Chapter 50 - Mommy, Im Sorry!
Chapter 50: Mommy, I’m Sorry!
Nora was as pale as a sheet.
She thought back to the day five years ago when she went into early labor…
She could remember very clearly that she was in a private clinic at that time. The white walls were peeling and it was very dim in the delivery room. There were only a doctor and a nurse, and they looked very unprofessional.
She laid on the cold delivery bed without even a shred of dignity.
She didn’t remember the pain of labor anymore. All she remembered was the restless little hand that peeked out of the blanket wrapped around her son when her father took him away.
It was so small… as though just the size of her finger.
She had wanted to get up and take her child back, but her belly started to act up again.
The amniotic fluid in her water bag was almost gone. If she halted the labor process, then the child who was still in her belly would suffocate to death…
Nora felt as if all the air in her chest had been sucked away and she couldn’t breathe.
She had chosen her daughter over her son!
Over the years, she had made countless phone calls to Henry and pleaded with him many times. However, he had never relented and told her anything. To be honest, she had vaguely already guessed as much deep down in her heart that…
Perhaps her son was already dead.
Otherwise, why would he still refuse to reveal the boy’s whereabouts after the Grays had agreed to annul the engagement? This was also the reason why she hadn’t immediately used a listening device on Henry when she returned to the States.
She was afraid of hearing a result that she didn’t want to hear.
She had ultimately still held a glimmer of hope.
She also knew very well that the reason why Cherry, a vain and pretentious little princess, had suddenly bought a lot of boys’ clothing and sometimes pretended to be a boy was actually to cheer her up and take away a bit of her pain when she missed her son.
She looked at her tearful daughter in front of her. When she heard what Pete said, she forced a smile and choked up as she said, “You don’t have to comfort me, Cherry…”
Pete was badly frightened. The boy, who had been quiet and calm since he was a baby, was crying so badly that his face was covered in tears.
Mommy was as pale as a sheet, and her usually calm eyes were filled with despair and emptiness. Tears were rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably and her smile looked so tragic. She seemed as if she was going to collapse and pass out the next moment…
He panicked, utterly so.
He grabbed Nora’s hand and shouted, “Mommy, I’m not lying! I’m Pete! I’m Peter Hunt, not Cherry! I’m not Cheryl Smith!”
“Mommy, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have kept it a secret from you!”
“Mommy, look at me! I’m Pete!”
“I was wrong. I won’t do it anymore… Sob…”
His shouts made Nora’s eyes gradually regain focus and her rationality gradually returned to her. She looked at Pete. “What… did you say?”
She found his claims incredulous, yet Cherry’s various eccentricities during the recent period of time started to surface in her mind.
For example, Cherry had suddenly stopped playing games and started to read.
For example, Cherry would occasionally speak a lot less and become a lot quieter.
And, for example, when Cherry spoke fluent Arabic downstairs just now…
Everything in front of her became vague and surreal, and for a moment, Nora couldn’t tell whether this was a dream or reality…
With her eyes filled with confusion, she asked, “Really?”
“Mommy, it’s true.” Pete put his arms around her waist. With his little face raised, he said, “My younger sister and I look exactly the same, but I grew up in New York. My name is Peter Hunt and my father is Justin Hunt!”
Nora stared at him. “Where’s Cherry, then?”
Seeing that she didn’t seem to believe him, Pete, who was afraid that his mother would return to that state earlier, gritted his teeth and said, “Mommy, come with me!”
He held Nora’s hand with his own little hand and the two of them went downstairs.
Downstairs, Sheena was still ranting, “She may be a child, but she sure talks big! Eight languages? She probably just learned a phrase so that she could brag to others, right? And, how dare she look down on Lena’s second-place victory? Hah, why doesn’t she try showing us a third-place victory, then?!”
“… That’s enough!” The elderly Mrs. Anderson slammed the white cane she was holding against the floor. “She’s your sister’s one and only daughter! She’s already quite the poor thing—”
At once, Sheena suddenly screamed, “Uh-huh, she’s quite the poor thing, and so is my sister. But what about me?! If she hadn’t run away from home and ended up being rumored to have eloped, would the Andersons’ reputation have been this terrible?! Neither would my ex-fiancé have broken off our engagement! How much ridicule did we endure because of her back then?!”
Melissa heaved a deep sigh. To be honest, everyone loved Nora’s mother deeply; that was why they were so upset with her. Sheena had been so proud of her sister back then…
She was about to console Sheena when she heard someone coming down the stairs.
She turned to see Nora and Cherry coming down.
She asked, “It’s late, Nora. Where are the two of you going?”
Pete was very anxious, so he didn’t answer.
Nora was as though a soulless puppet at the moment, so she didn’t answer, either.
The two left the living room.
A look of confusion came over Melissa’s countenance. Mrs. Anderson, who couldn’t see, asked anxiously, “What’s the matter? Did Nora leave? Was it because of Sheena? Sheena, get Nora back here! If she leaves, then you can forget about ever coming back here to see me!”
Sheena was also dumbfounded. Her sharp and fierce expression cracked, but she nevertheless curled her lip and scoffed, “She can leave if she wants to. I’d instead show more admiration for her if she doesn’t rely on the Andersons!”
Melissa panicked. She said, “Sheena, Nora has never once said that she intends to rely on us. She’s a doctor! She can support herself! If you don’t like her, then you can come back less often in the future!”
She went after Nora after saying that.
Unfortunately, the moment she went out, Nora had already started the car and disappeared from the porch in the blink of an eye.
In the car.
Little Pete sat in the passenger seat. With his seat belt buckled, he pointed the way with the help of his cell phone. “Turn right… Turn left at the third intersection…”
He knew Mommy was scared and needed to see that there were two children before she could feel at ease.
He couldn’t continue to hide it anymore.
Nora stayed silent and drove seriously.
Half an hour later, the car arrived at a villa complex.
Security at the gates was brisk and they refused to let them in, but the moment the guard saw Pete, he immediately greeted him respectfully. “Welcome back, Mr. Hunt.”
‘Mr. Hunt’…
Nora, who had a stern look on her face, stared intently ahead of her.
She had already calmed down on the way here. She also believed most of what Pete said, but the fear and panic of losing her son led to her having to see both children in front of her with her own two eyes before she could feel at ease.
The guards gave them clearance and she drove into the villa complex.
“Mommy, go to Villa No. 8.”
Nora obediently stopped the car at Villa No. 8’s entrance. She staggered out of the car and knocked on the door.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. A few seconds later, someone opened the door. Cherry’s adorable little head popped out and she asked cutely, “Who… Mommy?!”
Justin’s voice followed closely after. “Who’s at the door, Pete?”