears mirroring the anguish in Elsa's eyes. "He only inquired about the household, and I... I reported back."

Elsa's anger flared momentarily, her voice cracking as she shouted, "You knew?!"

With a trembling hand, Grandma Wura grasped Elsa's tightly. "Please, my child," she implored, her voice thick with sorrow. "Listen to me."

A torrent of words poured from her lips, each sentence etching a new, painful line onto Elsa's heart. "I saw the signs," Grandma Wura confessed, her voice raw. "I found the pregnancy test in Charlotte's room. When she confronted me, I begged her to stop working, to prioritize her health. But she... she wouldn't listen."

Grandma Wura's eyes welled up with unshed tears. "She pleaded with me not to tell Charles, not to ruin their marriage. Bobby was only a child then, and she... she was determined to prove herself."

The years unfolded before Elsa's eyes like a tragic tapestry. "Your mother continued her travels," Grandma Wura continued, "driven by an indomitable spirit. And she won, she secured the contract, she kept the house running like clockwork."

But the victory had come at a terrible cost. "When Charles returned after four months," Grandma Wura's voice broke, "she was a mere shadow of herself. Weak, malnourished, consumed by an invisible illness. Charles..." her voice choked with emotion, "he nearly collapsed when he saw her."