At night.
There was only a small lamp in the room. Minerva sat on the bed after washing up and changing into her pajamas.
Normally, she would be asleep at this hour, but she didn't feel sleepy at all that evening.
Under the dim light, a golden button was shining faintly in her hand.
Perhaps because the night lamp was emitting a warm light, the color of the button looked warm as well.
She stared at the button in her hand, slightly lost in thought.
This button was left in her pocket by a mysterious man on that rainy night five years ago.
Thinking of this, Minerva tightened her grip around the button and her thoughts began to drift away.
In the past, she had asked Sylvia to find the whereabouts of the owner of this button. However, after checking around, the result turned out to be Benedict.
This news had almost scared Minerva to death. It even made her feel guilty in front of Maddox.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAlthough she didn't mention it, she had always been certain that Beanie was likely to be Benedict's son. Therefore, she had been avoiding Benedict like he was the plague. That was, until Beanie was born and slowly grew up.
His facial features were becoming more and more like Maddox.
The doubts that stemmed from her heart, turned into disbelief and then to shock.
It was ridiculous.
Even if Beanie was Benedict's child and he had inherited the Yardley family's genes, it was impossible for him to look exactly like Maddox.
Therefore, Minerva even suspected that the mysterious man from that night was actually Maddox.
However, Maddox kept insisting that she was pregnant with an illegitimate child when she entered the Yardley family.
After knowing this at that time, Minerva's first thought was to deny this shocking idea.
How could this be possible? If it was really him, then wouldn't it mean that her relationship with Maddox had always been fate, set up by the heavens? She could not accept it.
Coupled with Maddox's attitude towards her, as well as the words Sylvia had said to her back then, it made Minerva feel like... Her future was bleak.
Back then, if it wasn't for Beanie, she probably wouldn't be able to live on anymore.
Thinking of this, Minerva clenched the button in her hand tighter and her fair fingers turned red.
Crack...
The door was suddenly pushed open. A small figure cin and quickly took off his shoes as he climbed onto her bed.
Minerva was scared out of her wits. Subconsciously, she hid the button in her blanket to prevent the other party from seeing it. This was a secret that belonged to her alone.
It had been hidden for many years.
The little fellow cin and hugged her with his little hands and feet, muttering, "Mommy, I don't want to sleep alone. I want to sleep with you." Minerva's frightened heart gradually calmed down. Under the dim light, she said in a soft voice, "Beanie, you've already grown up. You can't sleep withanymore. You are a male and I am a female. Do you understand?" Beanie rubbed his face against her arm unhappily and replied, "No, I'm not a grown up yet. Besides, you are my mother. It doesn't matter if I am a male and you are a female." "And Mommy, I've been sleeping alone these few days. I miss you so much. Letsleep with you tonight." Minerva felt helpless. "Beanie." "You've always said that I have grown up. If that's really the case, does it mean that I can go find my daddy now?" At first, Minerva wanted to persuade him to go back to his room to sleep, but when he suddenly said this, it left her dumbfounded. Her heart began beating violently as well. Was fate changing? In the past, when she was abroad, Beanie had never asked her about his father. He had always been very cute and well-behaved.
However, after they cback, Beanie would often bring up this topic. Furthermore, she had just forbade Maddox from prying into her life earlier in the day, yet Beanie had said those words to her at that very moment.
Was it a coincidence? Minerva pinched the golden button and kept it in her palm.
"Why did you ask such a question all of a sudden?" Minerva glanced at Beanie who was in her embrace. She tried to keep her voice as gentle as possible. "You've never mentioned this when we were abroad, have you?" Beanie pouted and retorted, "In the past, you used to look very tired from earning a living. Hence, I had to be considerate and understanding. But now that I've grown up, I don't need you to look for my daddy. I can do it myself." Minerva went silent.
"Can I please, Mommy?" Beanie shook her arm and continued, "I'm very capable. I'll definitely be able to find my biological daddy!" Upon hearing this, Minerva held her breath. She finally realized that when Beanie had been persistently mentioning this matter, he was not joking with her. He really wanted to find his father.
Although she thought that it was impossible for Beanie to find Maddox at such a young age, Minerva still felt scared and immediately scolded him, "You are not allowed to do so!" Her voice was so harsh that Beanie was frightened at once.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Mommy..." "Do you understand that?" Minerva looked at Beanie and repeated.
Beanie blinked his eyes, and his eyes turned red. He said, "Mommy, but I... want to meet Daddy."
"Didn't I just say that you are not allowed to do so?" Minerva didn't expect that Beanie would start to disobey her. Instead, he even m stubbornly insisted on finding his daddy after she had said that he wasn't allowed to. All of a sudden, her tone beceven harsher.
Moreover, she began to speak without thinking, "Your biological daddy is already dead. You don't have to look for him. You won't be able to find him!" Beanie went silent.
As she blurted those words, Minerva's eyes slowly turned red as well.
The two pairs of eyes seemed to be looking at each other. Moments later, Minerva closed her eyes, sniffed and said, "Sorry, Beanie... Was I a little harsh just now?" It was fine that she had continued to raise her voice, but Minerva suddenly softened her tone. The contrast made Beanie burst into tears.
His cry pierced through Minerva's heart like a knife, making her unable O to breathe. She had just said m e something irredeemable, thus she didn't know how to explain it to Beanie. She then had no choice but to reach out and hug him. "I'm sorry, Beanie. It's all my fault... I shouldn't be mean." As she spoke, Minerva started to shed tears. Like a broken pearl necklace, her pearl-like tears dripped onto Beanie's neck.
Beanie was frightened by such tears. He was still crying, but it seemed to be the first tthat he had seen Minerva crying like this in front of him.
Her tears couldn't stop falling at all. It kept gushing nonstop out of her eyes.
"I'm sorry... Beanie. I'm sorry." Minerva kept apologizing. It was as if she had been bewitched to repeat the ssentence again and again.
Looking at Minerva behaving in this way, Beanie suddenly felt that he had been acting unreasonably.
He reached out his little hands and wrapped them around Minerva's neck. He pressed his fage against Minerva's sweetly and said, "Mommy, don't cry anymore. In the future, I... won't mention looking for Daddy anymore." Minerva could no longer hold back her tears. Tears burst out of her eyes as she hugged Beanie in her arms.
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