Chapter 472

Chapter 472

"Why should she forgive you?" I knew I had hurt his feelings, but I was just telling the truth. He was the

one who had hurt Francesca all along, after all.

Leon's face stiffened, then he lowered his head and continued preparing the juice. "I know, so I've

never denied it."

He then passed me a glass of orange juice. I took it and patted his shoulder, saying, "Everything will be

alright, Leon. Look on the bright side; I'm sure she'll forgive you someday."

Leon pulled himself together. "Don't worry about me. I know what to do. I promise I won't hurt her

again."

As he cleaned the juicer, he went on to say, "Quinn was buried. It was Clair and the others who chose

the site and paid for it. I didn't inform you when she was buried because I knew about the grudges

between you two, and I know you've never been fond of her. After all that has happened, your mom

knows that you hate her, so she didn't ask where you were during the burial."

He was calm at the mention of Quinn. "She…"

Seeing that I never finished my sentence, Leon said, "Quinn meant no harm. She was just a little

paranoid. It was for that reason that we were all hurt. I have to admit that her appearance derailed our

lives, and I especially feel guilty because of what happened to Francesca. However, Quinn is gone for

good, so it's pointless to blame her for anything. The police still haven't managed to get to the truth. I

suppose the case will be forgotten as time passes."

I asked, "Do you want to get to the truth for her?"

Leon shook his head. "Renee, anyone can help her get to the truth, but that person cannot be me." He

had let Quinn go for good, and she had vanished from our lives.

"You're not wrong to think this way, Leon." Even if the truth was buried, it was none of our concern.

Now, I wanted nothing to do with her.

Leon then went on to prepare some strawberry juice. "We probably should stop talking about this. It's

unbearable for me to bring up such a topic."

"Alright, then. I'll be heading upstairs," I replied.

Leon asked curiously, "Does he spend most of his time upstairs?"

I knew he was talking about Shawn. "No, he's usually outside."

"I've never seen him come downstairs before, though."

After giving it some thought, I replied, "There's an exit at the end of the second floor. We rarely use it

because it's a little far away."

Leon pursed his lips. "No wonder."

While waiting for the oatmeal to be ready, I drank a glass of milk and had a sandwich. After that, I went

upstairs with a glass of orange juice and a bowl of oatmeal. Shawn was already awake and tying his

tie.

I went over and asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Yes. What have you prepared for me?"

Shawn seemed to be interested in what I had prepared for him. I passed him a glass of orange juice.

After taking a sip, he remarked, "It's tasty. Is it freshly squeezed?"

I nodded. "Yes. I've also prepared some oatmeal for you."

He sat down and ate a bit of oatmeal and half of the sandwich. On the other hand, he gulped down the

entirety of the orange juice. It was only then I found out it was his favorite drink.

After breakfast, he was ready to go to work. I saw him off and kept the children company in the villa. As

Leon watched Shawn leave, he asked curiously, "I've rarely seen him carrying the kids."

I explained, "He carried them yesterday."

"I see. Alright, I'll leave the house with Tammie and look for Francesca later. She left the house pretty

early on. I suppose she's somewhere near."

I asked, "Has she been avoiding you?"

Leon didn't deny it. "I think so."

After all of them left, it was silent in the villa. I played with the kids for a while longer before driving my

car to Felix's Villa.

The instant I entered the living room, I saw my mother seated on the couch with a photo album in her

hands. I took a seat beside her and asked with a smile, "Do you miss me, Mom?"

My mother glared at me. "Where have you been?"

"I was attending to some matters in Eldham."

All of a sudden, she appeared downcast. "I thought you'd forgotten about me."

I hurriedly placated her, saying, "No way. What are you looking at?"

"These are the photos from your childhood. I haven't looked at them for years, so I wanted to go

through them. In fact, I've almost forgotten about this photo album. Your dad found it in the attic today."

I took a look and realized these photos had been taken when I was a young kid. Most of the photos

were taken in the villa's yard as well as an amusement park. I also saw some photos with Leon and

Quinn in them. We were all young kids at that time, but everything changed as we grew up. It was no

wonder my mother appeared sorrowful.

As I turned the pages, I asked, "Where's Dad?"

"He's exercising. I hurt his feelings when I said he was old a while back, so he has been exercising in

the morning recently."

I kept going through the photos until one of them caught my attention. It was a worn-out photo, but I

could make out a few bracelets around my wrists with gold and silver bells dangling from them

respectively.

I took a closer look and realized they looked familiar to me. I asked, "When was this photo taken?"

My mother took a glance and replied, "It was taken when you were ten years old. I remember it was in

February."

I pointed at the bells. "What are these?"

"They were the birthday gifts we gave you when you were ten years old—one gold bell and one silver

bell. They were made from real gold and silver. In fact, your dad was the one who designed them. The

word 'Felix' was engraved on the gold bell and the word 'Renee' was on the silver one. You had only

been wearing them for two years before you gave them away. That's a shame."

I asked in shock, "I gave them away?"

My mother had a pretty good memory. She explained, "Yes. When you were 12 years old, we saw that

the bells were missing from your wrists when you came home one day. I asked you where the bells

were, and you told me you gave them to a handsome boy. Your dad thought that you were silly."

My body stiffened as if there was a stone pressing against my heart. My mother went on to say with a

smile, "You were very little at that time, and it's only natural that you remember nothing about it.

Moreover, you only encountered him several times."

I muttered, "How do you know, Mom?"

"Quinn told me that you got to know a young boy in a nearby place. I asked around and found out that

he was a child adopted by our neighbors, but they moved out not long after they settled down. It's only

normal that you don't remember anything."

Ezekiel once told me that the girl he loved was married, and he had been secretly in love with her for

many years.

He also told me that he had thought about returning to Bryxton so that he could keep the girl company

as she grew up, but his hopes were crushed because of Shawn and Rudy.

He even said that some people were not born to enjoy life, and that girl was his faith.

What was faith? It was something one stuck to for life.

I had always thought that the girl was blessed, for there was someone who would protect her for all her

life. However, it wasn't until this moment that I realized that girl was me.

Ezekiel had sent Gary to my side to help me out. I was the one he wanted to protect all his life.

As I recalled the bells, I quickly fished out my phone from my bag and called Ezekiel. Gary gave me his

number at the bottom of the mountain back then. I never dialed it, so I was certain Ezekiel had no idea I

was the one calling him.

However, the instant the call was connected, he said gently, "Ms. Felix?"

For some reason, he never called me by my name. I choked while calling out, "Ezekiel."

Realizing that something was amiss, he asked, "What's wrong, Ms. Felix?"

"Are there some words engraved on the bells?" At that instant, he knew I had found out the truth and

the secret he had been hiding from me.

He replied softly, "Don't worry about it, Ms. Felix. I'm just a passerby in your life. You didn't remember

me back then, so you don't have to feel sorry for me now. I'm doing all of this for you willingly, so you

don't have to feel pressured. It's not worth it."

He was trying to protect my feelings even at this point, so I decided to let him be. "Thanks, Ezekiel."