Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 202

"Mom, mom." Lucinda was taken aback, then immediately dashed after her.

Stefan also hurriedly picked up the doll and followed her.

In this unfamiliar environment, Janice seemed a bit lost. Her pace wasn’t fast, and she was quickly caught up by Stefan and Lucinda.

"Mom." Lucinda caught up with Janice and hugged her from behind.

"My baby, my baby." Janice was being held, but she kept struggling.

"Mom, I found your baby. I'm your baby; I'm back with you, Mom!" Lucinda tried to soothe Janice.

Janice didn’t hear Lucinda’s words. She was struggling to get away from Lucinda, yelling continuously, "Elisa, give me back my daughter. Since you want Nathan, I'll give him to you; I'll give you everything; I'll divorce Nathan; just give me back my daughter. I want nothing else; I just want my child."

"Give me back my child. I want nothing else, just my child. I just want my baby back." Janice was screaming, echoing her sentiments from years ago.

If she had known Elisa would treat her this way, she would rather have divorced than lose her daughter.

What had she done wrong?

She and Nathan were legally married; they had a loving relationship; they had a pair of lovely children; and they were leading a happy life.

Elisa liked Nathan, but Nathan rejected her. Elisa harassed her, and in his anger, Nathan ruined the Avila family's business. Elisa retaliated in this way.

Elisa was also a wealthy and beautiful girl. Why did she have to interfere in other people's marriages? Why did she want to steal her husband? Was it because Nathan's status and position were too attractive?

Stefan quickly stuffed the doll into Janice's arms.

"Mom, your baby is here; she hasn't been stolen. We helped you find her; she's fine now." Stefan gently soothed Janice.

The doll was like a half-year-old baby, filled with cotton. Its soft little body was dressed in Lucinda's childhood clothes. Janice hugged the doll tightly.

"My baby is saved."

Janice's eyes were still filled with hot tears, but she kept kissing the doll.

"Baby, you scared me." Janice said as she kissed the doll, "I’ll never let you go again; I will always hold you. Anyone who wants to snatch you will have to step over my dead body first."

Seeing Janice start to calm down, Lucinda let go of her.

Stefan held Lucinda's hand and whispered, "Lucy, I understand how you feel, but we need to give your mom time to get used to your existence. We have to guide her slowly to remember the past and face reality. Then she will gradually recover."

Lucinda nodded, her eyes red.

Yes, she was too eager.

She really wanted her birth mother to come to her senses sooner.

But she had been mentally disturbed for over twenty years. Even if they found her, she couldn't recover in such a short time.

Stefan lifted his hand, placed it on her shoulder, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, "Don't worry, it'll be okay. She was already starting to talk about the past just now. She still remembers it. It's just that losing you was too painful for her, so painful that she can't face reality, which has made her mentally unstable."

"Seeing her like this, I'm really heartbroken. I'm right in front of her. I'm her biological daughter. She likes me too; she says she enjoys being with me and feels like I'm her daughter, but,"

"I know; I understand how you feel."

That was all Stefan could say to comfort her.

After a while, Lucinda calmed down.

She shouldn't be too anxious.

Otherwise, like just now, Janice suddenly lost control of her emotions. That could easily lead to an incident. Thankfully, they were at Ascend Estate today, not somewhere else. It could have been dangerous if Janice had run off like that.

The first encounter between mother and daughter was when Janice rushed out of the hotel.

Janice turned around with the doll in her arms and saw Stefan and Lucinda holding each other tightly. But Lucinda's eyes were red. She was taken aback, then asked, "Lucy, what's wrong? Who bullied you?"

She glared at Stefan and said, "Stefan, did you bully Lucy?"

Stefan replied, "Mom, it was windy just now, and some sand got into Lucy's eyes. She kept rubbing her eyes; that's why they're red. She wasn't crying."

Janice was a bit skeptical. "Is that so?"

Lucinda chimed in, "Yes, mom, I didn't cry. I really didn't cry. Some sand got into my eyes."

"Let me see, did the sand come out?"

Janice, holding the doll, walked over to have a look at Lucinda's eyes.

Lucinda let her look.

"There's no sand, but your eyes are really red, Lucy. Did you rub them too hard?"

"It's okay; they will be better in a while."

Janice nodded, then turned to Stefan and said, "Stefan, since Lucy calls me mom, I consider her my daughter. Don't you dare bully Lucy. Don't think that Lucy doesn't have anyone to back her up; she has me. My husband's family is very influential; a lot of people fear the Blue family."

Hearing her say this, Lucinda wanted to argue but held back.

She was afraid of triggering Janice’s emotional instability again.

"Mom, don't worry. I would never bully Lucy; I love her; how could I bear to bully her?"

Stefan promised seriously.

Janice was satisfied with Stefan's attitude.

She felt that this sudden son-in-law was good, and he was also a good match for her sudden daughter.

She hoped that when her own children grew up, they could, like Lucy, find someone who loved them.

When Janice wasn’t agitated, she seemed just like a normal person.

For the time being, Lucinda didn't dare try to awaken her memory.

As Fiona and Stefan had said, these things had to be done gradually. They couldn't rush it. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Two luxury sedans pulled up in front of Serendipity Cafe.

The coffee shop seemed especially peaceful in the afternoon, with some customers leisurely sipping their coffees, sometimes chatting with friends, sometimes scrolling through their phones, or just gazing out through the glass windows at the street view.

Cecilia was sitting behind the cash register, engrossed in some video on her phone. Every time she came across a funny video, she couldn't help but laugh out loud, only to quickly cover her mouth for fear of disturbing the customers in the store.

This would've been a picture of perfect harmony if no one had decided to rock the boat.

But there's always someone ready to stir up the pot.

It wasn't until Cecilia heard the sound of hurried footsteps that she saw Olina, Owen's mother, walking in.

And there was another middle-aged woman with Olina who bore a striking resemblance to Ruby.

Word on the street was that Megan Scott was back in town.

And that middle-aged woman must be Megan, no doubt about it.