“Not just alike. You two look exactly the same.”
“…” Stunned, the woman then broke into a pure and surprised smile. “It never crossed my mind that there’d be someone who looks just like me. I’d love to meet her.”
Felipe felt his heart getting stabbed and shredded at the sight of the bright smile before his eyes.
He looked down and scoffed self-deprecatingly.
“She’s already dead, the girl who looks just like you.”
“…”
That took both Adam and the woman aback.
Felipe chuckled despondently when he saw the woman’s legitimately shocked expression. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go take a look at what happened to Kendrick.”
“Kendrick got admitted to the hospital?” Adam asked in surprise, “What happened? Did the slow-acting poison relapse?”
Felipe shook his head. “I have no idea. Do you want to come take a look yourself?”
“Yeah.” Adam did not hesitate before replying and handed the child back to the woman. “I’m going to go check on my friend, Amy. Wait for me in the car, hmm?”
“Your friend is my friend, Adam. I’ll come with you,” the woman suggested.
Adam did not think much of it and agreed. “Let’s go, then.”
“Hmm.” The woman nodded and turned to Felipe who was still staring at her. “Lead the way, Mr. Waldburg.”
Felipe gave a slight tilt of the head and finally averted his deep gaze from the woman’s face.
In the elevator, Adam realized that Felipe’s gaze remained trained on the woman’s face. He was confused but did not ask about it.
Only after a while of persuasion did Kendrick finally manage to have Niamh leave the ward to sign his discharge papers.
He was well aware of his condition. It was merely a surface wound.
Seeing Niamh walking toward the door reluctantly, Kendrick smiled and was about to tease her when she suddenly froze in place by the door of the ward.
Worry began to creep up Kendrick’s handsome features. “Nia? Nia, what’s wrong?”
Niamh heard Kendrick calling her name but was too stunned by the sight her eyes caught.
“Kendrick…”
“Nia.” Kendrick lifted the blankets and got down the bed.
Watching the man running toward her worriedly, Niamh quickly went to help the man.
“What’s wrong, Nia?” Kendrick ignored his condition. All his eyes saw was Niamh.
Just as he spoke, a face he had never expected appeared in his line of vision.
“Cathy?!” Kendrick was astonished.
Niamh nodded excitedly as well. “It’s Cathy! It really is Cathy!”
The woman wondered even more just how alike she was with this Cathy when she saw Niamh and Kendrick’s reactions.
She was about to explain herself but Adam was a step faster. “You’re mistaken. This is Amy Young, my fiancée. I understand that she looks a lot like this Cathy you speak of, but she isn’t Cathy.”
Niamh and Kendrick’s excitement slowly returned to normal.
“Hello. I’m Amy Young, Adam’s fiancée. I must really look like this Cathy you speak of, but I’m not her. Please don’t mistake me for her.”
Amy explained with a smile. Yet be it her smile or her voice, they were no different from Cathy’s.
Niamh was certain that she was not mistaken before. The woman from before who was buying yellow roses with two children in tow was this woman before her right now who looked exactly like Cathy.
Now, she was curious as to why Felipe would appear with Adam and Amy.
From Felipe’s expression, it seemed like the man had already accepted the cruel truth that she was not Cathy.
“Oh, right. What happened to you? Why are you in the hospital?” Adam asked Kendrick in confusion.
“Nothing much, I just got into a small accident.” Kendrick brushed it off with a simple response while his deep and inquisitive gaze remained on the woman by the name of Amy.
“Since when did you find yourself a fiancée, Adam? You even have a kid too?”
Adam smiled. “I told you, didn’t I? That we all have our secrets. With the job I used to do, there was no way I’d let anyone know about my family,” he explained, his mannerisms especially natural.
Niamh shared a look with Kendrick. There was much the both of them wanted to say, but they did not speak further.
“If it isn’t the slow-acting poison relapsing, then we’ll head back first, alright?” Adam looked at Amy with gentleness. “We still have a daughter waiting for us at home.”
Kendrick understood. “I’m alright. I’ll look for you if anything feels off.”
“Okay. We’ll get going, then.” Adam then wrapped his arm around Amy’s shoulders and urged the child in her arms. “Say goodbye to Uncle and Aunty, Juan.”
The angelic boy blinked his glistening eyes and bid them farewell obediently. “Bye-bye, uncles and Aunty.”
“Bye-bye, Juan.” Niamh smiled crescent-eyed at the adorable child.
Watching the couple leave, Niamh furrowed her brows.
‘Is it not you, Cathy?’
“Is she really not Cathy?” Felipe suddenly asked with a bitter smile. “I refuse to believe it. I have to check.”
He quickly strode after them, completely forgetting that he had come to the hospital to visit Kendrick.
Kendrick did not stop him for he knew that if he was in Felipe’s shoes, the truth would be the only thing that mattered to him at this moment.
He fully understood how Felipe felt. Whether she was or was not Cathy, her existence was still a ray of hope to Felipe.
Niamh signed Kendrick’s discharge papers, and as they were on the way home, Niamh gave Sean a call. She asked if Eloise had been found yet, but Sean said no.
Eloise going missing had fueled Niamh’s unease.
Kendrick understood how Niamh felt. “Don’t blame yourself, Nia. This isn’t your fault. Life is full of surprises and unexpected incidents, so we can’t prevent everything. Mom could be on the way home for all we know.”
Niamh smiled softly, knowing that Kendrick was only trying to console and comfort her.
“You’re right, Kendrick. It’s also impossible for us to know if the unexpected would be something good or bad. Like Cathy.” She looked up to meet the man’s gaze. “Do you remember how you asked Cathy to return to Glendale and asked Adam for pain medication when we were in F Country back then?”
“Yeah.” Kendrick nodded. “That’s what I was wondering about just now. If she truly is Cathy, then it’d be likely that she exchanged contacts with Adam.”
“I hope it’s Cathy.” Niamh prayed internally. “Hope is not lost as long as she’s alive.”
“That must be what Felipe is thinking too. As long as Cathy’s still alive, even if as someone else’s wife, I’m sure he’ll be happy.”
Niamh agreed with Kendrick but how were they supposed to prove that Amy was Cathy?
Less than 20 minutes later, Niamh and Kendrick returned to the manor. The first thing she did was ask Karen about Eloise’s situation. “Did my mom drop by, Mom?”
Karen was stunned. “Didn’t she leave with the both of you this morning? What happened to your head, Kendrick? What’s with all the bandages?”
“It’s just a surface injury, I’m alright,” Kendrick replied casually as he was more worried about where Eloise was. “Stay home and take care of the kids, Nia. I’ll go meet up with Dad. Mom can’t go too far on her own.”
“Stay home, Kendrick. I know you said you’re fine, but I’m still worried.” Niamh held him back. “Go back to rest in the room.”
“I’m really alright,” Kendrick stressed.
Even so, Niamh was firm and gave a displeased expression. “I told you to go and rest, didn’t I? Or do you want to fight about this?”
“…” Kendrick conceded and returned to rest in the room as per Niamh’s orders.
Niamh exhaled a sigh of relief and notified Karen before she left the house to meet up with Sean.
The two made multiple rounds around the streets of Montgomery Manor, but there were no leads to where Eloise had gone.
Eloise had clearly walked into the ruins, so how did she just vanish into thin air?
Seconds turned into minutes, then minutes turned into hours. The sun had already begun to set before they knew it. Standing dazedly in the middle of the road where cars drove past beside her, Niamh frowned.
“Where are you, Mom? I’m so worried about you.”
Niamh’s expression was filled with frustration as she thought about the hardships and pain she had been through just for her family to finally reunite.
Now, her mother was missing.
With Eloise’s mental state, Niamh’s concern intensified.
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.