Chapter 229 Between Mother and Daughter
In the evening, Freya met Elizabeth at a Western restaurant.
The restaurant had soft lighting and an elegant atmosphere, adding a touch of warmth to the setting.
Elizabeth came straight from work in her sharp business suit, looking like a real career woman.
Freya, as always, was elegant and poised.
Just from their clothing styles, you could tell the mother and daughter had quite opposite personalities.
Freya looked at Elizabeth with a gentle smile on her face. Thinking about Wendy that Emma had mentioned today, Freya felt a bit conflicted inside.
"Elizabeth, is managing the Sherman Group tiring?" Freya asked with a smile.
Freya sat down across from Elizabeth. Not really knowing where to start the conversation, she picked a relatively light topic.
Elizabeth played along, answering with a smile, "The company has some new projects moving forward recently, so it's been a bit busy, but it's okay."
Freya nodded, her eyes showing some concern. "It's good to be busy with work, but you also need to take care of yourself and not overwork."
Elizabeth nodded and replied, "Thank you."
The conversation felt awkward.
Neither of them could really open up.
They ordered their food.
Freya took out the gift she had bought today and gave it to Elizabeth. "I bought this necklace today. I think it would suit you well. I hope you like it."
Elizabeth accepted the gift and thanked her. "Thank you."
Freya still hadn't heard Elizabeth call her "mom," which left Freya feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Elizabeth, because of Emma's situation before, there were some misunderstandings and conflicts between us," Freya said after a moment of silence. "Tonight, I want to apologize to you. Emma once saved my life, and we recognized her as our goddaughter, so naturally, I protected her back then."
Elizabeth smiled slightly at these words.
"I understand how you feel," Elizabeth replied calmly. "Let's let the past be the past. We're family now."
As long as you don't favor Emma in the future, Elizabeth silently added to herself.
A flash of relief crossed Freya's eyes. "Your father wanted to come tonight too, but I stopped him. I wanted to have dinner with you alone."
Elizabeth smiled.
Their food arrived, and they occasionally talked about what they were eating.
It was fairly relaxed.
"Mom, thank you for the gift."
Elizabeth finally spoke up. She knew that if she didn't take the first step, this sense of distance would always exist between them. To avoid making everyone uncomfortable, she couldn't keep refusing to call Freya "mom."
Freya happily responded.
After dinner, Elizabeth saw Freya to her car first, then got into her own car to go home.
A meal together as mother and daughter was actually more exhausting than a business meeting.
When Elizabeth got home and had just sat down on the sofa, she saw Seraphina carefully bringing her a glass of water.
"Our Seraphina is so wonderful!" Elizabeth praised with a smile.
Seraphina looked at her shyly, continuing to blink her eyes.
Elizabeth looked at Timothy questioningly—what's going on with Seraphina?
A hint of amusement flashed in Timothy's deep eyes. He gestured toward his phone. Elizabeth took out her phone and read the message Timothy had sent: [Seraphina did a good deed today and got a little red flower]
Elizabeth immediately understood. She picked up Seraphina and asked with a smile, "Seraphina, how was school today?"
Seraphina hugged Elizabeth's neck and said happily, "Mommy, the teacher praised me today and gave me a little red flower!"
Elizabeth kissed Seraphina's cheek. "Seraphina is amazing! Why did the teacher praise you?"
Seraphina lifted her little face proudly and shared excitedly, "There's a girl in our class who cries a lot. Today I did a magic trick for her and made her laugh. The teacher was very happy."
Children's worlds are so simple.
"So our Seraphina can do magic tricks!" Elizabeth said with surprise. "I want to see Seraphina do magic too."
Hearing Elizabeth's praise, Seraphina nodded shyly. "Daddy taught me the rubber band trick."
It was just a rubber band working with fingers.
Seraphina dug around in her pocket and pulled out a rubber band, performing the trick for Elizabeth.
"Seraphina is so talented!" Elizabeth clapped in praise, her eyes full of smiles.
Seraphina smiled with her eyes crinkling. "Mommy, you worked hard today. Go rest, okay?"
"Okay, I promise to be good!" Elizabeth said seriously.
Timothy took Seraphina to bathe. Elizabeth rested on the sofa for a while, then went upstairs to shower.
Elizabeth hadn't done a face mask in a long time, so she put one on tonight.
After Timothy got Seraphina to sleep, he returned to the bedroom to see Elizabeth looking at him with her face covered in a black mask.
"Is she asleep?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, she was probably too tired today. She fell asleep not long after lying down," Timothy asked softly. "How did things go with Freya today?"
"Okay, we'll take it slow."
Elizabeth shrugged helplessly.
With the face mask on, it wasn't convenient to talk much anyway.
Timothy nodded. He got up to get a book, then came back to sit beside Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was curious what book he was reading and reached over to look at the cover. It was actually a book called "How Parents Communicate with Children."
"You're reading this?" Elizabeth was somewhat surprised.
Timothy raised an eyebrow. "Surprised?"
He reached out and squeezed Elizabeth's soft hand. "I'm working hard at being a dad. Also, I sent Wendy away tonight."
The next morning.
Freya was choosing clothes, getting ready to go out to the hospital.
Russell walked into the dressing room. "Freya, do you want to help Elizabeth prepare her gown?"
Freya smiled. "I'll send Elizabeth a message and ask. She probably prefers to choose her own gown."
Russell nodded. "That's true. Where are you going so early?"
"I want to go out and buy some things," Freya selected a dress and turned to look at Russell. "Honey, you've worked hard these past few days. Our family hasn't held a banquet in so many years, and you've had to handle so many things."
Russell didn't want Freya to be too tired, so he had handled almost everything for this banquet himself.
"I'm happy to do it. After all, you're my wife and Elizabeth is my daughter," Russell said seriously.
In front of others, he was basically that kind of serious, steady person. Only in front of Freya would his attitude soften.
Freya smiled. She changed clothes, picked up her bag, and prepared to leave. "Honey, I'm going."
"Okay." Russell also had other things to take care of.
Freya got in the car and sent Elizabeth a message: [Elizabeth, I wanted to ask you, should I help you prepare your gown for the banquet, or will you prepare it yourself?]
After sending the message, Freya leaned back in her seat. Thinking about the small bag of hair in her purse, she held the bag with her fingers and let out a soft sigh.
Elizabeth was busy in her office when her phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw Freya's message.
Elizabeth replied: [Mom, thank you for your concern. I can prepare my own gown]
Freya quickly replied: [Okay]
About half an hour later, the car arrived at the hospital.
Freya got out and walked into the hospital.
Freya had chosen expedited processing for the paternity test results, so she could get the report this afternoon.