Chapter 647

Chapter 647

Claire froze for a moment.

Then her eyes reddened: "What do you mean! If you don't welcome me and my daughter and my mom to your house, we'll leave right now!"

After a pause, she added: "Besides, this house isn't just yours alone, is it Simon? We came to see Grandpa and my uncle and aunt, not you! My daughter and I standing at the door to greet you—that was doing you a favor!"

Simon fell silent.

After a moment, he said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. I'm in a bad mood."

Claire's tears fell: "My daughter kept asking me if her uncle was handsome, if he was as handsome as her classmates' dads. She insisted on waiting at the door to meet her uncle she'd never seen before, so I..."

Only then did Simon notice the little girl at his feet.

The little girl looked up at Simon: "Uncle."

Simon's heart melted immediately.

He crouched down and picked up the child: "Tell uncle, how old are you?"

The little girl: "Uncle, I'm six years old. My name is Juliana. Uncle, I came here last week, but I didn't see you or Great-grandpa, but I prepared a gift for Great-grandpa."

Simon felt especially guilty: "Really, sweetheart? Do you still have the gift?"

Juliana: "Yes."

"Can you show uncle?"

"Okay." The little girl said cheerfully. As she spoke, she wriggled down from Simon's arms, then took off her bunny-eared backpack, and unzipped it.

The little girl reached her hand inside but didn't take it out for a while.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Simon asked.

"Uncle, look, the candy got all ugly." Juliana pulled out a soft lollipop to show Simon.

A week-old lollipop had already become completely misshapen.

However, Simon could still see the words 'Happy Grandpa Jones' on it.

He felt an indescribable emotion, and then said to Claire again: "Sorry about earlier. I had some issues outside that I didn't handle well, so I lost my composure."

"It's okay, cousin. We're family. Better you take out your anger on me than on outsiders!" Claire was very understanding.

Simon smiled warmly, then carried Juliana inside.

Claire naturally followed behind.

Passing through the long corridor of the Jones Manor to the side hall where his parents were, Simon could hear laughter inside.

"Look, I bought this pipe especially for you abroad. It's really good quality." A woman's voice reached Simon's ears.

"Janie, you're too thoughtful. You don't need to buy such expensive things in the future. I don't lack anything, and life isn't easy for you and your daughter." This was his father's voice.

At that moment, Simon also entered the hall carrying Juliana.

The laughter in the hall stopped abruptly.

A middle-aged beautiful woman looked at Simon: "Is this Simon?"

Simon looked at the beautiful woman before him and didn't speak for a long time.

Honestly, she was truly beautiful.

If he didn't know Claire was twenty-five or twenty-six, Simon would think this beautiful woman was at most in her early forties.

The woman wore an elegant dress, her bearing very refined. On her, you couldn't see any trace of life's hardships—only privilege and an unparalleled sense of superiority.

This made Simon think of his aunt.

His aunt was a true child of the Jones family, yet from childhood she was discriminated against, insulted, and driven away, unable even to enter her own family's door.

Rejected from birth, by eighteen she loved music so much but had to drop out because her biological mother was seriously ill and they had no money.

From then on, her wandering life began.

His aunt also married poorly, wed an unreliable man, but she wasn't as fortunate as this beautiful woman.

This woman married poorly, married the wrong man, had the wrong child, but she still had strong financial support that let her live comfortably abroad all these years.

But what about Donna?

She ended up in the most remote rural mountain area, working day and night with her husband, suffering all kinds of humiliation, being imprisoned.

Later, afraid of affecting the happiness her biological daughter had finally found, Donna even planned to live in a sewer pipe for the rest of her life, never acknowledging her biological daughter.

This contrast made the fire in Simon's heart, which had just been extinguished, burn again.

He responded coolly: "Mm," without even looking at Janie.

"Simon, this is your Auntie Janie, my cousin." His father reminded Simon to watch his attitude.

Simon said stiffly: "Hello, Auntie Janie."

Janie looked at Simon with a smile: "Simon, you may not know me well, but when I was little, your father and I were as close as siblings. I was the person your father loved most. If there was only one piece of candy in the house, your father would definitely save it for me."

As Janie said this, there was an unconscious superiority on her face.

The kind that was innate.

From being cherished since childhood.

Simon remained silent.

"Simon, I grew up in your house from childhood. I only left when I went to college. I'm just like your real aunt. Your grandfather was like my own father." Janie continued speaking, still oblivious.

At this point, more happy memories appeared on Janie's face: "I still remember, every year on my birthday, I celebrated here. Back then, Uncle and Auntie prepared such grand birthday parties for me. You couldn't find many birthdays as grand as mine in all of Pariz and Sunwillow City."

Simon remained silent.

He was well-mannered. If he hadn't been strictly disciplined growing up, if his manners weren't good, he would want to punch Janie in the face right now.

And then Janie said: "Thinking back now, my life here before I turned eighteen was truly carefree. I lived just like Miss Windsor. Not one of my classmates growing up didn't envy me. Every year on my birthday, so many classmates tried hard to get invited."

"Ha ha, back then, so many children competed to be my friend."

"Thinking about all this, I realize time waits for no one, and I want to go back to the past. But now I'm old. In all these years abroad, I've never had that kind of treatment again, so I think family is still the closest."

"Family?" Simon suddenly questioned.

Janie nodded: "Yes, your grandfather, your father—they're all my family."

Simon remained silent.

"Of course, and you too, Simon. You're also my family. This time when I came back from abroad, I brought you a gift too. It's quite heavy—a Vacheron Constantin watch. I should have given it to you last week."

Before Janie could finish, Simon interrupted: "There was a close friend of yours—do you still remember her?"