The silence in the room was thick with unspoken emotions. Ariadna, her eyes filled with a mixture of pain and determination, finally decided to break the silence.
"Ciara," she began, her voice trembling slightly. "We have to tell you the truth. The whole truth. It's not easy, but we owe you that much."
Ciara, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and anticipation, nodded slowly. She had sensed the truth in her parents' hesitation, the unspoken tension that had hung over them since Galen's arrival.
"It's about Benedict Rochester," Ariadna continued, her voice catching in her throat. "Your father and I have known him for a long time. In fact, he was my ex-husband."
Ciara's eyes widened in shock. She had never imagined that her parents' lives were intertwined with Galen's family histo
