Became A Queen After divorce

The photo is ancient, the image is blurry, but the beauty of the girl’s face remains undiminished.

The girl looks very similar to her, about seventeen or eighteen years old.

Thick, medium-length hair draped behind her head, adorned with a cloth headband revealing a full and delicate forehead.

Wearing a waist-length dress that emphasizes her graceful and gentle temperament, she is dressed like a typical debutante.

The photo was probably taken overseas in the 1970s, as Pearl recognized the Alexander III Bridge in the background.

“Is this… the Alexander III Bridge? Wow, was my mom so wealthy when she was young?”

Not only did she travel abroad, she also had her own car.

Pearl was not mistaken; it was a four-wheeled sedan, a BMW by the looks of it.

“Of course, your mom comes from the Cunningham family, a century-old family from Ineburgh. Your mom’s great-grandfather was a magistrate.”

“When it came to your mom’s grandfather’s generation, the family split, and he started a business with the family’s assets. The first power plant in the area was built under his leadership.”

After a series of wars, the factory was on the brink of closing down.

After World War I, businesses across the country got a brief respite, and that decade was known as the golden period of development.

However, the Cunningham family was far-sighted; they knew this situation wouldn’t last long, so they took the opportunity to relocate the entire family to Tondende.

Pearl’s great-grandfather was fluent in eight foreign languages, including Taswyan and English, and quickly rose to prominence here.

As he predicted, the second war broke out as expected.

This time it lasted for over a decade.

“Your great-grandfather understood that without embracing Western culture, there was no way to change the poverty-stricken mindset. So, he sent your grandfather abroad to study.”

“Your grandfather was also very clever; he topped the entrance exam at Oxford University and later served as an ambassador in Fustroydor.”

After graduating, Pearl’s grandfather married a cousin from the family, who became Declan’s mother-in-law.

After marriage, they had only one daughter-Natalia Cunningham.

As the only child of the Cunningham family, Natalia was showered with love from her parents and elders right from birth.

She grew up in a luxurious and affluent family, developing a kind and innocent personality.

“At that time, I was just a wandering youth pulling a rickshaw at the dock. Your grandfather, grandmother, and aunt all perished in the war.”

“I had a brother, your uncle, who was born disabled, unable to walk.”

To support the only family member in the world, Declan did all kinds of dirty and tiring work in his youth just to earn money to take his brother to see a doctor early.

“I have a uncle? Where is he now? Why have I never heard my father mention him?” Pearl asked in astonishment.

The death of his younger brother had always been a burden on Declan’s heart.

He rarely mentioned it to others over the years, so no one knew that he had another brother.

“He’s dead.”

The answer was sorrowful.

Though many years had passed, the memory of his biological brother’s death still filled Declan’s heart with anger and longing.

“Ah? H-how did this happen? How did my uncle… how did he die?”

Pearl knew she might not have asked this question, as it would only trigger painful memories for her father.

But she was genuinely curious.

Declan had kept this to himself for too long, and today, he felt an urge to finally speak up.

Since his daughter was not a stranger, he was willing to open up to her.

“That day, I went to the dock as usual to pull the rickshaw. Just like any other morning, I placed a bowl of porridge on the table, reminding him not to run around, and then left.”

“Your uncle always listened to me; he was also introverted and didn’t like to communicate with others. Even if he was uncomfortable or in pain, he wouldn’t say.”

However, that day, he asked me, begged me to stay with him for a day, just one day.

His brother’s request was reasonable.

But for the hard-pressed Declan, time was money, time was life!

If he didn’t go out to earn money, they wouldn’t have dinner that night, and his brother’s medical expenses would remain unpaid.

Under the pressure of survival, he refused his brother’s only request, the last time.

He thought maybe his little brother was just lonely at home.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

When he earned enough money to take him to the hospital and get a prosthetic limb, he could go out and enjoy the sunshine like a normal person.

“Declan, I was just kidding. You can go about your business.”

“Since our parents died, you’ve been taking care of me all along.”

“Declan, you must have a hard time looking after me. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

Suppressing the tears in his eyes, his voice choked with emotion and passed through to Declan’s ears.

It sent a shiver down his spine.

“Silly, I am your brother… we are the only family to each other in this world. Our parents have left us, but I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know, I have always… trusted you, Declan.”

After that farewell on that morning, he felt uneasy all day working as a rickshaw puller, unable to calm his mind.

One misstep resulted in him falling, and the passenger sitting in his rickshaw fell into the sewer.

He was a respectable Chulae gentleman, who had fled here to escape his enemies.

The customer insisted that he pay a hundred dollars, or he would report him and get him jailed.

But Declan didn’t even have three dollars on him at that time.

He knelt down, bowed to him, but he was unforgiving.

In the end, the man’s henchmen broke one of Declan’s legs and left him on the rickshaw to fend for himself.

A heavy rain started, and every drop felt like the hardships of life pouring over him.

He dared not close his eyes for a moment to rest, nor did he dare to go to the hospital for treatment, as he had a little brother waiting for him at home.

“And so, with that broken leg, I left a trail of bloodstains all the way back to the grass hut.”

“When I returned home, what I saw was not your uncle, but a ruthless raging fire. He… your uncle was burned to death alive by those beasts.”

After Declan finished telling this story, Pearl’s eyes were already wet, staining her collar with tears.

“Why? Who did this? Why did they treat my uncle like this?”

“It’s all because of me… It was my fault. You must know your uncle was a kind person and never had any enmity with anyone.”

“It was because when I pulled the rickshaw at the dock, I would take customers regardless of the fare, causing a drop in others’ business, and they resented me.”

“They went after him to retaliate against me.”

And being bullied alone at home was not the first time for his younger brother; he was so absent-minded that he didn’t notice it at all.

By the time he realized the truth, it was too late.