Dorothy did not understand why Credence asked her if she was hiding anything from him instead of telling her the situation the moment he came back from saving Germaine and Belle. For a moment, there was a complicated feeling in her heart and she was numb.
Of course, she was hiding something from him, but was this the right time to tell him about it?
Her eyes twitched. Dorothy suppressed the panic in her heart and asked him in a soft and burning voice, “Where’s Germaine and Belle? Credence, where are the people you’ve saved? Where are they?”
She was supposed to rest in the simple and crude base, but she tossed and turned all night and was unable to sleep.
She was worried about the safety of her precious daughter and Germaine. She was worried that Credence and Marvin would encounter unimaginable danger once they went to that strange island to save people.
What she hated more was that her right knee was temporarily disabled. She could not follow them.
But this man asked if she was hiding anything from him the moment he returned from the journey. He must have met Rosalie on the island. What happened there? What on earth happened?
“We have saved Germaine, but Jeremy has taken her away. As for your daughter, Rosalie lost her halfway. Sorry, we are still searching for the time being.”
As he spoke, Credence slowly walked over and reached out to hold Dorothy’s thin and cold fingers. He closed his long and narrow eyes to hide the misty feeling at the corners of his eyes. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, they were burning hot. He raised her chin with his other hand and stared into her eyes with a deep smile.
As he spoke, his hoarse voice sounded painful yet joyful. “Dorothy, Belle is my child, right?”
Dorothy was trapped in his warm embrace. She could only watch as he lowered his head, smiled at her, and parted his thin lips to ask if Belle was his child?!
In front of her was his broad and burning chest, while behind it was just a simple door. Stars filled the dark sky.
As for her, she inhaled the cool night breeze that entered her nose. Her heartbeat was fast, and she lost the ability to resist. Her legs turned weak and she leaned against his arms. She whispered without any confidence, “How, how did you find out?”
After all, she had been hiding Belle’s existence ever since she was still in her womb, and she had hidden her from him for six years. Now, upon facing his interrogation, she could not help but feel guilty.
She suppressed her panic and took a deep breath. “Credence, I really didn’t want to tell you about Belle’s existence at first. Because, what you did in the past really hurt my heart, and I just wanted to take Belle with me and leave so that we could live the rest of our lives in peace. I didn’t want to have anything to do with you anymore.
However, sometimes we cannot decide our fate. There are some things that I can’t avoid even if I try.
If you think that I have hurt you because I didn’t tell you the truth, then I can apologize to you now. But after I apologize, can you hurry up and find Belle as soon as possible? She has been in poor health ever since she was a baby, and she is weak. I am worried that she can’t survive in the streets.”
When it came to her daughter’s life, Dorothy was really scared. She was so afraid that her teeth chattered and she shivered.
“It is because she is suffering from leukemia, right?”
His big palm slipped from her thin chin to her moist eyes. Suddenly, he hugged her tightly in his arms and said in a hoarse and low voice, “Dorothy, this is such a serious matter, yet you endured such hardship and buried them deep in your heart. As for me, I lost my memory in the car accident. I’ve stayed by that vicious woman’s side and allowed her to act in front of me. I forgot about you, forgot that there was also a woman who I have hurt, yet she was willing to give me a child regardless of the past.”
“Sorry. Baby, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one to blame. I should be the one apologizing to you.”
Her ears were filled with the man’s gentle and low breath, as well as his true feelings. Dorothy trembled so hard that she did not know whether she should be happy or tear up.
“Please, Credence, stop it, stop it! You are not the reason I am willing to give birth to Belle.
We broke up, our marriage was broken, and I had nothing left to live for. Luckily, I had Belle in my womb. She accompanied me day and night, and my life was not that dull.
I looked at the bundle of joy, how she smiled at me; how she learned to walk; how she even called me ‘Mommy’ all for the first time. It was only then, I realized that the relationship between a mother and a daughter transcends all relationships. She made me not hate you that much, and gave me the strength to resist the lonely world as well as find the courage to walk the earth.”
Dorothy suddenly recalled those devastating six years of her wandering in a foreign land; it suddenly felt like a dream to her.
If she continued to endure it, it would all eventually be over.
This was the first time that he had heard her speak her heart out. From her words, Credence could feel the amount of pressure she had to bear, as well as how deep in pain she was. He could not help but wrap his arms tighter around her, and his cold eyes got teary. He pressed his thin lips closer to her fair earlobe and licked it gently. His heart was in such a deep mess as if there were thousands of knots in it.
“I’m sorry, Baby. I’ll repay everything I owed you!”
He stayed close to her and breathed on her neck. He licked his dry thin lips, and showed a gentleness that he had never shown to her before. “You have loved, hurt, and hated. But will you still be willing to accept me?”
Would she agree?
Dorothy wanted to shake her head. She wanted to refuse his proposal.
But, he was so gentle. This was something that she had never felt before!
There was a short moment where she could not bear to refuse him.
After a moment of stupefaction, Dorothy turned her eyes to the dark night. Her eyes were blank as she laughed. “Credence, I can’t give you an answer right now. Let’s wait until we get Belle back and cure her terminal illness.”
Credence was keen. He immediately realized that she was euphemistically refusing his offer. He gave up on the thought of wanting her to give him the answer on the spot. He knew how stubborn she was and how she could not be forced.
He took her into the lounge and settled her down on the bed. After that, he walked out of the door and sent a message to Rosalie. He asked her where Belle was last seen.
He warned her that if she did not tell him the truth, he would catch her and kill her.
On the other side, Rosalie needed to protect her own life, thus she quickly replied to the message and attached the specific address.
The man squinted his dark eyes and glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost four in the morning, there was no need for him to sleep anymore. Finding his daughter was the most important thing.
The little girl with sky-blue eyes seemed to have only met him once. Her facial features were not very similar to him, nor did they look like Dorothy’s, yet she was his own daughter…
Overwhelmed by shock and excitement, Credence hung his head and lit a cigarette. After taking a few big huffs, his heart beat slightly and his phone rang. “Come over in ten seconds. It’s an emergency.”