Mango's heart was very fearful of each step she took and she was afraid that Brantley would wake up suddenly. Fortunately, Brantley didn't react as he had been sleeping soundly.
She quickly stuffed the things into her pocket and left Brantley's room quietly.
Mango didn't see that Brantley had opened his eyes the moment she closed the door.
He couldn't help but sigh when he saw that the entrance pass from his drawer was gone.
"Toby."
Brantley's voice was not loud, but a man opened the door and came in. This man was the one who had kidnapped Mango here.
Brantley had asked the man to hide away for some time, but he got called back by Brantley to the room before he left.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
"Follow her and don't let her encounter danger on the way there. After all, this child is as stubborn as Queena. She's going to meet Queena."
Brantley sighed again.
Toby frowned tightly.
"Sir, based on Miss' bad temper, she won't meet Mango. Besides, this route will not be safe for her. What will Nathaniel do if something happens to her..."
"That's why I asked you to follow her. I know that Queena won't see her because of her stubborn temper. However, Mango will be depressed if I don't let her go. She still has a child in her belly."
Brantley felt extremely distressed.
The person he wanted to see the most in his life was his daughter, but she refused to forgive him. Now that he saw how stubborn her granddaughter was, he felt as if he was looking at Queena in the past.
"I might really be in the wrong at that time. I shouldn't have separated a pair of lovers. But what's the point of saying so much now? After all, there is nothing I can do to make up for it."
Brantley did not wish for the estrangement between him and his daughter to affect Mango. He actually quite liked this granddaughter of his. After all, she was his last remaining family member.
Toby could understand Brantley, so he nodded and went out.
Mango couldn't bear to disturb Haniya, who was still sleeping when she returned to the room.
However, she was still a little worried if she left just like that.
She didn't dare to take the risk now that she was pregnant.
Mango still managed to wake Haniya up.
"Madam? Are you awake? Do you need some water? Or are you hungry? I'll do it now."
Haniya was about to stand up as she spoke, but Mango stopped her.
"Don't talk. Listen to me. Hurry up and pack up our things. Now come with me."
"What?"
Haniya was a little confused.
"Have Brantley let us go already?"
"No, we will leave immediately while they are still asleep."
Mango didn't explain further, but she stood up and packed her belongings. She paused for a moment when she saw Queena's photo on the table beside, and carried it along with her in the end.
Haniya felt that she didn't have enough sleep and her brain wasn't functioning well. How was it possible that she didn't understand Mango's words?
This was the Xiao Family!
She still remembered how heavily guarded this place was. Nathaniel couldn't even bring Mango away that time, but she actually wanted to escape herself now?
Was it possible?
However, Haniya quickly packed her things up even though she was puzzled. Seeing that Mango had already packed up her things, she said in embarrassment, "Madam, I'm sorry, I..."
"Let's talk about it outside. Follow me and don't make any noise."
Mango opened the door gently.
There was no one on the corridor outside and her heart was pounding.
She didn't know what would happen to her if Brantley's men stopped her. All she wanted now was to find and meet Queena as soon as possible.
She might not have the time to see her mother for the rest of her life if she was late.
Mango walked out of the room with Haniya.
She looked back carefully and even paused for a moment when she passed by Brantley's room. She then knelt down in front of Brantley's room.
"Madam, you..."
"Hush!"
Mango did not let her speak, but there was some warmth in her eyes.
She knew that Brantley was kind even though he looked very strict.
He was really good to her.
Even though Brantley had imprisoned her in the eyes of outsiders, he gave her all the food that she loved.
How could it be such a coincidence that all of it was her favourite food if Brantley hadn't checked about this in advance?
Brantley quietly put things that she liked in her room. For example, he prepared the laptop needed for her competition, and the colour of the curtains were all changed secretly to her favourite colour.
He wouldn't say anything nice, but Mango was aware of the fact that he truly cared for her.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry. I'm leaving. I'll make it up to you after I come back!"
Mango felt like crying as she spoke.
She bowed her head to Brantley three times before getting up and left.
She was afraid that she would hesitate.
There were tears in Brantley's eyes as he watched Mango's actions from the window.
"Madam, you can't go down as there are many unsafe things happening now."
"Ms. Sun, let's go."
However, there was nothing they could do as Mango was determined to get off the car. They got no choice but to let her off, but they felt extremely nervous on the inside.
Mango ignored them. After getting off the car, she went straight to the person and called out with some uncertainty, "Aunt?"
Sophia suddenly raised her head and she was slightly stunned when she saw Mango.
"Why are you here?"
Mango was curious about the same thing too. However, she could somewhat guess the answer.
"You're here for Grandpa?"
Mango couldn't help but feel a little sad and awkward when she recalled Sophia's background and the fact that Brantley still cared so much about this matter.
Sophia's body was very weak and she had been poisoned. Although Noah and Genevieve had treated her, her condition wasn't very good. As for Walter, they didn't know where he had gone. Hence, Mango couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her now that Sophia was left alone.
Sophia looked at the military compound that was very close and said self-deprecatingly, "I want to see him, but he might not want to see me. Besides, I can't enter that place even if I want to."
"Aunty, Grandfather has his reasons. You two will reconcile eventually."
"Maybe. I don't want to force him anymore. I'm dying, so it doesn't matter whether he wants to see me or not. I just feel upset. I came here with no other intentions and I just want to see him. That's all I want."
Mango felt very upset when she heard how sad Sophia's words were.
She could hear from Sophia's tone that she had really regarded Brantley as her father. Perhaps Sophia did not know the truth of the past, but the more sad and distressed she was when she thought about it.
"Auntie, it's windy here and it's cold at night. You'd better go home. I don't know where Walter went. Why did he leave you alone here?"
Mango went to pull Sophia's hand after saying this, only to find out that Sophia's hand was very cold and her entire body was freezing.
"Auntie, were you here all night?"
"I saw Nathaniel coming with some people. I thought that he would treat you like how he treated my mother and me, so I followed him. Nathaniel left after that, but I didn't see you. I heard what they said. I was afraid that they would make things difficult for you, but I couldn't get in. So I could only wait here."
After hearing what Sophia had said, Mango understood that Sophia had come here because she was worried. However, this trip reminded Sophia of her sad memories, which was why she had stayed here for the entire night.
"Auntie, I'll take you home."
Mango held Sophia's hand, but the other woman pushed her away.
"Home? I don't have a home and I don't have a family anymore."
Mango felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"Then come with me. I'm going to find my mother. You and your sister haven't seen each other for so many years. This might be the last time you're going to see each other."
Sophia was stunned upon hearing Mango's words.
"What do you mean?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)