“Eldest Young Madam! Eldest Young Master did not have any ill intention toward your daughter. It was just a misunderstanding.”
How could Levi bear to see his eldest young master misunderstood and wronged?
He walked toward them and said, “Eldest Young Master rescued Miss Sweety from some human traffickers.”
“Do you think I would believe that?” Elena did not want to believe a word from Michael or his people.
“Eldest Young Madam…”
“I’m not your Eldest Young Madam!” Elena looked at him coldly. “Levi, you used to treat me well, and I thank you for that. However, please don’t do bad things for your eldest young master again. You’ll have a wife and children someday too!”
He had snatched someone else’s daughter in broad daylight! Did he know how anxious and desperate she was after she discovered Sweety was missing? They had never been a parent, so they probably would not understand the pain.
“El… Miss Elena, it wasn’t us…”
“Mr. White, we got the woman!” Two men ran to them from a distance, and they were out of breath.
“Mr. White, Eldest Young Master Williams, we caught… caught that woman!”
Levi’s eyes lit up as he looked at Elena. “It was the woman who wanted to sell Miss Sweety to a human trafficker. They’ve caught her. You are Miss Sweety’s mother, so you should go and take a look.”
…
The woman who wanted to sell Sweety turned out to be Billie. She cried when she saw Elena. Perhaps it was out of fear; perhaps she regretted it.
“I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Williams. I’m sorry. I had no way out. I… My mother is dying. I’m sorry! I really need money…”
Elena did not sympathize with her. Everyone could be short of money; everyone could have their own unspeakable pain and helplessness, but it was not an excuse to do bad things!
The police took Billie away. Elena and Luacs also went to the police station to record their statement. As for Michael, he was also there because he had rescued Sweety.
When they were done, it was already about four in the afternoon. Sweety’s belly complained again.
When she was hungry, she immediately extended her hand to Michael. “Daddy, eat, eat…”
Children got hungry quickly. It was merely five hours when she last ate, and she was hungry again.
Elena immediately hugged her. “Mommy will take you out to eat.”
She looked at Luacs. She wanted to remind Luacs that it was time to pick up Chester, but she did not want to mention him in front of Michael and Levi. Compared to Sweety, Chester looked even more alike to Michael. His character was simply a mini version of Michael. She was not sure what would happen if Michael saw him. She could not risk losing both her children.
“Sweety, Daddy and Mommy will take you out to eat.”
Luacs immediately went to get the car.
Elena wanted to go with Luacs, but Michael’s said with a muffled voice, “I was the one who rescued Sweety.”
Elena stopped in her tracks. She hesitated for a long time before she turned around to look at him. “I’m sorry I misunderstood you, and thank you for saving Sweety, but…”
There was no superfluous expression on her face. Everything should have faded away after two years. The damn little throbs in her heart, too, should have stopped.
She said, “Please don’t disturb us anymore. Thank you!”
Luacs drove the car toward them. Elena held Sweety in her arms and stepped into the car as quickly as she could. Before the window closed, Sweety leaned against the door with a pout. She looked at Michael. “Daddy…”
“He is not your father!”
After that, the car window was wound up. Michael stood in place and quietly watched them leave.
“Eldest Young Master…” Levi did not know what to say.
They had searched for Elena for two years. Would he let her go that easily? What surprised him was that Elena was with Luacs, and they even had a daughter…
Levi felt irritable. Why was Eldest Young Madam with another man? What about Eldest Young Master?
Sometime later, Michael said, “Find their address.”
Levi’s heart brightened! “Yes!”
Michael narrowed his eyes as he looked at the direction of the car. Stop disturbing them? How could he do that? He had looked for her for two years! It had not been an easy search. He could not let her go!
So what if Sweety was not his daughter? The little girl had called him father, so he wanted to be her father from then onward! Not only did he want his wife, but he also wanted his daughter!
…
Elena struggled that day. When she bathed Sweety at night, the daughter suddenly called out, “Where’s Daddy?”
Nevertheless, her dad was just outside the bathroom as he prepared her clothes for her. Chester was also in the room, and he was reading a book. He heard Sweety’s question, and as the older brother, he was willing to explain to her, “Daddy is getting your clothes.”
Elena was not sure if Sweety understood him. Suddenly, she broke away from Elena’s hand and ran with her short legs. Chester was quick to react. He immediately took a bath towel and wrapped it around her. Sweety was still a toddler, so Elena was not nervous if she was not properly clothed. After all, she was still young. However, Chester was different. Chester would get very upset if Sweety ran around naked.
“Don’t walk around naked!” Chester got angry.
Sweety did not understand it at all; she scanned the room. “Where is Daddy?”
Her question struck a chord in Luacs’s heart. He was not the father that Sweety wanted.
“Sweety, Daddy is here. Don’t talk nonsense.” Elena’s face darkened.
It was rare that she would look so seriously at Sweety. “You only have this Daddy, alright?”
“Papa.” Sweety suddenly changed the way she addressed Luacs.
Papa? The girl had never addressed Luacs that way before. Luacs and Elena looked at each other. Their heart ached, and things had suddenly become clearer. Sweety had a different understanding of who her father was, and Luacs had become her ‘Papa’ instead of her ‘Daddy.’
They wondered about the thoughts in that little girl’s mind. It seemed like Luacs’s companionship for more than a year was not as good as someone she had known for less than a day. Elena felt a surge of helplessness in her heart.
Sweety was only a child. How could she understand? She expressed interest in whatever she liked naturally. She did not care whether the others were unhappy because she could not understand it at all.
Elena took her back into the bathroom and showered her. She changed her clothes and coaxed her to sleep, and she quickly fell asleep. Maybe she was tired after all the excitement during the day.
“Chester, Sweety was frightened today. Take care of her tonight.”
Elena explained to Chester when she came out of the room. Chester pulled Sweety’s quilt over his sister. He nodded, turned on the reading light by his bed, and continued to read. The two toddlers were the same age, but they had utterly different IQ levels.
Elena rubbed her eyebrows as she came out of the room. As soon as she closed the door and looked up, she saw Luacs on the sofa as he looked at her.
“Shall we talk?” Luacs brought a cup of hot tea and walked to the balcony.
The winter breeze was a bit cold. Elena, who trailed behind him, subconsciously rubbed her hands together. Luacs put the hot cup of tea into her hand, and Elena was thankful for the warmth.
Luacs had always been so caring and attentive to her. The man hugged her gently and looked up at the night sky.
His voice was as soft as usual. “Are you thinking about running away again?”