Chapter 191
Going to court wasted both time and money. Given Audrey’s situation, even if she won the lawsuit, the might not setually get th compensation.
Cecila watched Audrey’s face and caught the brief flash of cunning in her eyes. She understood immediately. Audrey just wanted to mass with
“We’ll see how sincere she is,” Audrey said, stretching her foot and glancing toward the movie theater nearby. “The show’s about to start anyway. We can rest just as well inside.”
it wasn’t until they reached Haldenwick that Audrey figured out why Cecilia had brought her along–to watch a movie. It was an animated movie, no less
They took the elevator to the top floor, and Cecilia went to get the tickets herself since Audrey’s foot was bothering her.
Audrey wanted to sit in one of the massage chairs for a bit, but two kids beat her to it. There was a little boy around four or five, and a girl who looked about ten.
The girl had just sat down when she noticed Audrey. She immediately stood up, “Ma’am, your foot looks like it hurts. You can have my seat.”
“Thank you” Audrey settled into the chair.
The little girl got her younger brother comfortable nearby, then whispered something in his ear. The boy nodded. After that, she ran over to the ticket machine, keeping her eyes on them the whole time.
Cecilia couldn’t figure out how to work the machine, so the little girl helped her get the tickets. They walked back together.
“Thank you for felping us get the tickets. Let me buy you guys some drinks,” Cecilia said with a gentle smile, reaching out to ruffle the little boy’s hair.
The little girl immediately wrapped her arms protectively around her brother’s head. “No thanks. My mom says we can’t take stuff from strangers.”
Audrey rested her chin on her hand and teased, “Pretty cautious for a kid. But if you’re so worried, why’d you leave your brother alone with me? Weren’t you afraid someone might take him?”
“If he’s sitting with you, people would think he’s your kid,” the little girl said without missing a beat.
Oh, so that’s why she gave me her seat, Audrey thought, finding it amusing. She smiled at the girl. “But what if I’m the one trying to steal him?”
“You hurt your foot, so you can’t run faster than me.” The little girl’shrugged.
Audrey and Cecilia exchanged glances and burst out laughing. The little boy stayed quiet in his sister’s arms, just blinking his big eyes at them.
Audrey used the armiest to push herself up. “All the other kids have popcorn, but you two don’t. That’s how people will know your parents aren’t here.”
The little girl’s guard went up instantly. “Who says that? Our parents are coming any minute. She hugged her brother even tighter, like she was preparing
for battle.
The little boy’s face was pressed against her stomach, making it hard for him to breathe, so he tilted his head back. His little nose twitched–clearly the smell of popcorn was getting to him….
The announcement came over the speakers for ticket checking, and it turned out they were all seeing the same movie,
Audrey looked down at the little boy’s face, and then glanced at Cecilia ‘Could this actually be the grandson she’s been looking for?” she wondered.
To be honest, the little boy didn’t look much like Cecilia at all.
Audrey still bought two buckets of popcom and stood behind them in line. “Chocolate or caramel?” she asked, nudging the little girl with her elbow.
The girl was about to refuse when Audrey leaned closer and whispered, “With all these people watching, if you take it, they’ll think we’re together,
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you’re warned, you don’t have to eati
The girl thought for a moment, then asked the little boy in her arms, “Do you want chocolate of carameli
“Chocolate, the Ettle guy answered quietly.
The girl turned around and took the popcom bucket from Audrey’s hands, whispering. “Thank you.”
When they got into the theater, they ended up sitting in rows right in front of each other.
There were lots of kids there today, including some who were seeing the movie for the second or third time. Even before the film started, they were already discussing the plot.
Once the movie began, the little boy instinctively reached for the popcorn, but the girl smacked his hand away. He pouted and leaned against her looking hurt, occasionally asking why certain things were happening in the story.
Audrey kept watching Cecilia. Her eyes never stayed on the big screen. They were always focused on the little boy in front of her. There was a light in her eyes, not from the movie, but from some deep sense of contentment.
The seats in the front row were loose, and the two kids slowly started making their way out. Audrey got up too and whispered to Cecilia, “I’ll go checkcon
them.”
“But your foot-“Cecilia hesitated.
“It’s fine.” Audrey followed them out. The two kids were heading to the restroom. The little girl seemed nervous at first, but when she noticed Audrey had followed them out, she relaxed quite a bit.
When they came back, the little girl’s attitude toward her had clearly changed. “What happened to your foot?”
“twisted it accidentally.” Audrey looked at the little boy. “Do you two take after different parents–one after dad and one after mom?”
The little boy looked gentle and well–behaved, turning to smile politely at Audrey. She suddenly noticed that his eyes seemed to be an amber color, like clear, translucent glass.
The little girl glanced down at the boy and said with a smile, “We both look like our moms. I look like my mom, and he looks like his mom.”
“Oh, there are so many people watching movies today. Are your parents okay with you two being here alone?” Audrey asked,
“His mom is on a business trip, and my mom was supposed to come, but my grandpa is in the hospital. All the kids from their kindergarten have seen this movie except him.”
When they were leaving. Audrey noticed the little boy had finished all his popcorn.
“Bye–bye,” the little boy politely said goodbye to both of them.
Cecilia’s eyes filled with reluctance. She looked like she wanted to scoop up the little boy and take him home right then. When she heard him saying goodbye to her, tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
She was about to say something more, but Audrey stopped her. Being too eager would only scare the two children.
They followed at a distance and watched the little girl contact her family. Soon, a cab arrived to pick them up.
Cecilia’s car trailed far behind, following them at the way to Halderwick Hospital.
Meanwhile, Clayton finished paying his bills and started trying to figure out how to contact Audrey
After going in circles, Clayton could only wait for Carson to finish surgery and help make the connection. He went to the nurses‘ station to ask about
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Robin’s situation, hoping to learn more while Valerie wasn’t around,
At first, Robin refused to talk. She didn’t know Clayton, in there was no reason for her to risk offending Valerie for his cake
Clayton was sincere and promised multiple times that he wouldn’t tell anyone about their conversation, but Pobin still wouldn’t budge. Finally, Clayton had to mention that he’d overheard her talk with her father in the ward, and if she didn’t tell him the truth, he’d take her to court With both gentle persuasion and pressure, Robin finally spilled everything. “Valerie and I were classmates. I even went to her wedding
“Lucas treated her really well. When he found out she wanted to have an art exhibition, he went crazy taking on extra work to earn money for he
“Lucas had already booked the venue for her exhibition when she said she wanted to go skiing to celebrate. So we all went together, and that’s when the hurt her hand and supposedly couldn’t hold a paintbrush anymore,
“I felt so guilty at the time. Even though she was the one who crashed into me, she got hurt worse than I did.
“But then I brought her a get well gift and overheard her on the phone saying her hand was perfectly fine. She was just making excuses because she already blown through all the money Lucas gave her
Clayton felt his chest tighten as he listened, and his voice came out hoarse when he asked the question that was eating at him. “if Lucas loved her so much, why did he hit her?”
“Lucas hit her? More like she manipulated the hell out of him,” Robin said with a scornful laugh.
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