Ruby's POV
Her face brightened with unmistakable joy. She opened her arms wide and moved toward me with raw emotion flooding her voice. "Oh, my precious daughter..."
But I instinctively stepped backward. Something inside me recoiled from her embrace, though I couldn't explain why.
"You're really my mother?" The words scraped against my throat.
Her smile crumbled. She dropped her arms and released a bitter laugh. "What did you expect? Some refined lady draped in designer clothes and dripping with diamonds? A woman with servants trailing behind her luxury car? Sorry to crush your fairy tale."
That wasn't what I had imagined at all.
But in my deepest memories, my mother had been gentle and nurturing.
