Loved You Once But He's My Forever (Chloe) novel Chapter 529

I vividly remembered something Jeffrey had once said—Everly had a dimple on her cheek, in the same spot as Carter's mother.

Yael had one too, but it was on the opposite side, just like Dominic's.

Amber, however, had no dimples at all.

Amber had originally been a twin, and the only way to tell them apart was by the dimple on one of their cheeks.

Could it be that the person who had been cooking for Carter all these years wasn't Amber at all, but Eleanor Dolton—Carter's mother?

That would explain why she had such a strong reaction upon seeing the Stone of Duality on my neck.

The person standing before me at that moment hadn't been Amber—it had been her!

She didn't want her son to die, so she orchestrated the assassination attempt on me.

Eleanor wasn't dead.

She had been alive all along.

Thinking back to what Sheila had whispered before she died about Lady Rose, I had initially suspected Amber.

But could it have been Eleanor all along?

I staggered back, nearly losing my balance.

Details I had overlooked began piecing themselves together in my mind. All along, Lady Rose had been pulling the strings behind Sheila, orchestrating my death in my first life.

The fire had been started by that old witch. She had orchestrated everything, manipulated Eleanor into believing Jeffrey was her enemy, and turned her into nothing more than a pawn in her quest for revenge.

She had been rescued from that fire and Carter had been taken to the Boltons. Soon, she disappeared from the world.

Her only reason to stay alive was to take revenge against the Boltons.

Then Carter left the country. And she, under Amber's guise, approached him to protect him.

But what if ...

What if she had wanted me dead from the very beginning?

After all, she was the person closest to Wisteria. And Wisteria was the mastermind behind everything—there was no way she didn't know.

I had never seen Carter's mother before. All I had to go on was what Jeffrey had told me about her dimple.

However, Carter had lived with her for over a decade. How come that a smart man like him could not tell the difference between Amber and his mother?

A chill ran down my spine watching the mother and son exchange a knowing smile.

Eleanor went into the kitchen to cook, while Carter, holding the children, walked up to me.

"What's wrong, Chloe? Why are you spacing out?"

"N-Nothing," I stammered. "I forgot to take my medicine. I'll go back to my room to get it."

I turned and hurried away, my shaky steps nearly causing me to fall.

"Careful."

With one arm holding both children, he reached out with the other to steady me.

Instinctively, I pulled away from his grasp and quickened my pace.

In my room, I paced in circles, unsure of how to face Carter.

Maybe he knew far more than I had even imagined.

I reminded myself—Eleanor was Eleanor, and Carter was Carter. I shouldn't confuse the two.

However, I couldn't accept that he had been hiding this from me all along.

And Eleanor ... she had wanted me dead from the start. What about now?

Had that old witch given her another mission?

My children!

Panic surged through me as I rushed out of the room, only to crash straight into Carter's chest.

"Chloe, what's wrong?"

"I was just going to change the babies' diapers."

"But she was close to Wisteria."

Carter nodded. "Yes, because from the very beginning, her target wasn't the Boltons ... It was you."

I froze. "Me?"

"Chloe," he said, "do you remember the silver-haired old woman in the town? You must have already figured out who she was."

I nodded silently. "Yes."

That woman was me. Or rather, a version of me from a parallel timeline.

In that life, maybe I had successfully swapped fates. Carter died saving me. Though I survived, I had no children or lovers, and I wasn't happy.

I had seen her fate in my dreams—she had eventually thrown herself into the sea, ending her long and lonely life.

Without love, the rest of her days had lost all meaning.

"What if my mother also knew about that ending?" Carter said. "What if all she wanted was to save her son?"

I gripped his shirt tightly. "So she manipulated events from the shadows, used Wisteria's hatred to have me killed, and then had my body torn apart, just to make sure I could never be reborn?"

At last, I understood why my death had been so horrific.

Carter cupped my face gently. "I'm sorry ... "

She had done so much to prevent my rebirth. However, what she hadn't accounted for was that in every lifetime, Carter had never given up on me.

So when she saw the Stone of Duality, she realized I had returned and was attempting another fate swap. And just like before, the same cycle had begun to unfold.

That was why she had ordered Damian to kill me before the swap could succeed—so that her son could escape fate and live out his days in peace.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to say.

This was a battle between human will and destiny. Could I really blame her?

She was only trying to protect Carter. And yet, Carter had been willing to die for me.

"Does she still want me dead?" I asked.