Brettley could not help but notice that the boy in the photo looked slightly different from the Neil he knew. Just like the picture he had seen in Bethan’s apartment, the boy in the picture looked pale, sickly, and appeared to be far more mature and reserved than Neil.
Brettley narrowed his eyes.
He could not help but feel that the boy in the photo was not Neil at all but another child instead.
However, a split second later, he dismissed the thought.
How could that be possible? Neil and Nellie were twins. How could there be another child that looked identical to Neil?
Brettley sighed and tucked the photo away. “If you value this picture that much, I’ll find someone to fix i t for you, ” offered Brettley. Then, his gaze fell on Bethan’s injured finger. “Are you okay?”
Bethan paused, then withdrew her bleeding hand. “
Yes, I’m fine.”
Brettley gave her another meaningful look and was about to say something but ultimately decided against it. Then, he strode out of the office.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, however, he stopped. “Lucas.”
“Yes, Sir,”
Lucas answered respectfully.
“Find a first aid kit and take care of Bethan’s wound for her. Then, help me find someone who can restore photos.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Brettley swiveled around to glance at Alice. “Come to my office.”
Alice wrung her hands and followed him in silence. She did not expect that Brettley would suddenly turn up at the design department just to check on her! If she had known he would come, she would not have behaved the way she did!
The two entered the elevator and arrived at Brettley’s office on the top floor. Brettley closed the door and sat down in his office chair. He then fixated his steely gaze on Alice. “Why did you cause Bethan trouble? Are you upset at me for making you come to work?”
“No… Of course not.”
Alice bit down on her lip and stared at Brettley with a pitiful expression. “I wasn’t upset with you. On the contrary, I’m thrilled to be able to work at Morrison Group. I know that the reason you wanted me to come in to work is that you didn’t want me to feel bored at home, and also because you wanted me to get used to this place so that we can work together in the future, but…”
Brettley narrowed his eyes. “But what?”
Alice sighed and glanced at Brettley. “I was scared that if I start from the bottom, the rest of the employees will look down on me. Even though I’m the CEO’s wife, I still have to start from the bottom to climb to the top…”
Alice wiped her tears and continued, “Brettley, you know that I was born into an ordinary family in Sea City. My family isn’t wealthy, and I’ve always felt insecure about that…”
Brettley’s brows furrowed upon hearing that. He gazed at her red-rimmed eyes and heaved a deep sigh. “You’re right. Working with someone as skilled as Bethan might’ve been too challenging for a moment, then finally said, “I’ll ask her to assign you some easier tasks.”
He lifted his head and fixated his deep gaze on Alice. “I can understand why you acted the way you did just now. You lashed out at Bethan because you wanted to make everyone else respect you and gain your dignity back. However…”
Brettley narrowed his eyes. “Did you really break Bethan’s photo frame by accident?”
Bethan had so many items on her desk; why did Alice just so happen to break the photo frame? Why did she step on the photo, puncturing a hole right through Bethan’s face?
Brettley was not stupid. He knew that it was not just a simple accident.
Alice knew this as well, so she took a deep breath and admitted the truth, “I did it on purpose.”
Brettley raised his brows at her.
“I was jealous of Bethan because she had so many memories with Neil, but I had none. Bethan can display a picture of her and Neil on her desk, but what about me? I don’t have anything at all. Neil still refuses to call me Mommy, much less take a photo with me.”
With that, Alice lifted her head to look at him as if she was genuine.
“I know it wasn’t right of me to do that, but I couldn’t stop myself. Neil is my son. I can’t stand seeing how close he is to Bethan.”
“You have to know that you were missing from Neil’s life for a long time, ” remarked Brettley as he gently tapped his slender fingers against his desk. “
Besides, even though Neil has returned to your side now, you never fulfilled your responsibility as a mother to him.”
Alice bit down on her lip. “That’s because I didn’t have a chance to do so. I… “
Before she could finish, however, someone knocked on the door.
Lucas’ voice rang out from the other side, “President Morrison, the photo restoration specialist is here.”
Brettley murmured a reply and turned around to glance at Alice. “Get back to work. Remember, even though Neil isn’t close with you, it’s not Bethan’s fault. It’s yours. Please don’t ever bring personal grudges into your work in the future.”
Alice bit down on her lip and muttered in response. Then, she turned around and left the room.
Just as she was about to leave, however, Brettley suddenly recalled something and stopped her. “Are you sure you gave birth to only two children at the time?”
Alice’s heart leaped into her throat.
Alice turned around and shot Brettley a puzzled look. “
Didn’t I…birth two children?”
Was one of the children adopted?
Brettley let out a bitter chuckle as soon as he saw her baffled expression. He was wrong, after all.
Alice shot him another confused glance before she finally left the room.
At the design department.
Bethan’s finger was wrapped in a bandage. At that moment, she stood outside her office as she instructed Shannon and the rest to find an empty desk for Alice.
Seeing that Alice had returned, Bethan glanced at her and said, “Since you don’t like my office, I’ve requested the staff to find a nice, spacious desk for you. You don’t have to do anything in the meantime, so just try to figure out what goes on in the design department every day and get to know the rest of your colleagues.”
Alice rolled her eyes, turned around, and plopped down in the seat. Then, she gave Bethan a wry smile. “
Thank you so much for looking after me, Director Bethan.”
Bethan frowned and shot her a glance but said nothing in response. Instead, she turned around and entered her office.
To her surprise, Alice immediately got up and followed her into the room. She closed the door behind her and said coldly, “Bethan.”
Bethan turned around and raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Is something the matter?”
“Neil and Nellie. One of them is adopted, right?”
Bethan frowned. “Why are you suddenly asking me this?”
“Just tell me yes or no.”
Alice exhaled and lowered her voice before saying, “Just now, when I was in Brettley’s office, he asked me if I was sure I had given birth to two children.”
Bethan’s breath caught in her throat as soon as she heard that.
Brettley would never ask a question like that out of the blue. Plus, he had taken her photo away…
Bethan had a bad feeling about it. She bit down on her lip and stared at Alice. “What did you answer him?”
“I said I was sure, of course.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “
Tell me: Did you or did you not adopt one of them? I always thought both Neil and Nellie belonged to you, but if one of them was adopted, you better tell me who it is! “
She narrowed her eyes angrily and added, “If Brettley finds out I’m not the real Bethan Peterson, I’ll make you and your children’s lives a living hell! “
Bethan heaved a deep sigh. “They’re both my children.
Don’t worry.”
“That’s good, then! “
Alice rolled her eyes at Bethan before she left the room, closing the door behind her.
Bethan sat back down in her office chair and stared blankly in the direction of the door.
Brettley must have realized something. Otherwise, he would not have asked Alice a question like that.
Bethan wrapped her arms around herself when, all of a sudden, she felt a chill run down her entire body.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.