Chapter 71: A Hard Slap on William's Face
The warmth of his body seeped through their clothes as his strong arm wrapped around her waist.
Amelia steadied herself and pushed William away.
She was just a bit dizzy, not drunk.
They got on the shuttle cart and headed together to William's villa.
It was quiet the whole way.
Neither of them spoke until the shuttle finally stopped outside a small grove.
"Mr. William Brown, Mrs. Amelia Brown, Mrs. Cleo Brown just asked me to remind you that Mr. Finn Brown wants to see you both first thing tomorrow morning. You must spend the night at home."
Seeing how distant the two seemed, Ezra sighed helplessly.
"Mr. William Brown, Mrs. Amelia Brown, they've been worried about you two for so long. Having you stay overnight is secondary—they mainly hope you can talk things through properly."
As Ezra spoke, he wiped away tears. "I still remember so clearly when Mr. William Brown first brought Mrs. Amelia Brown home. You were so in love back then. How did things come to this?"
"Talk it out properly."
"Once you clear things up, everything will be fine."
After saying all this, Ezra let out another long sigh before leaving with tears in his eyes.
At night, the lights had come on.
A few dozen feet ahead, through the grove, was William's residence.
William walked into the grove first, while Amelia stood still.
"What's wrong?" William asked.
"I'll go back first and come over tomorrow morning," Amelia said.
With that, she turned to leave, but the next moment, her wrist was caught.
"Amelia." William's calm voice came from behind her. "We haven't seen each other in many days. I think we should talk."
Talk?
By the lake in the distance, moonlight poured down like flowing water, rippling across the surface.
Was there anything left for them to talk about?
"At least about the child—I think you need to explain that to me clearly," William's cold, hard voice came again. "So I can give Grandpa and Grandma an answer too."
Amelia withdrew her gaze.
That child...
After leaving Skylar's place, she had been lost for a while.
Later, Jeffrey told her that the funds from the charity auction she'd attended were being put to use, and asked if she wanted to go see.
Amelia wanted to see where the money from that tanzanite went, so she agreed.
Because she had previously bid on Briar's painting, Amelia went to the orphanage in Shadow City.
Perhaps it was fate.
Or perhaps the child who had left wanted someone else, or wanted to stay by her side in a different way.
The tanzanite, the charity funds, the painting she'd bid on by chance.
All of this led Amelia to meet Briar.
Briar had been left at the orphanage's doorstep years ago. Her biological parents had abandoned her because of her illness.
Due to various reasons, Briar's condition had never been properly treated. This charity fundraiser was a rare opportunity.
After just a few meetings, Amelia felt it was meant to be.
So Amelia decided to adopt Briar, treat her illness, send her to school, and be with her as she grew up.
But Amelia wasn't yet 30, didn't meet the adoption age requirement, so she turned to her mother, Beatrix.
That day, Amelia stood outside the shop Beatrix had taken over, watching her from afar, and for the first time in all these years, called her "Mom."
The procedures were all handled by Beatrix. Though it would take some time to complete everything, the process had begun.
Legally, Briar would be her sister in the future.
But whether it was her, Beatrix, or Briar, they all understood the real situation.
Briar wanted to go to school, so Amelia found her a private kindergarten in Shadow City with good privacy protection.
Perhaps because of being abandoned early on, living in the orphanage all these years, and being so young, Briar didn't know what to do.
So that day, at the kindergarten entrance, Briar hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Amelia crouched down, took off the mask she'd been using for disguise, and looked at Briar seriously and gently. "Are you scared?"
Briar nodded, then shook her head.
Amelia didn't rush Briar to speak, waiting patiently.
Briar hesitated for a long while before looking at Amelia and saying, "Mommy."
After saying it, she immediately lowered her head, not daring to look at Amelia.
"Should I call you that?" Briar's voice was very small.
Amelia smiled and gently stroked Briar's head.
"Whatever you prefer," she said. "If you're not comfortable with it, you can call me Amelia first."
Briar breathed a sigh of relief and nodded hard.
"Amelia," Briar called softly, hugged Amelia once, then ran toward the kindergarten.
Amelia stood there the whole time, watching Briar run to the classroom door and wave at her before going in.
The reporter had captured the moment when Amelia took off her mask.
She'd been very careful, but was still photographed.
Because the adoption process wasn't complete yet, Amelia could take her to kindergarten but couldn't bring Briar home to stay overnight.
But it wouldn't be much longer—usually it could be done within 30 working days.
Thinking of this, Amelia spoke:
"That child has nothing to do with the Brown family."
She said, "She's not our child, so she has nothing to do with the Brown family's assets."
Amelia pulled her hand free from William's grip. A gust of wind blew by, and the effects of the alcohol hit her again.
Amelia took off her high heels and stood barefoot on the ground, her back to William. She said, "That's basically it. I think knowing this is enough for you. I'll tell Grandpa and Grandma the same thing tomorrow."
"If you don't believe me, you can investigate."
"I have no reason to lie about this."
With that, Amelia steadied herself and started walking.
"Amelia!"
His voice came from behind: "Does it have to be like this between us?"
Amelia didn't pause.
She had made up her mind.
"We had a child once too."
"You let her call you mommy, so what about me?"
William's voice drifted over, perhaps because he was by the grove, carrying a somewhat haunting quality.
"Or is it," in that haunting tone, suspicion crept in, his voice turning cold, "that you did this on purpose."
Deliberately bringing a child.
Deliberately letting reporters photograph the child calling her mommy.
That way, they would have no choice but to meet at the Brown Villa.
Amelia stopped.
Something churned in her heart.
Anger, or sadness?
Or maybe both.
"Amelia, I've never asked you—back then at Seraphim, during those ten-plus minutes when I was gone, what exactly did you say to him?"
"We lost our child back then."
"Amelia, I was in pain too."
"All these years, the reason I've wanted a child so badly—you know why."
"So, Amelia, why use a child to deceive people?"
William's steady voice came through.
No shouting, no screaming.
Just a very calm tone.
Yet saying such cruel words.
Emotions surged with tremendous force, rushing through Amelia's blood vessels with a roar.
Making her heart ache.
How could he say such terrible things...
Amelia turned around and looked at William standing in the grove under the moonlight.
Perhaps because of the distance, in that moment, he looked completely unrecognizable to her.
Was this William?
Why did he have William's face but seem like a demon?
How could he...
Unable to control herself any longer, Amelia walked quickly to William's side.
A hard slap landed squarely on William's face.
Her palm went numb from the impact.