Winterbourne Village was a stone’s throw away from Howard County. They located the family which Mindy had specified for them to look for upon reaching their destination. A middle-aged woman opened the door for them. What set her apart from any other woman of her age were the burn scars that peppered her entire face. She seemed rather frightened by their presence.“Who are you looking for?” The woman was visibly stunned by Gerald and his friends’ unannounced arrival.She lowered her head to hide her scars, perhaps due to embarrassment or perhaps out of fear of scaring the strangers. “Ma’am, it’s nice to meet you. May I know if you're Xenia's cousin? She said that she asked you to keep something special for her. We’re here to retrieve it. She told us that you’ll understand it after reading this letter.” Jasmine walked over and said while handing her a letter.The woman looked at the letter. She then stole a couple of glances at Jasmine before nodding in response.“Very we
Gerald was hunched over inside the cramped passageway. He glanced at Stella’s face.He then listened to the noise outside. Clearly, those people weren’t going to give up their search soon. They were turning over every stone in their search for their targets. Jasmine was so anxious that her forehead was filled with beads of cold sweat.There was no way of escaping this if they let things continue without taking action.Gerald was at the back of the group, and Stella was just beside Gerald. At that moment, Gerald produced an exquisite but compact instrument from his pocket. Stella was surprised when she saw that instrument. She could tell that it was something extraordinary, something which you couldn’t get on the regular consumer market.Gerald then gestured to her to remain silent.After that, he pressed a button on the device, which most likely produced a distress signal. “This…what’s this? Is this thing gonna save our lives?” Stella asked with her eyes widened.Gerald
“Me?” Gerald pointed at himself. “I saw how witty you are, young man! Can you help me with something?” The woman put away her emotions in time. “Sure, ma’am. I’m sure Gerald can stay behind and help you out!” Mindy said. She treated Gerald as if he was actually her servant!There was no way out of this either. Gerald couldn’t possibly turn down the woman’s request, so he promised to help her out reluctantly. After they left, the woman grabbed both of Gerald’s hands all of a sudden. Her sudden action surprised Gerald. “Ma’am, what’s wrong?” Gerald asked immediately. “Young man, I don’t know who you are, but I can see that you have a kind soul. Can you tell me where you got this jade pendant?” She then held up the jade pendant which she picked up from the floor. No doubt, that was the jade pendant that Queta gave her with the name of Madeline engraved on it. Gerald was slightly frightened by how emotional the woman had become. But he still replied, “This b
And now, the woman who looked exactly like Queta appeared before him. What confirmed his suspicion was the sight of how agitated she was when she saw the jade pendant. What else could explain her bizarre reaction? “Are you saying that her name is Queta? Does she really look exactly like me?” The woman said excitedly. “That’s right. She gave me this jade pendant. She yearns to find her own mother, from whom she has separated years ago. She’d always been alone since then. Her life is filled with suffering, with neither good meals nor proper clothes. She grew up in an orphanage for crying out loud!” Gerald said. The woman burst into tears again. As she was crying, she plopped down on a chair feebly. “Are you finally ready to admit it? You’re Xara, aren’t you?” Gerald asked. And that woman covered her face with her palms as she nodded. “I am!” After that, she stood up immediately. She grabbed Gerald’s arms. “I’m begging you. Please let me meet Queta. I don’t care whos
Gerald gave her his word instantly.He knew that the Fenderson family was still out looking for Xara. He of course, was no fool and did not wish to create unnecessary trouble for himself. But, at the same time, Gerald was pretty curious about what happened between Xara and her own family all those years ago.He wanted to know in what way he was related to Queta. Realizing that Gerald was asking her about it, Xara became quite frank, and she started spilling out the truth without holding back. Turns out it’s something along the lines of this.Peter Crawford, who Xara mentioned, was the second young master from the Crawford family back then. He was young and handsome. He was also Queta’s father. ‘Through logical deduction, the man named Peter should be my uncle who my dad talked about when I was young.’‘Back then, he’d always tell me that my uncle was working out of town, so he rarely visited home.’‘No wonder there was a sense of familiarity when I met Queta for the first
Something inside Gerald told him that this was still not the time to reveal his identity as the young master of the Crawford family.“That’s right. If only that was the case, then Dylan would not have attacked the Fenderson family in such a crazy manner!” Xara said. Dylan was the name of Gerald’s father. Gerald’s heart skipped a beat when he heard her mention his father’s name. He said nothing and listened to Xara quietly. “It was because something else happened after that incident…”“After that, the master of the Crawford family—Dylan put Peter under house arrest. But Peter was worried sick about me and my daughter. So, one night, he said that he wanted to elope with me. Queta was already born at that time and we were supposed to lay low at someplace where no one could find us and where we would lead a proper life!” Xara said...It was the night when Xara brought her maid—Xenia to go and find a hotel room in a hurry. Although she had nothing to do with the Fenderson
“Wait a moment!” Suddenly, Xara said. “Gerald, I’m so repulsive now. Do you think that I’ll frighten Queta if I go there unannounced to meet her? Besides, I’ve never been by her side after so many years. I’ve even abandoned her. Will she hate me? Will she hate seeing such an extremely ugly mother?” Xara’s fear was evident in her voice. “She’ll definitely refuse to recognize me as her mother since I’m such a cruel and ugly woman!“Besides, it’s way too sudden. Will Queta be able to accept it?” Xara touched her face as she spoke. Gerald scratched his head. “If I tell Queta that you’re her mother, she’ll definitely be very excited. I guess you just don’t know her that well but, she’s a very kind young lady!” “That won’t do. Gerald, how about this? Just make some arrangements for me to go and be a nanny for Queta. I know that there’s a chance that she’ll despise me as her nanny, but I just want to do something for Queta! I’m willing to do anything for her! Anything!” Xar
That was Queta’s diary. All these years, she had always had the habit of keeping a diary.Xara flipped over the first page, and it was from the time before Queta met Gerald. “I became a kindergarten teacher today. I’m quite satisfied since I get to see the children being happy and cheerful every day. I’ve never had a mother since I was young after all. Maybe I won’t feel so lonely by being with this group of overjoyed, bubbly kids.” “Today, I overheard a colleague talking about me behind my back. That teacher said that I grew up in an orphanage and that I was abandoned by my parents when I was young. I pretended as if I didn’t hear it, but I was so sad and upset. I hope I can meet my parents one day, so I can ask them why they abandoned me. Why couldn’t they give me a beautiful and happy childhood? Why?” “…”“I work in a restaurant now. I made some mistakes, so I was scolded by my superior. A rich young man helped me. For some reason, I knew that he had a kind soul the moment