I pinched the palm of my hand, tears flowing even more fiercely now.
Watching her shower Summer with such affection before, my heart was filled with envy. I wished that someday I too would find my birth mother, hoping she would lovejust as Bella loved Summer.
And now...
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBella is actually my birth mother! It felt like fate played a colossal joke on me, blessingwith a splendid origin only to cursewith a dreadful first half of life.
No wonder I enjoyed being around Bella so much. Designing dresses for her always sparked my creativity like nothing else.
It was a mother-daughter connection...
As my thoughts slowly untangled, I couldn't believe what I was about to say: "My locket went missing two years ago, but you announced you had a daughter last year. Could it be... Summer was the one with my locket..." -Recognized kin! "Pretty much." Bella looked atwith compassion, gently brushing the hair stuck together by tear stains behind my ear, "However, there was always a doubt. After she appeared, I had DNA tests done, more than one actually." "The DNA tests didn't show any problems?" Bella shook her head, "No, there weren't any." "This..." This felt eerily familiar! Sniffling, I shared my thoughts, "When she was first arranged by the Myers to impersonatetwo years ago, the initial DNA tests didn't show any problems either.” "Later, it was Gregory, my current boyfriend, who made thorough arrangements that uncovered the truth." Hearing this, Bella's gaze hardened, a cold light flickering through, "It seems she's still as ruthless as ever!" "Who?" "Pearl." Wiping the tears from her face, Bella said guiltily, “Back then, she and I were pregnant around the stime, but she had a premature birth, so we ended up delivering on the sday." "I was all alone back then, just wanting to quickly leave the hospital with you, to get away from the Taylor and the Myers families." "Little did I know, her child was stillborn. To marry into the Myers smoothly, she bribed the nurse to switch our babies..." The Pearl she spoke of was Susan.
Thinking back to Pearl's seemingly kind face towardsas a child sent shivers down my spine, "Then... what about you at that time..." "In the dead of night, a nurse suddenly started crying out with my baby in her arms, and then the baby was whisked away for emergency treatment." "By the tthe baby was handed back to me, the locket was gone." Bella continued, taking a deep breath, "It's my fault, I was too trusting. When I asked the nurse, she said it was lost in the chaos, and I believed her." My mind unraveled half of its questions.
But there was another half I had to ask, "What... what's your relationship with Pearl?" I could feel Pearl's hatred towards me.
If she could, she probably wouldn't hesitate to kill me.
"She's my cousin. Initially, it was supposed to bemarrying into the Myers family." Bella smiled bitterly, yet there was a hint of relief in her eyes, "But Victor cheated before the wedding, got together with her, and she flaunted her pregnancy test in front of me, askingto leave." "And you..." I couldn't help but chuckle, "Must have agreed quite happily." That's just like her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Indeed." Bella exhaled slowly, "But I couldn't swallow my pride. I wanted to make the affair public, but the Taylor family wouldn't allow it. They insisted on protecting Pearl no matter what." "No wonder..." It clicked for me, “Even though you're from Vista Town's Taylor family, nobody could ever trace your family background." -They had a falling out.
It made sense; her own family was protecting the person who ruined her relationship.
Bella was about to say something when suddenly, the door was knocked on, followed by a soft and squishy voice, "Jane, I'm coming in!" With the sound, the fingerprint lock clicked open.
The door swung open, and a little toddler with short legs happily ran in.
Noticing an extra person in the living O room, he blinked his bigeyes and cheerily called out to Bella, "Pretty lady!" Bella, seemingly aware of his identity, didn't let her dislike for the Taylor family affect her interaction with the child, softly asking, "You must be Ike Taylor, right?" "Yes!" Just as Ike nodded, Edith
walked in her high heels clicking on the floor as she changed shoes at the entrance, "Jane you wouldn't believe how fast this little guy runs despite his short legs..."
a Edith stopped midsentence upon seeing the additional person in the living room. She took a few steps О closer, her eyes widening in shock, "You... You're Bella?” Bella examined her, "Yes, I am." "... ..." Edith, unusually flustered, quickly grabbed the toddler, "Ike, say hello."