The Male Lead isn't Following the Script!
Chapter 285: Her Thoughts

Chapter 285: Her Thoughts

Adeline ransacked the estate.

She went through the grand rooms first, the ones meant to impress with their intricate chandeliers and lavish decor—except now, they were nothing but hollow remnants of past glory. Nothing useful.

So she moved to the smaller rooms.

The ones not meant for noble children.

And really, that was fitting for the Richmonds. She assumed the worst of them without hesitation. They had never been good people—not to her, and certainly not to her mother.

She checked each cramped space, scanning every inch, until her gaze landed on a room at the very end of the hall.

Something about it made her pause.

The door was old, with a handle that was slightly rusted, the kind of place that belonged to a servant—not a noble daughter.

Adeline’s gut twisted.

Her mother had been forced to live here.

Her mother—the woman who should have been treasured, who should have been respected—had been locked away in a place like this.

Adeline felt the anger settle deep in her bones, curling like a storm waiting to explode.

She shoved the door open.

The inside was bare, almost lifeless. The walls had been repainted at some point, as if trying to erase any trace of her mother’s existence.

But Adeline saw through it.

She saw the boxes.

A pile of them, stacked neatly against the far wall.

They didn’t even keep her mother’s room intact. Everything had been boxed up, shoved away like it didn’t matter.

Adeline’s chest felt tight.

Her mother’s whole life was inside these boxes.

She took a step closer, staring at them, trying to make sense of what she was feeling.

Had her mother left these things behind on purpose?

Maybe... maybe they weren’t important enough to take.

Maybe, when she eloped with Adeline’s father, she thought, I don’t need these.

Maybe she never came back for them because, in the end, they were just objects—not memories.

Not worth it.

Adeline clenched her fists.

She didn’t believe that.

She couldn’t believe that.

She knelt down and opened the first box.

Inside were books, old ones with cracked spines and faded ink. She ran her fingers over them, recognising a few titles from her mother’s collection. There were the same books back in her home.

Adeline’s hands shook.

She reached for another box and tore off the lid.

Jewelry. Not expensive—not the kind a noblewoman would wear. Simple pieces, things her mother must have cherished.

She swallowed hard.

One by one, she went through them all.

Old dresses, folded neatly. Letters tied together with string. A hairbrush with loose strands still caught in the bristles. They were pink... But kind of faded...

Adeline’s vision blurred.

Her mother had lived here, spent her days in this tiny space, surrounded by these few, pitiful possessions. She was not born out of her, she was not the real Adeline, but this was her mother... This was her mother!

In the last box, tucked beneath layers of fabric, she found a small, locked book.

Adeline stilled.

She knew what this was.

A diary.

Her mother’s personal thoughts, her secrets—her truth.

But it was locked.

She examined the cover, running her fingers over the fine leather. It wasn’t just locked—it was sealed.

Enchanted.

Adeline smiled bitterly.

Her mother was not stupid.

There was no way she would leave something like this unprotected—not in a house filled with people like the Richmonds.

And if Adeline had learned anything from the books she had read, diaries like these always had blood seals.

Only one person could open them.

Adeline exhaled slowly.

She was her mother’s daughter, wasn’t she?

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small dagger, the blade glinting under the dim light. Without hesitation, she made a small cut on her index finger, watching as a single drop of blood beaded on her skin.

Then, she pressed it against the lock.

She waited.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—a faint glow.

The lock clicked open.

Adeline’s breath hitched.

It had worked.

She swallowed, her hands tightening around the diary.

Her mother’s words were finally within reach.

The ink had faded slightly, but the words were still clear. Her mother’s handwriting was neat, delicate, but as she read, Adeline could sense the conflicted emotions behind each word.

Her mother had been planning to elope.

She had been pregnant at the time—already preparing to leave the Richmond estate behind forever.

"I think it’s a girl."

Adeline let out a shaky breath as she read the line.

Her mother had already chosen a name.

She believed she was going to have a daughter, and all her dreams were wrapped up in that expectation. A new life, a fresh start, a child she would protect from this wretched place.

"I just need to leave this place, that’s easy, to be with Alistair, there is no one else I’d rather be with. I want to breathe. I want to be free."

There was so much longing in those words. So much desperation.

Then, her mother admitted something that made Adeline’s fingers tighten around the pages.

"I don’t feel like a kindhearted, rational woman. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones. Maybe it’s everything I’ve been through... But I keep thinking—if I have a son, I want him to take the Richmond title and make my father and brother suffer. I want them to feel the helplessness I felt all these years."

Adeline blinked, her mother was kind-hearted, smart and straightforward... This did not seem like her. Extreme anger drove her...

It wasn’t just Adeline and Alaric who wanted revenge.

Their mother had wanted it first.

She had put those thoughts aside—because she was having a girl.

Or so she had thought.

"If it’s a girl, I will never let her meet those bastards. She will never know this house, this life. I want her to be happy. I want her to live a peaceful life.

The tears fell before Adeline could stop them.

Her mother had wanted to protect her.

But fate had different plans.

She had given birth to a boy—Alaric.