Chapter 16



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Because it was getting late, the light in the narrow stairwell was quite dim.

Pete stared at Cherry in surprise.

Her eyes were wide as grapes and her mouth slightly ajar. The two stared at each other for some time. Cherry was the first to speak. “Why is there a mirror in the stairwell?”

Pete was puzzled.

The corners of his lips tightened. “This isn’t a mirror.”

Cherry was stunned and dumbfounded. “Why do you look exactly the same as me, then?”

The stairwell was silent for a few more seconds. Then, a hesitant Pete said, “Are we…twins?”.

Little Cherry, finally reacting, leapt forward and hugged Pete excitedly. “Wow, I’ve found my brother!”

“…”

Pete, who had always shunned physical contact with others, stiffened.

Blood relations were simply too peculiar. For example, physical contact with people like one’s mother and younger sister would give him a very comforting feeling.

But it turned out that Mom had hugged him and had dinner with him because she had mistaken him for someone else.

This realization made Pete turn pale. He sounded a little sad as he asked, “Why did Mom leave me?”.

Cherry released him and hastened to explain, “Mom didn’t abandon you. It was our horrible grandfather who sent you away. The reason we’ve come back to America is so we can look for you.”

“Really?”

Fearing her brother wouldn’t believe her, Cherry nodded repeatedly. “It’s true! It’s true!”

Her soft hands grabbed Pete and dragged him down the stairs. “Let’s go get Mom. I’m sure she’ll be so happy to see you, And then she’ll take us home!”

Pete was taken aback. “But what about Dad?”

Cherry paused. “Oh, that’s right. Mom definitely won’t want Dad.”

“Why?”

“Mom thinks he’s trouble and his family relationships are complicated, so it’s very upsetting to her! Does Dad love Mom?”

With a terribly complicated expression, Pete replied, “Dad seems to hate my mom.”

“What do we do?”

“…”

A minute later, the two cuties sat together on the steps. The two looked like peas in a pod as they tried to think of countermeasures with their faces, which still had baby fat, resting on their hands.

“By the way, my name is Cheryl Smith! You can call me Cherry, what’s your name?”

“Peter Hunt. You can call me Pete.”

“I love you and Dad, Pete. And I can’t leave Mom either. Do you have a solution?”

“…Yes, I do.”

Cherry suddenly jumped up excitedly. “What is it?”

With a solemn look, Pete replied, “If we can get Dad and Mom to fall in love with each other, they’ll stop despising each other.”

The two children leaned their heads against each other and talked about it. When they finally separated, Cherry suggested, “I want to play with Dad. Can I pretend I’m you tonight?”.

It just so happened that Pete wanted to spend some time with his mother, too, so he nodded with sparkling eyes.

With the noble mission of reconciling a broken family, the children sneaked back to each other’s residence.

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

Nora contacted the hospital after leaving the ward. The Dean agreed to her request immediately.

Anti was known as the best surgeon in the world. Several of her surgical videos had become classics in many hospitals and medical schools.

Having her operate in the hospital was certainly an honor for the hospital.

However, she made some irrelevant requests: she wanted some people from the hospital to be assistants so that they could observe and learn from the operation.

Nora, who didn’t mind, agreed to his requests.

Next was the site of the operation and the facilities. The hospital’s equipment was outdated and could not meet the demands of such a sophisticated operation. Therefore, he could only borrow some from New York at the last minute.

As the related paperwork was cumbersome, by the time he had finished making the calls and arranging all the arrangements, more than two hours had passed.

Only then did she return to the living room, intending to comfort her aunt.

She thought Henry and Wendy would have left by then, but unexpectedly, as soon as she arrived she heard an argument in the living room.

Henry was being very arrogant. “If you want Angela to ask Dr. Larson to do the operation, make Nora quit the company! What’s more important, that lousy company, or her aunt’s life?”

Irene’s breathing was unsteady. “Angela, I have always treated you well since you were a child. This is also what I’d like to ask you: is the company more important or my life?”

Angela curved her lip. “When have you ever treated me well, Aunt Irene? It’s obvious you favored that fat fuck. When you were a seamstress, you made us the same clothes. But you must have used more fabric for hers, didn’t you? If you had really treated me right, you shouldn’t have made any for her!”

His words angered the thin Irene who was lying on the bed. “Angela, you…”

A dissatisfied Angela continued. “Besides, even though you gave us the same presents at Christmas, do you think I didn’t know you always gave another one to that damn fat girl in private? Hmph, she’s more of a niece to you than me, isn’t she? In your eyes, what do you see in me?”.

Irene clenched her fists. “I was giving them to her instead of her mother!”

Angela curved her lip. She was about to say something when suddenly….

Clap!

Lisa grabbed Angela’s hand. She must have been crying for a long time because her eyes were puffy. “Please, Angela. Put in a good word for us in front of Dr. Larson and save my mother.”

Just after she spoke, she fell to her knees and pleaded, “Please, Angela!”

Angela shook her and turned away. “Don’t think I’m going to give in just because you do.”

Wendy also said, “Oh, Lisa, what are you doing? You should be asking Nora for help instead.”

This immediately got Henry’s attention. As if a good idea had just occurred to him, he said, “Take your aunt’s advice, Lisa. Go to the Finest Hotel right now and get down on your knees at the entrance, AND beg Nora to save your mother!

“Isn’t Nora staying at the Finest Hotel because she hopes to get a good husband there? If she doesn’t want to be embarrassed, then she’ll definitely agree to sign the agreement!”

“…”

Outside the door, Nora’s downcast eyes were filled with a cold gaze.

As a child, she had simply thought that her father was partial to her sister because he had misunderstood her. But now, suddenly, she understood that he had understood all along. In reality, there was no real reason for his partiality.

She even dared to say such horrible things in such a justified way.

“Henry!” cried Irene harshly, “How can you treat Nora like that!”

She turned toward Lisa and ordered, “I forbid you to go near them!”

The blood in Lisa’s face drained little by little, and she wept silently on her knees.

“Don’t beg them anymore. Get up, Lisa.” Nora’s uncle, Will Black, suddenly screamed. He pointed at the Smiths and shouted, “Get out of here, all of you! You ingrates, all of you! Irene had given everything for her nieces, but not a single one of you is a decent human being!”

She picked up the bouquet of flowers in her hand and tossed it to Henry. As he led the three outside, he happened to see Nora and stopped.

Nora pursed her lips, intending to tell him about the operation. “Uncle Will…”

Will’s eyes were already red at that point. He snapped at her, “You’re just as ungrateful. Get lost.”

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