Jim looked at her again. A hint of disgust appeared in his eyes as he said, “Do you know that because of what happened today, the Graham family has gone back on their word. The marriage that has been confirmed has just fizzled out.”
Celine trembled fiercely.
She looked at him in disbelief. “Why?”
Jim sneered.
“Hmph, why else would it be? They don’t want a troublemaker to marry into their family. With the way you acted tonight, who among the men in the upper-class circle in the capital would want to marry you?”
Celine was speechless.
She bit her lip. An unspeakable sense of humiliation rose from the bottom of her heart, making her fist clench her.
Jim sighed again.
“Forget it. We’ll talk about the marriage next time. It’s getting late now, so why don’t you go back? Remember to be careful and don’t let them get suspicious.”
Celine nodded and turned before leaving.
Unexpectedly, before she reached the door, Jim called after her.
“Wait.”
After she paused and turned around, she saw Jim frown as he handed her a brown paper bag.
“She gave it to you. Keep it to yourself.”
Startled, Celine’s face suddenly turned pale. It took a few seconds before she reached out with trembling fingers to take it.
Seeing several well-made pastries in the paper bag, her eyes quickly reddened. She looked up at Jim and asked with a trembling voice, “How is she?”
Jim’s expression was cold. “Very well.”
After a pause, he looked at her again and something flashed in his eyes. “As long as you don’t cause me any trouble and behave, she’ll continue to be well. You should know what you have to do, right?”
Celine nodded in succession.
Jim then waved his hand. “You can go.”
At the same time, in another room.
Stephanie Garrett had just finished taking a shower and was lying in bed. She had tossed and turned but she still could not fall asleep.
As soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with the image of the night where she saw Nell change in the room.
The red butterfly birthmark on her back was so lifelike, it seemed to be alive.
She opened a drawer on the bedside table and took a book out.
It was a famous English book, and there was a yellowed photo tucked in between two of the pages.
Stephanie took the photo out and looked at it carefully by the light.
The photo was old and already had cracks on the corners. On the picture was a several-months-old baby with her back to the camera, holding a bead bracelet and laughing happily while she played.
On the baby’s back was a vivid red butterfly mark.
Stephanie reached out and gently touched the butterfly, remembering what her foster mother had said to her so long ago.
“Stephie, this is your little sister. She was misfortunate and was abducted by traffickers when she was just a few months old, which is why we adopted you. But don’t worry, you’re both my darling daughters. Whether or not we’re related by blood or not, mom’s love for you is the same, so if you’re lucky enough to find your sister in the future, you must make sure you take care of each other and help each other out, okay?”
Those words had been spoken a long time ago.
It was so long ago that it sounded like they came from another country. Even the voice was now blurred.
However, Stephanie still remembered.
She remembered the regretful look in her mother’s eyes when she left, and she remembered the gentle smile on her face when she looked at her.
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