Bella went to the dressing room to change up, feeling really good. Her hair up was tied into a bun, with the unique charm of the young woman and the elegance of the young girl. Kevin appreciated in admiration, “My wife is really beautiful and touching.”
At ten o’clock in the morning, Bella and her mother-in-law went out of the house. The driver sent them to the banquet location. The birthday banquet of the rich and powerful wife was luxurious. It was not the first time for Bella to participate in such a banquet, so she didn’t feel any novelty.
She took her mother-in-law’s arm and walked into the hall. A bunch of elegantly and gorgeously dressed rich wives surged up, saying and behaving in flattery.
At this time, a woman with a very high temperament came over and said with a smile, “Blanche, it’s been a while.”
Blanche embraced the woman cordially, “This is your first birthday since you returned home. I must come.”
She introduced to her daughter-in-law, “This is the wife of the Hannah Group’s chairman, Lauretta, you can call her Ms. Jafferson.”
Bella nodded politely, “Hello, Ms. Jafferson.”
Lauretta looked her up and down and guessed, “Could it be that this is the daughter-in-law, Bella, whom you often exclaim over the phone?”
Blanche smiled and nodded, “Yes.”
“Wow. Seeing is believing. She’s beautiful and sensible. You’re really blessed, Blanche.”
“Thank you. Your daughter-in-law is also very good.”
Lauretta waved her hand at the left side of the banquet hall, and a gorgeous young woman who was chatting with the guests approached them, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Let me introduce you, this is Ms. Zoe, and this is Ms. Zoe’s daughter-in-law, Bella.”
The gorgeous young woman warmly greeted, “Hello, Ms. Zoe. Hello, Bella.”
“Hello.”
Bella politely smiled and was trying to check the woman out in front of her. A little boy of five or six ran over to them, “Mother, grandmother.”
Lauretta smiled dotingly as soon as she saw the little boy and introduced him to Blanche, “This is my grandson.”
She bent down, “Neinei, call out to grandmother.”
The little boy was extremely sensible, keeping his fingers together, putting his hands on his waist and bowing respectfully, “Hello grandmother, hello auntie.”
“Wow, this child is so sensible. Let me look.”
Blanche couldn’t hide her fondness for him and squatted down to hug him, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Neil, and my nickname is Neinei.”
“Neil? Well, it’s a good name. Who gave you that?”
“My grandfather gave it to me. He hopes that when I grow up in the future, I will have largeness of mind as vast as the universe.”
Neinei’s lofty words made everyone laugh. Among the group of people who laughed, only Bella couldn’t laugh. Her mother-in-law’s love for that child in her arms made her feel inferior for the first time in her life.
Blanche quickly realized that her actions might have struck her daughter-in-law’s nerve, immediately let go of the child in her arms, and said to Lauretta, “I was so focused on amusing the child that I forgot to wish you a happy birthday.”
Lauretta nodded, “Thank you, thank you.”
The beautiful young woman led her son away. Bella forced herself to endure the distress and pointed forward, “Mom, I’m going to drink something.”
“Alright.”
Bella’s gloomy back made Blanche very frustrated. She shouldn’t show her desire for a child in front of her daughter-in-law, but she looked askance at that cute child in the distance. She really wanted a grandson like Neinei.
She would rarely envy others, but right now she was especially envious of today’s birthday woman.
Simply because Lauretta had such a delightful grandson.
Bella sat in the corner with champagne in hand, her eyes empty. Her mother-in-law came over to her and said apologetically, “Bella, I’m sorry. Did I upset you just now?”
Bella immediately shook her head and tried to force a smile, “Mom, no. Don’t worry. I’m not unhappy.”
“I didn’t know that Lauretta’s grandson had also returned to China, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
She had to explain this to her daughter-in-law or Bella would have thought she was deliberately irritating her.
“Mom, it doesn’t matter. Do I have to consider the whole world as my enemy because I can’t have children? Stop beating yourself up. That child is indeed adorable.”
Blanche’s guilt only slightly diminished when she heard her daughter-in-law say this.
The birthday banquet officially began. Lauretta stood in front of the cake and said speeches of thanks. Then her grandson came up, “Happy birthday, grandmother. I wish you good fortune and longevity.”
There was popping applause from the crowd, and Lauretta squatted down to say thank you to her grandson, who hugged her neck and gave her a heavy kiss on the cheek.
Wow … Amidst squeals of happiness, Lauretta picked her grandson up.
“Grandma, put me down. I have a show to put on.”
Lanying put her grandson down and Neinei immediately posed, “I’m going to perform a Michael Jackson’s Remember the time for my grandmother.”
Wow … The crowd erupted into squeals again, and Lauretta was smiling from ear to ear, completely immersed in great happiness.
Neinei was performing hard with tender dance steps. Although it could not be compared to the generation of kings, for a six-year-old child, it was indeed already a high challenge.
Bella looked askance to her mother-in-law, who was concentrating on watching Neinei performance, her eyes of love making Bella sensitive and painful.
Quietly leaving the crowd, without saying a word to the mother-in-law, she left gloomily.
Walking down the street alone in a daze, her heart felt like it had been hollowed out. She didn’t know where to go or what to do. The phone in her handbag rang. It was her mother-in-law calling. She took a deep breath and pressed answer, “Hello, mom.”
“Bella, where have you been? The luncheon is about to start.”
“I’m sorry mom. I had to leave in a bit of a hurry …”
“Did you leave?” Blanche was taken aback, “Why did you leave?”
“Alice asked me about something. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
A brief silence, Blanche sighed, “Alright then. I will see you at home this afternoon.”
Hanging up the phone, she was already clear about the reason why her daughter-in-law left. The reason why she no longer pursued the matter was that she did not want to add pressure to her.
Bella continued to muddle along on the street. After walking for a long time, she fiercely looked up, only to find that she actually came to the mother’s grave. She looked at the mother’s photo on the tombstone and shed tears. She thudded down on her knees in front of her mother’s grave, reached out a trembling hand to touch her mother’s face, and sadly said, “Mom, what should I do? You tell me what I should do …”
Her tears fell down, irrigating the soft grass beneath, and perhaps in the next year, a field of sad flowers would bloom.
“Many years ago, you said that when I grow up, I will also have a daughter who is as good and sensible as me, but what should I do now? I tried my best. I really tried, but I really can’t get pregnant. Mom, I’m so tired. I’ve been gritting my teeth over and over again, but I can’t overcome my miserable fate …”
“That family has been very good to me. My mother-in-law said it’s okay. Even if I don’t have children, they won’t abandon me just because I can’t have children. I know she just comforts me, but I still live under the illusion time and time again, deceiving myself. My mother-in-law said it’s okay. So I’m okay, but today…. …”
She lowered her head and sobbed, “Today, when I saw my mother-in-law holding someone else’s child, her unintentional desire for the child really cut me to the quick. I began to wonder if it was too selfish of me to stay in this house …”
A gust of wind rose, like her mother’s touch, dried the tears from her eyes. But her tears fell down again. Thinking that Kevin still didn’t know that she couldn’t have children, she wished the ground could crack open, so that she could stay here forever to sleep with her mother. She would be painful to leave Kevin, but it would be even more painful for her not to leave him.
The phone in her bag rang again, and she tearfully took it out to answer. It was a strange number, but a voice that wasn’t unfamiliar.
“Come out and meet me.”
“What’s up?”
She sniffled, feigning composure in her question.
“It’s natural to ask you out on a date. If it’s nothing, I’ll go around far if I see you.”
Bella wiped the tears from her eyes, “Sorry, I’m not free right now.”
“What about tomorrow? You’ll let me know when you’re free.”
“If you need anything, just tell me on the phone. I’m not available every day.”
The caller was Freya, and Bella knew that it won’t be good for Freya to ask her out.
“So? Then why don’t I just go to the Cloud Mansion and meet you there? I’ve been there many times. I’m familiar with the way there.”
As soon as she heard that she was going to the Cloud Mansion, Bella compromised, “Where are we going to meet?”
“Blue Sky Cafe.”
Freya hung up the phone in a moody manner, and Bella gazed deeply at her mother and cheered up to go down the mountain.
Even if life was not as good as it should be and the mood was bad, she couldn’t show any of it in front of the rival, which was the most unassailable principle of Bella. So when she arrived at the Blue Sky Cafe, there weren’t loss and pain on her face. Except for the red eyes, anyone couldn’t see that she has just cried a lot.
Freya was already waiting there. Bella indifferently sat opposite her, and asked directly, “Go ahead, what are you looking for me for?”
“It seems you’re stronger than I thought. You can even act as if nothing has happened after such a tragic event.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know all about it.” Freya leaned forward, “You can’t have children.”
Bella’s face instantly went pale, her nails pinching into her flesh, “How did you know?”
“Don’t mind how I know. The point is that I know it.”
“So what if you know?”