As Dorothy watched the elegant middle-aged woman enter the venue, she was looking back at her as well.
Her face, especially, looked just like Dorothy’s. Her eyes were filled with surprise, and her lips trembled as she said, “Dory, I’m sorry. I’ve been absent from your life for so long, and I hope I’m not too late.”
For Dorothy, it felt like she was looking at herself in the mirror. It was just that she was looking at a version of herself that was twenty years older.
She watched the middle-aged woman walk towards her step by step, and she was really dumbstruck. She wanted to turn around and walk away. However, she could not move her feet no matter what. It was as if her foot was rooted to the ground.
Back when she was following Jonathan to this place, she was wondering what Credence was up to, and why he was acting so mysterious.
Now, Dorothy finally knew his intentions.
The so-called huge surprise was her finding her biological mother.
He had found her mother, a celebrity called Leilani, and invited her over to Talco City. He even invited a lot of big figures in Talco City to witness this touching scene together.
It was more likely that the reason he turned the matter of her meeting her mother into a grand event was to show everyone that both her and Leilani were women that were under his protection.
Whoever dared to cause trouble to Leilani was openly challenging him, and that they were making things difficult for him.
There weren’t that many people who dared to provoke Credence in all of Talco City.
It could be said that with Credence’s support, it did not matter whether Leilani wanted to continue and stay in the entertainment circle or if she wanted to start her venture in any other industry. Her journey would be smooth.
Credence did so much for the two of them in secret. All he wanted was for them to reconcile more easily and for him to win her heart.
After all, during this period of time, Dorothy had held a grudge against him because he had beaten Juelz up. She had treated him quite indifferently during this period of time.
Apart from visiting him for ten minutes every day, she did not enter Credence’s ward anymore. She spent most of her time with Belle and Germaine.
Dorothy had been abandoned and sent to an orphanage ever since she was young, and she was adopted by Linda and Caleb not long after. At first, she lived a relatively good life. However, after her foster parents had Rosalie, her life started to get worse and worse, and she was treated so badly that she had seen how dark and cruel the world really was.
Every time she was bullied by Rosalie and her foster parents, she would hope to find her real parents. She hoped that they could rescue her from the danger she was in. However, after being disappointed over and over again, she stopped looking forward to it. In fact, she even held a grudge against her biological parents.
She hated them for not raising her after giving birth to her. She hated them for abandoning her after having her. They did not deserve to be parents!
Therefore, at this very moment, when she saw Leilani walking towards her excitedly with tears of joy in her eyes, Dorothy’s heart did not waver at all.
She did not know how other people reacted when they saw their mothers, but at least, for her, when she faced Leilani, not only did she not feel excited, she even felt a sense of awkwardness and unfamiliarity with her.
They hadn’t spoken a word to each other in 31 years. How could they be familiar with each other?
Just as Dorothy was feeling awkward, Leilani had already rushed over agitatedly and held her tightly. Her eyes reddened, and tears fell just at the right moment. She said in a choked up voice, “Dory, I’m really sorry. I just… I had my reasons at the time, and it’s not going to change anything now. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!”
She looked just like Dorothy. She cried as she spoke. Although she was over forty years old, she still had an indescribable charm.
However, Dorothy, who was stuck in her arms, felt complicated. She didn’t feel moved at all, and definitely didn’t feel the urge to address her as her mother.
As long as anyone had a pair of eyes, they could definitely tell that Dorothy and Leilani were mother and daughter.
However, the word ‘Mom’ lingered in Dorothy’s throat for a long time. It was right at the tip of her tongue, but Dorothy couldn’t utter it no matter what.
Benjamin held Belle’s hand tightly, who was busy stuffing her mouth with food. He watched on silently as Dorothy and Leilani stood before each other, awkwardness evident in the air. An absurd thought flashed in his mind.
However, when he saw how similar Dorothy and Leilani looked, he quickly threw those absurd thoughts of his away.
No, that could not be possible.
They looked so similar to each other. How could they not be related?
At the same time, Leilani took in Dorothy’s every movement. She was secretly upset, but she didn’t show it on her face. She just let go of Dorothy, her tears glistening. “Dory, are you unwilling to forgive me? You’re not even willing to address me as your mother?”
Dorothy said, “I… ”
Dorothy looked at her, her lips twitching. She wanted to say something, but she couldn’t get it out in the end, because a commotion started from the staircase.
Many people swarmed over there, calling out, “Evening, Mr. Scott!”
“Mr. Scott, hi!”
Dorothy suddenly turned around, breaking free of Leilani’s embrace. She turned to gaze at Credence, who was walking down the stairs.
At the same time, she also noticed that he was wearing a suit that was exactly the same material and colour as her dress. He even had a black tie and expensive diamond cuffs on, making him look formal and serious.
Dorothy’s eyes were fixed on his clothes, and she was in a trance for a moment.
Was he wearing matching clothes with her in front of everybody?
When she came back to her senses, she was still in disbelief. She stared at Credence dazedly as he walked towards her.
Facing the noise and enthusiasm of the crowd, Credence raised his chin as a gesture of greeting all of them. However, his gaze was focused on Dorothy.
This was probably her first time being the center of attention. She stood there stiffly, looking a little self-conscious. She wasn’t dressed too ostentatiously, but she still stood out among all the female guests.
“Mr. Scott, please help me put the plate away, thanks!”
Belle was finally full. She stuffed her empty plate into Benjamin’s hands, then ran towards Dorothy, her face all smiles. “Mommy, look! Daddy’s coming to us, and he looks so handsome in his suit and tie! He’s even more handsome than my favourite idol.”
Dorothy’s thoughts were immediately pulled away by Belle’s words. Just as she was taken aback, a warm hand wrapped around her small waist.
A strong, warm force pulled her right into his embrace!