Hamilton had been about to get up and leave, but at his mother's words, he sat back down and tilted his head to look at the tablet.
"Who did you say?"
Alma pointed again. "This chubby little girl. If she didn't have pigtails, she'd be your spitting image as a child."
Hamilton saw that his mother was pointing at Kristin, and his gaze faltered.
"You must be seeing things."
"You don't believe me?" Alma huffed and immediately called the housekeeper, asking her to find her treasured photo album, locate a picture of Hamilton when he was five or six, and send it over.
The picture arrived moments later. Alma held up her phone next to the tablet to compare it with Kristin's photo.
"The resemblance is uncanny. It's incredible. If someone told me she was your daughter, that would actually make sense."
Hamilton stared at the two photos, his expression growing darker as an idea began to take root in his mind.
Alma had other business to attend to, but before she left, she reiterated her stance to her son: she would absolutely not approve of him marrying Maria.
"I'm a good judge of character, and that woman is no good. If you marry her, you will definitely regret it."
After Alma had gone, Maria came downstairs with her daughter. Seeing Hamilton still in the dining room, she gave her daughter a meaningful look.
Queena nodded and ran to Hamilton.
"I hate Kristin, and I don't want to see her at school every day. Make her transfer!"
Hamilton pulled his eyes away from the photos and glanced at Queena. He didn't answer, instead continuing to drink the soup in his bowl.
"That Kristin is always bullying me, and she gets other kids to hit me too. Don't you feel bad for me?"
Hamilton had never yelled at Queena like that. Maria had always believed that he truly treated her daughter as his own.
Composing herself, she quickly led Queena to the living room to play before returning to the dining room.
"I've spoiled Queena. Don't be angry with her."
Maria refilled a bowl and placed it in front of Hamilton.
"She's grown up without a father, so she sees you as one. That's why she cares so much about whether you love her or not. If you're unhappy, I can explain things to her later, but it will surely break her heart."
Maria watched Hamilton's expression as she spoke, realizing his mind was elsewhere; he hadn't heard a word she'd said.
"It's been six years. I never thought Natalie would have the nerve to come back." She paused. "Remember that night? We were at the restaurant celebrating my birthday, and you saw Natalie being intimate with another man. We followed them to a hotel, and I tried to stop you, but you kicked open the door and saw Natalie in bed with him..."
Her words finally got Hamilton's attention. He frowned. "I told you I don't want to talk about that!"

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