CHAPTER 23
Shaking her head, Rachel let out a sigh.
Then, she looked up at Floch and listened to him as he analyzed the situation. “No matter what, the most important thing now is to let our daughter be engaged to Matthew first.”
“What about the child Veronica conceived:” Tiffany asked.
The child in Veronica’s womb was Tiffany’s main concern as she feared that the existence of that child would be her greatest threat. Property © of .
“Oh, my silly daughter,” Rachel said as a conspiratorial thought came across her mind. Then, she smiled. “Veronica is a person filled with pride and arrogance. If she finds out by then that you’re getting engaged to Matthew, do you still think she’ll be willing to give birth to the child? And besides, once you’re engaged to Matthew, it’s your decision whether the child could live past infancy even if she gives birth to the child.”
As she listened to Rachel’s words and analysis of the situation, Tiffany felt enlightened. The gloomy look on Tiffany’s face eventually disappeared, and she gave out a smile. “Mom, you’re the best!”
Once again, Tiffany hugged Rachel tightly, expressing the profound endearment in their mother- daughter bonding.
Ring...
The next day, the sun was bright, and the breeze was gentle. It was a lovely day to stay in bed. However, Veronica was woken up by the ringing sound of her mobile phone early in the morning. She grabbed her phone and saw that it was her adoptive mother calling. Then, she checked the time, only to realize it was already 8.30AM.
“Oh, sh*t! It’s already 8.30AM? How on earth did I oversleep?” She smacked her forehead and immediately answered the call. “Hi, Mom. Sorry I overslept and forgot to prepare a meal for you.” Veronica yawned, her hand rubbing her sleepy eyes as she said that.
At the same time, Daniella stated her request over the phone. “It’s okay. I have already eaten something. Anyway, the reason I’m calling is that I want you to bring
Xavier along with you when you come over later today.”
Upon hearing that, Veronica, who was still feeling slightly sleepy a while ago, instantly jolted awake. She immediately sat up. “Mom, Xavier needs to go to work. Besides, didn’t he pay a visit to the hospital yesterday? So, why would you want him to go over again today?”
“Don’t try to clown me. Xavier mentioned yesterday that he is relatively free these few days as he took these few days off.”
“But, Mom,”
“Don’t you but, Mom me. I’m not listening to any of your bluffs. If Xavier doesn’t come over today, then it means that you two were merely pretending yesterday.”
“Mom! You—”
Beep... Veronica was cut off because Daniella hung up the phone before she could say anything more.
Too deep for tears, Veronica held her phone in one hand while resting her other hand on her forehead.
Seriously, Mom? I just met with Xavier yesterday. How could I have the nerve to ask him out again toda y?
Powerless against Daniella’s request, Veronica fell onto her bed. She lay down for a while and stared as the time passed little by little. Eventually, she took out her phone and called Xavier
The call went through. “Hmm… Hello…” a man greeted sleepily. His drowsy voice was heard over the phone, sounding as if he had not woken up yet.
“Hehehe… W-What are you up to?” Veronica asked as she gave out a flattering laugh, feeling embarrassed. Her hands touched the thin blanket anxiously, and her pair of pupils were full of unease.
Although her relationship with Xavier was good, she was slightly apologetic for troubling him twice within two days.
“Speak. What is it?” Xavier seemed to have guessed Veronica’s intention behind this ‘phone call. “You won’t give me a call if you don’t need my help with something
Could it be that your mom misses me?”
“Hahaha… Young Master Xavier, you’re high and mighty indeed-and not to mention, diabolically clever too!”
Raising her eyebrows, Veronica looked up and rubbed her hair. Then, she chuckled in a flattering yet embarrassed manner and asked, “S-So, are you free?”
“Got it.” With that, Xavier hung up the phone.
Staring at the call log on her phone screen, Veronica was rather baffled. Huh? What does he mean by that?
However, she was too embarrassed to call Xavier again. So, she lay back down on her bed, feeling sleepy. Initially, Veronica wanted to lie down for a while before getting up to get ready, but she ended up falling asleep again.
Little did she know, Xavier had driven to and arrived at the hospital after he was done washing up
At around 9.00AM, Xavier directly made his way toward the inpatient department after he had arrived at the hospital. He thought Veronica was already there in the ward. When he arrived at the ward, Xavier knocked on the door, pushed it open, and
entered.
Besides Tony, who was lying on the hospital bed, there was no one in the ward when Xavier walked in. So, he put the items in his hand aside and took out his mobile phone. Just as he was about to give Veronica a call, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a photo on the table.
In the photo, both Daniella and Tony were standing in the front, and behind them stood a young lady. The smile on the lady’s face was bright and innocent-looking as she spread her arms around Daniella and Tony’s shoulders. Although it was only an inadvertent glance, Xavier was surprised after he discovered that the young lady in the photo was actually Tiffany!
It‘s Tiffany!? Xavier was very puzzled. Then, he picked up the photo and took a closer look. 10th February 2021 was the date shown at the bottom right corner of the photo. This photo was taken a few months ago! But, how did Mr. and Mrs. Murphy know Tiffany?
Upon realizing that, Xavier frowned. Then, he flipped the photo over and saw the words ‘Family Photo’ written on the back of the photo. Family photo? Isn‘t Tiffany the Larsons‘ daughter? Why would she take a family photo with Vero nica‘s parents?
“Oh, Xavier, you’re here?”
At that moment, Daniella came in from outside and greeted Xavier after she saw him in the ward. However, the smile on her face instantly disappeared once she noticed the photo in his hand.
Upon hearing Daniella’s voice, Xavier turned back and looked at her. Then, he immediately asked, “Mrs. Murphy, why is there a family photo of you, Mr. Murphy, and Tiffany Larson? Do you two mean to tell me that Tiffany is your biological daughter instead of Roni?”
Taken aback by Xavier’s sudden confrontation, Daniella secretly scolded herself for being clumsy. She had forgotten to keep the photo as she was suddenly called to the doctor’s office in a rush.
“Why are you here by yourself? Where’s Veronica?” Daniella asked, avoiding answering Xavier’s question. Then, she took the photo from Xavier’s hand, wiped it dearly, and put it into her bag.
Despite trying to make herself sound calm, Daniella slightly showed signs of panic, and her peculiar reaction puzzled Xavier even more. If it was someone else, he would never press on this matter. However, they were Veronica’s parents. In order to pay for their medical expenses, Veronica worked all day and all night. She worked as a part timer during the day and worked at the club during the night. But, they did not even leave a spot for her in the family photo!
All of a sudden, Xavier was indignant at the injustice done toward Veronica.
“Mrs. Murphy, I’m Roni’s ‘boyfriend’. If you don’t shed light on this matter, I’ll call her right now and seek her clarification!” Xavier abruptly became assertive. With a displeasing tone, he then added, “If Tiffany is indeed your child, and if you think Roni is no longer worthy to even take a family photo with you two, then you shouldn’t let her work hard and pay for the medical treatments with her hard-earned money!”
For some reason, Xavier suddenly felt sorry for Veronica. A young girl who works two jobs a day and is responsible for cooking and delivering food for th was extremely annoyed by this new finding.
While stuffing the photo into her bag, Daniella could sense Xavier’s anger yet noticed the care he had toward Veronica at the same time. In that instant, she felt that Xavier was not bad after all. At least he treated her daughter nicely.
After hesitating for a while, she asked Xavier again, “Where’s Veronica?”
“Something’s holding her up, so she’ll be late.” Xavier simply came up with a reason,
fearing Daniella would not tell him the truth if she knew Veronica would arrive soon.
As she listened to Xavier speak, Daniella turned around and walked over to the door. Then, she locked it and made her way toward the sofa. With her hand still holding the photo, she sat down and later heaved a sigh.
“Sigh...”
While holding the photo in one hand, Daniella gently caressed the person in the photo with another hand. Later, she let out a meaningful sigh and said, “I can see that you’re very fond of our Roni