Chapter 201 Could She Be an Illegitimate Daughter?
Grace followed the administrator to the director's office to complete the paperwork. After filling out various tedious forms and documents, the director finally relented and agreed to let her take Lily home for a temporary stay.
When Grace returned to the dormitory, Lily was awake. Thinking Grace had quietly left while she slept, her eyes were red with tears. Seeing Grace return, her face lit up with surprise.
"Lily, would you like to come home with me for a while? Are you willing to come with me?" Grace asked gently.
Lily nodded eagerly. "Yes."
That evening, Grace quickly packed Lily's few belongings and brought her home.
At Hayes Manor, the household staff had just finished preparing dinner when Grace arrived with Lily. Seeing her with a disheveled child, one of the housekeepers paused, asking, "Ms. Foster, where did this child come from?"
"This child..." Grace hesitated, unsure how to explain.
Lily cowered behind Grace, too frightened to show herself.
"It's okay, Lily. Tonight, I'm bringing you home," Grace said softly.
Grace led Lily inside. Alexander hadn't returned yet, but Mary and William were in the dining room, along with Samantha.
Seeing Grace arrive with a thin little girl, Samantha reacted most dramatically. "Grace, who is this child?"
Could this be her illegitimate daughter?
Rather than directly answering Samantha, Grace addressed the housekeeper. "Please take her upstairs for a bath."
"Of course."
The housekeeper asked, "Does she have any clean clothes to change into?"
Grace handed over Lily's bag of belongings. The housekeeper took it and couldn't help frowning. "These clothes are so worn out..."
"Just for tonight. Tomorrow I'll take her shopping for new clothes," Grace said, her heart aching.
Originally, she had intended to give the orphanage money for Lily's needs. But while packing Lily's clothes, she discovered they were all tattered hand-me-downs from older children who had outgrown them.
She had given the orphanage money last time, but clearly it hadn't been used for Lily specifically. When she asked the staff, they explained that the funds went into the orphanage's general welfare fund. With so many children to care for, expenses were enormous, and among all those unfortunate children, Lily wasn't the most pitiful case.
The teacher had used part of Grace's donation to buy Lily a few new outfits, but when Lily wore them, she was bullied by the older children and had her clothes stolen. Fearing that special treatment would make Lily a bigger target for bullying, the teacher stopped singling her out.
In that environment, the staff faced many difficult compromises. This was why Grace decided to bring Lily home temporarily.
"Please take her upstairs," Grace instructed.
The housekeeper led Lily away. Samantha, irritated that Grace had ignored her question, shot her a pointed look. "I was talking to you."
Only after Lily was taken upstairs did Grace turn around. "She's an orphan. Her mother passed away, and her father abandoned her. So I'm considering adopting her."
Samantha's tone turned passive-aggressive. "Well, aren't you the saint? Who knew you had such a charitable heart?"
"It's not charity. I've grown attached to this child," Grace replied.
"Does Alexander know about this? He wants to marry you, but if you're planning to adopt this child, does he agree?" Samantha pressed.
"This is definitely something we need to discuss together," Grace acknowledged.
Samantha said nothing more, but nudged William's arm pointedly.
William spoke up. "We already have two children in the house. Once you and Alexander marry, there'll be Max and Liam. If you adopt this little girl too, won't that be too many children?"
"Raising one more child won't add much of a burden," Grace replied.
Samantha scoffed. "Easy for you to say, considering you won't be the one paying for it. It's Alexander's money."
Mary's brow furrowed in disapproval.
"If I decide to adopt this child, I'll earn money to support her myself," Grace stated.
"Do you have a job?" Samantha challenged.
"Not currently," Grace admitted.
"Exactly my point. You don't have work and can't even support yourself. How could you possibly support someone else's child?"
Grace smiled slightly. "As you said, it will be Alexander's money, not yours."
Samantha's face flushed with anger. "You..."
William's hand paused mid-motion. He looked up, displeased with Grace's comment. "That's not something you should say."
Max, who genuinely disliked Samantha and had been watching her look at Grace with disdain, suddenly spoke up. "Do you have a job?"
Samantha was taken aback. "Are you talking to me?"
Max blinked innocently. "Yes, I'm asking you. Do you have a job?"
Samantha was speechless.
Max smiled. "You don't have a job either. You're supported by someone else too. You have no right to say that."
His words were blunt and unforgiving.
William frowned, naturally wanting to defend Samantha, but since it was Max speaking—and their relationship was distant—he couldn't find the words to scold him.
Samantha, growing angry, said, "But I don't have children to raise. Besides, I'm thinking of you and Liam. What if your mother adopts another child and doesn't dote on you anymore?"
"Thanks, but no thanks," Max replied curtly.
Samantha's expression froze again.
Max looked at Grace. "Mommy, don't work. If no one else will support you, I'll support you. If you want to adopt this sister, I agree."
Liam nodded as well. "I agree too."
Having grown up in an orphanage himself, Liam knew what that place was like. If Mommy truly wanted to adopt this sister, he was willing to accept it.
Grace felt deeply moved.
Samantha couldn't help but contradict them again. "You're just children. You can't even support yourselves, yet you talk about supporting your mother? Kids really don't understand anything."
Max snorted dismissively, not bothering to respond.
After dinner, Grace had the kitchen staff save some food to take upstairs.
Lily had finished her bath and changed clothes. When Grace entered the room, she saw Lily sitting on the bed wearing clean but worn clothes. The bath had transformed her appearance completely.
Since arriving at the orphanage, Lily hadn't had proper opportunities to bathe thoroughly, so she'd been quite dirty. Grace had assumed Lily naturally had dark skin, but after washing and scrubbing away the grime, her skin was revealed to be snow-white, making the bruises and injuries on her body even more visible.
The housekeeper complained, "She was so dirty it took me ages to get her clean."
Grace smiled ruefully. "Thank you for your trouble."
The housekeeper shook her head. "Though this little girl is quite well-behaved. Even with her injuries, when I was scrubbing her skin, she didn't flinch despite the pain. I'm just worried there might be something wrong with her mentally."