Chapter 94 Unexpected Incident with Molly
Becky couldn't hold back anymore and cried, "It's true! That's exactly what she said to me. I'm not lying, Ms. Bourbon. Please believe me—I don't know why she ran away or where she went..."
Arabella turned to look at Philip and Ella. All three were shocked into silence.
Just then, some children started shouting excitedly, "Molly's back! Molly's back!"
Arabella let go of Becky and looked back.
Molly walked in from outside the orphanage, initially bouncing along looking cheerful. But when she saw Arabella, Philip, and Ella standing together with Becky nearby, fear flashed across her face and she froze in place.
Ella walked over and studied her for a moment before asking, "Molly, where did you go? We were all worried about you. And... what did you mean by suddenly refusing adoption on the consent form?"
Hearing Ella's words, Molly flinched and avoided eye contact. "I... I didn't... it wasn't me. I didn't want to."
Arabella looked her over carefully. The old Molly had always worn faded, worn-out clothes—not just her, but all the orphanage children dressed that way. Their clothes were usually donated by society, worn for a long time until they were faded and threadbare before being reluctantly discarded.
But now, she wore a cream-colored cardigan with a peter pan collar over a pale yellow sundress, and her feet were no longer in ill-fitting old shoes but in new sneakers from a sports brand.
Her hair was neatly braided into two adorable pigtails, a stark contrast to the simple ponytails of the other orphanage children.
Except for the anxious expression on her young face and traces of the old Molly, Arabella truly couldn't recognize her.
She exchanged a worried glance with Philip, both understanding what the other was thinking.
Molly had undergone some inexplicable changes.
Ella caught something off in Molly's words and pressed further. "What do you mean you 'didn't want to'? Did someone force you to refuse the adoption? What exactly is going on?"
Molly hesitated, saying nothing.
Ella sighed, crouched down, and looked at her seriously. "Molly, you're still young. You don't understand what refusing adoption means. This affects your entire future. There's a world of difference between a child who grows up in an orphanage and one who grows up in the city. Tell me, what's really going on?
Arabella genuinely wants to adopt you. She's waited so long for you. If you have some difficulty you can't speak about, tell us. As long as the paperwork hasn't been submitted yet, you can apologize to her and everything will be fine."
Molly bit her lip, glanced evasively at Arabella, then quickly lowered her eyes. She seemed frightened, her voice trembling. "I... I don't really know what's going on either. Someone came to find me and told me to refuse Ms. Bourbon's adoption, or else... or else they'd hurt Ms. Bourbon. I didn't want to... I was afraid Ms. Bourbon would get hurt..."
She cried, her small shoulders trembling as if bearing tremendous grievance.
Ella's heart immediately ached hearing this, and she said angrily, "Who could be so evil? How heartless!"
While Ella was emotionally overwhelmed, Philip and Arabella still felt something was off. Philip asked Molly, "How did you get those new clothes?"
Molly froze, then cried even harder. "That person bought them for me. I didn't want them at first, but that person said if I didn't take them, she wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to..."
Arabella looked at her. "Was that person male or female?"
Molly paused. "Male."
Arabella asked again, "Then what about you telling Becky you were going to the big city to become a rich young lady?"
Molly shot an annoyed glance at Becky. 'Why did she tell them even that? How stupid!'
But it was only for an instant before she burst into tears again, saying pitifully, "Ms. Bourbon, why do you keep questioning me like this? Don't you believe me at all? Are you... are you actually not wanting to adopt me anymore?"
Arabella opened her mouth, struggling to answer.
This wasn't about whether she believed Molly or not. She just felt there were many suspicious points that needed clarification for everyone's sake.
But with Molly saying this and crying so pitifully, thinking of how young she was to experience such things, Arabella's heart softened. She sighed, "Alright, stop crying. I won't ask anymore."
Molly sobbed in Ella's arms while Ella patted her back, softly comforting her. "There, there. I have another consent form here. You can just fill out a new one. You don't need to worry about adult matters—trust Arabella."
Molly nodded through her tears.
Next came re-signing those documents. After finishing, Ella told Arabella, "I'll submit these papers now. If everything goes smoothly, you can come pick up Molly tomorrow."
Arabella breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Good, thank you."
She turned to look at Molly, gently touching her head in comfort. "Don't worry, I will definitely come for you. I've already prepared your room. Don't mind that person's threats—no one can just hurt me randomly. They were just trying to scare you."
Molly nodded obediently, and Arabella left with Philip.
Molly watched their car gradually disappear, a flash of resentment against fate crossing her eyes. She bit her lip, lowered her gaze, and hid all her emotions away.
'Sorry, Arabella. I lied.'
'Arabella, who told you to get divorced? After divorce, you have nothing—what resources can you give me?'
She'd long been sick of life's hardships. She was so pretty and so smart—she deserved the most dazzling life. She craved standing at the top, enjoying the most beautiful praise.
But Arabella, having left the wealthy family, couldn't give her these things anymore.
So when that young lady found her and said she could make her a wealthy family's daughter, her heart immediately raced.
She'd already agreed to that lady during her last illness when she went to town for IV treatment. The lady promised to adopt her and told her to refuse Arabella's adoption. She'd nodded without hesitation.
She couldn't help showing off in front of Becky—she was used to putting Becky down. But she never expected Becky would dare tell Ella and Arabella those things.
She never expected Arabella and Ella would question her either.
She didn't dare take responsibility or face their reproach, so she denied everything.
They'd probably learn the truth tomorrow, right? But it didn't matter—she'd be taken away tomorrow too.
She'd be a noble, elegant young lady in the future, never worrying about food or clothing for life, living in luxury with the very best of everything.
Molly clenched her fists, determination flashing across her face. Her choice wasn't wrong—who wouldn't want to choose a better life?
'Arabella, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being incompetent, getting kicked out of the Watson family with nothing. How could someone with nothing like you be worthy of adopting a noble soul like me?'
Meanwhile, Arabella and Philip were also troubled on their way back.
Philip drove while glancing at Arabella, asking somewhat suspiciously, "Arabella, don't you feel like Molly is different from before? When she was talking to Ms. Ramsey earlier, she held her head high like a proud little princess."
Arabella shook her head. "I was looking at her clothes then and didn't notice her expression."
Philip frowned. "The clothes were very suspicious too. That brand she was wearing is a luxury label's latest design. I just went shopping with my cousin a few days ago—one piece costs over ten thousand dollars, obviously not something ordinary people can afford."
Arabella nodded. She'd also noticed that prominent logo.
After a moment of silence, Philip asked, "Should we wait a bit longer? We don't know what secrets Molly is hiding. She's concealing things from us and won't say. I'm afraid something might go wrong."
Arabella hesitated, then still shook her head. "This is the first time in three years a child from the orphanage has been adopted. Ms. Ramsey hopes this will open doors for more children to be adopted by society. She's worked so hard for this—if I withdraw the adoption now, I couldn't face Ms. Ramsey."
Also, what if they'd misunderstood Molly? What if Molly really was worried about her getting hurt and that's why she acted so strangely? Withdrawing the adoption would hurt Molly too.
Philip understood this was a difficult choice. After a pause, he said, "Anyway, we can pick her up tomorrow—just one day. Nothing major should happen. Once we bring the child home, we can slowly figure things out."
Arabella nodded. That's what she thought too.
Philip dropped her off at home and left. As soon as Arabella walked in, Alexander got up from the sofa and looked at her. "Did everything go smoothly?"
Arabella smiled, not mentioning the issues with Molly, and simply said, "Smoothly. The orphanage director said I can pick up the child tomorrow."
Alexander's eyes also lit up with a smile as he nodded. "Then you can finally relax."
Arabella poured herself a glass of water and took a few sips before saying, "Yes, I can finally relax."
It didn't matter that she couldn't have biological children—she'd have her own child. She'd do everything possible to give Molly the very best and raise her well.
When Molly got married in the future, she'd buy her a house and car too. Having experienced the humiliation of entering a wealthy family with nothing and leaving with nothing, she wouldn't let Molly become a homeless child again.
She checked the room's arrangement once more, and after confirming everything was perfect, prepared to cook dinner.
Seeing her come out, Alexander smoothly got up and asked, "What would you like for dinner? Grandma sent some seafood today, saying you should have something nutritious. Want to try it?"
Arabella's heart melted with emotion. "Grandma is so good to me."
She rolled up her sleeves to go to the kitchen and process the ingredients when her phone suddenly rang. She looked and saw it was Marilyn calling.
Marilyn only called her about matters concerning her father. Arabella quickly answered, "Hello, Marilyn. Is something wrong?"
Marilyn's voice was cheerful. "Arabella, come home for dinner tonight!"
Arabella was stunned. This was too strange—Marilyn was so annoyed by her that she wished she'd stay far away, so how could she be actively inviting her home for dinner?
She asked, "Is there some good news?"
Marilyn said happily, "I knew you were smart! Good news, great news! Daniel passed all his subjects in this mock exam. You know how he used to only score two or three points—this is such huge progress!"
Arabella was surprised. "That really is significant progress."
After a pause, she added, "But I have something tonight, so I won't come back. I'll give Daniel a gift later—you guys celebrate."
She and Marilyn had always had a tense relationship. Even for good news, it was better for her to stay away.
But Marilyn disagreed. "You child, when I tell you to come home, just come home! I already told your father—tonight I'm cooking personally. I've already bought the groceries. Don't give me that attitude—we're family, no need to be formal!"
Arabella frowned. Marilyn's tone was way too intimate—they didn't have the kind of relationship where they could talk so casually.
Could it really be that Daniel's good grades had transformed Marilyn's personality?
But it was just going to her own home, not a dragon's den. She couldn't be afraid to go. With Marilyn putting it this way, refusing again would seem unreasonable.
She said, "Alright, I'll come over in a bit."
After hanging up, she told Alexander, "Sorry, I need to go home tonight. I can't have seafood with you."
Alexander smiled understandingly. "No problem. We can't finish all this seafood anyway—take a couple boxes back for your father to try."
Knowing about Arabella's difficult relationship with Marilyn, he only mentioned Percy.
Arabella couldn't refuse and had to accept.
Alexander went to get his car keys. "Let's go."
Arabella didn't understand. "What?"
Alexander looked at her matter-of-factly. "I'm driving you home."
Arabella felt embarrassed. "No need, I can..."
Before she could finish, Alexander smiled and said, "Take the bus back by yourself? In this heat, by the time you get there, the ice will have melted. Come on, why be polite with me? I just bought this car—I need the practice!"
Now Arabella couldn't refuse and thanked him.
Alexander drove her to the building downstairs. Arabella got out and turned to say goodbye. "Thank you for driving me. I'm heading up now."
Alexander nodded with a smile. After Arabella went upstairs, he rolled up his windows.
As soon as Arabella entered the apartment, she felt something was off.
Several high-end gift boxes sat in the entryway, and there was a pair of men's dress shoes on the floor.
The household only had her father and Daniel as males. Her father didn't like wearing dress shoes, and besides, he couldn't walk so he wouldn't need to change shoes.
Daniel was even less likely—he only pursued the latest sneaker styles.
Marilyn's enthusiastic voice came from the living room: "Have some tea. This tea was brought back by Arabella before—it's very good. Try it."
Then came a man's voice: "Thank you, Mrs. Bourbon."
The voice was pleasant, like morning bells—clear and melodious.
Had Marilyn found a new boyfriend? Did she call her back today to make things clear?
But given Marilyn's personality, if she'd really found a new boyfriend, how could she be so polite and bring the man home to give her father an explanation?
Arabella walked in with a head full of questions.
She saw Percy sitting on one side of the living room sofa, with a well-dressed middle-aged man on the other side. He had a steady appearance—his features weren't exactly handsome, but they were distinguished.
Arabella was puzzled. No matter how she looked at it, he didn't seem like a match for Marilyn.
Marilyn was attentively pouring water for the man. When Arabella came over, everyone in the living room immediately looked her way.
Marilyn set down the teapot and was about to pull Arabella over when Percy suddenly spoke with a stern expression: "Arabella, wheel me to the bedroom. I need to get something."