Chapter 182: Owen Recognizes Juniper
The door was opened from inside.
Wearing an elegant, well-fitted long dress and holding an umbrella, the woman who opened the door had smiling eyes and a gentle, peaceful expression on her face.
"Since Catherine is here, why don't you come in and sit down with this young lady?"
Catherine held Juniper's hand and nodded toward Paloma.
"Ms. Harrison, this is my sister Juniper."
Paloma wasn't in good health and rarely went out.
Most of the time she stayed home to rest, and this was her first time meeting Juniper.
Her gaze fell on Juniper, meeting eyes with the graceful young woman before her.
For some reason, Paloma felt that Juniper looked somewhat familiar.
Paloma smiled, "I've heard that the Windsor family has another very accomplished daughter who became a researcher at such a young age. Truly remarkable. Please come in and sit. It's usually quite quiet at home, we rarely have visitors."
Except for Owen's birthday when things got a bit lively, the house was usually cold and empty.
Catherine pulled Juniper inside.
"Thank you for having us."
"Don't mention it, I'm delighted you don't mind visiting."
Paloma led Catherine and Juniper through the flower garden to the sitting room and invited them to sit down.
When Paloma smiled, she looked especially gentle, her eyes sparkling, with fine wrinkles at it's corners adding traces of time.
"What would you like to eat? I'll have someone bring some afternoon tea."
Juniper stared at her face, somewhat mesmerized.
She resembled Aurora a bit—both came from scholarly families, both carrying that gentle, soft aura.
Catherine looked at Paloma, "Thank you, Juniper likes strawberry cake."
"I love strawberry cake too! I'll go get some right away."
Watching Paloma's retreating figure, Juniper gripped the edges of her chair with both hands and scooted the entire chair closer to Catherine.
"Catherine, do you think she's my mother?"
"On my way here, I looked into it. The Harrison family only has one daughter."
Owen only had one son and one daughter. The son was a diplomat who spent most of his time away from Imperia City.
Catherine glanced at Juniper, "And besides, she does look a bit like you."
Actually, "a bit" was an understatement. The moment Catherine saw Paloma, she found her familiar—from her appearance to her demeanor, she was both unforgettable and strangely familiar.
Paloma and Juniper looked so much alike!
It's just that Juniper, having been raised by the Windsor family, had a much livelier personality than Paloma.
Juniper said calmly, "Without DNA testing, it's just a conclusion without data to support it. Can't be sure, let's wait and see."
Years of lab work had trained her mind to only trust data; emotions meant nothing in the face of hard evidence.
Coughing sounds and the noise of a wheelchair came from behind them. Owen, driving an electric wheelchair, quickly approached them.
Juniper looked puzzled.
Paloma, carrying the afternoon tea, scolded, "Dad! How many times have I told you not to go so fast in the house! Haven't you seen how many elderly people end up in the hospital from riding electric wheelchairs on the road?"
Owen waved his hand dismissively, "I'm too old to go joyriding outside, and besides, Catherine's here! I'm happy!"
"You know you're old, yet you still act like a child, always worrying everyone."
Owen covered his ears, acting like he didn't want to listen, and steered his wheelchair over to Catherine.
"And this is?"
His gaze fell on Juniper and suddenly froze!
Meeting Owen's shocked and disbelieving eyes, Juniper responded openly, "Hello Mr. Harrison, I'm Juniper, the adopted daughter of the Windsor family."
Paloma placed the cakes on the table while smiling and introducing her.
"Dad, don't underestimate Juniper. She's a researcher! I remember reading a paper she published. She's a very thoughtful young woman!"
Owen's eyes flickered.
An adopted child of the Windsor family? And so smart, even does experiments.
Most importantly, that face—it looked exactly like Paloma when she was young, except Juniper seemed more confident and outgoing, her short hair adding a touch of spirited charm.
"Marcus raised you? What about your biological parents—have you found them?"
Owen didn't even notice his voice was trembling. His hand clenched into a fist on his knee as he waited for Juniper's answer.
Juniper grinned, "Just found them. They said my dad is actually my direct supervisor. I'm still processing it! My mother passed away."
Owen gripped the edges of his wheelchair tightly, his voice excited, "Which lab are you in? What number lab? Is your supervisor's last name Howard?"
"How did you know? I'm with Phoenix Lab at Research Institute Number Three. My boss is Evander, though that probably won't be the case anymore."
Evander!
Owen released his grip and sat back.
"Why won't it be the case anymore?"
"I'm transferring back to a lab in Imperia City. It'll be more convenient to go home."
Owen nodded and let out a heavy sigh.
Seeing Owen's overexcited reaction, Paloma asked in surprise, "Dad, what's wrong? Do you know this Evander?"
"It's nothing. Paloma, go get the photo album from my room. I want to show them what I looked like when I was young."
Paloma said helplessly, "Every time we have guests, you want to show off. Alright, I'll go get it."
Watching her leave, Owen's gaze returned to Juniper.
"This might be a bit forward of me, but this is very important to me. Juniper, could you tell me about your life growing up?"
"Sure."
Catherine picked up her tea and took a sip, quietly staying by Juniper's side.
Juniper's voice was calm as she talked about childhood memories, though her hands kept trembling slightly. Fortunately, she was holding Catherine's hand the whole time!
Having Catherine with her felt so good!
As Juniper talked about her smooth journey through school and life, Owen nodded quietly.
When she mentioned being punished by Marcus for doing something wrong, Owen cursed Marcus in his mind; that jerk, treating a young girl like that!
So what if Juniper broke a few antique vases? They weren't even that valuable!
Hearing that her brothers all treated her well, Owen instinctively blurted out, "Our family also has two grandsons. They'd be like brothers to you too."
Meeting Juniper's puzzled look, Owen realized he'd said too much and quickly waved his hand, "Go on, I'm listening."
When Juniper mentioned Aurora and Bethany, Owen sighed softly.
"They're good parents, at least better than your original ones!"
Paloma came down holding Owen's photo album and laughed, "Dad, what are you talking about?"
"Nothing, come on, let me show you how handsome I was when I was young!"
Paloma smiled and opened the album, going through it page by page with Catherine and Juniper.
One photo showed Paloma in her youth.
This photo was different from the one in Evander's pocket watch. In it, Paloma wore a white dress and stood on a cruise ship with her hair pinned up high, making it look like she had short hair when viewed from the front.
"Looking at this photo, doesn't she look just like Juniper?"