Chapter 619:

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Even though the painting wasn’t perfect, it made waves when it was shown. People remembered it.

When she turned thirteen, she spent another month working on the facsimile. The version she finished then looked even better than the first.

During that stretch of time, she continued signing her pieces as “Dooley Santos,” filling canvas after canvas with scenes drawn from the world around her.

By the time she turned eighteen, right before her trip to Ariosa, Marc looked at her and said something she never expected to hear. He told her she was his destined one. The words left her stunned.

Then she made the trip to Ariosa. That was when she uncovered the truth. Marc wasn’t just the person who once saved her. He was her “biological brother.” From that day forward, she abandoned the name “Dooley Santos.” She never used it again.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

It became something she’d rather forget.

The boy in white, once full of warmth and gentle care, had become the Marc she no longer trusted.

She never spoke of that chapter again. Over time, she came to resent her artist name.

That was why she entered “Midnight Revelry at Ariosa” into the charity auction. She wanted to sever the last link to that name.

She had always believed Marc was her savior. A brother figure, nothing more. She never imagined he was indeed her brother… At least before she learned she wasn’t Brody’s biological daughter, Marc had remained that character.

He used to be kind. He had cared for her in every way he could. But he’d also kept a secret—one that should never have been hidden. If she had known who he really was, the son of the Wilson family, she never would have stayed close to him.

She couldn’t deny the truth—he had deceived her. Yes, he’d saved her life. But the lies he had told afterward left a bitter taste.

This truth had stayed between her and Marc. Not even Marissa, the one closest to him, had ever heard it.

Now, finally sharing this with Jasper—her real brother—she felt something lift from inside her. A weight she’d carried quietly for years.

Jasper’s expression darkened. Listening to the story made him uneasy. His chest tightened. Even though none of this had happened to him, he still felt a chill run through him.

If Marc hadn’t shown up that day, if he hadn’t caught her hand, she would have fallen. She wouldn’t be here now. There would be no reunion between them.

That thought alone caused Jasper’s brows to draw in. “Did he really say that?”

She gave a small nod. “Yes.”

It wasn’t an easy story to tell, but she had accepted it.

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