Without waiting another second, Clara lifted the heavy train of her white lace wedding gown and hurried down the hallway toward the glass doors, with Ethan and Lily following right behind her. The bright afternoon sunlight washed over the manicured lawn and vibrant flowerbeds of the estate, casting a warm golden glow across the quiet pathways.
Standing near the ancient oak tree at the edge of the garden was an older woman dressed in an elegant silver dress, holding a velvet jewelry box in her hands. As Clara approached, the woman turned around slowly, revealing a gentle face that bore an unmistakable resemblance to Clara's late mother.
"Aunt Sarah?" Clara gasped, stopping dead in her tracks as tears filled her eyes once again. Sarah was her mother's twin sister who had disappeared from the family twenty years ago due to an old family feud, presumed by everyone to be lost forever.
"I couldn't miss your wedding day, Clara," Sarah said softly, tears glistening in her own eyes as she stepped forward. "I brought your mother's watch back to you, along with the rest of the family letters she left in my care before she passed."