If I did not look back, I would not have known that all those girls at the entrance were actually looking at Jared. It was no wonder they all looked shy.
It was not a surprise since Jared was good-looking. And due to his age, he looked more profound, which attracted a lot of women.
After that, a staff member guided us to the top of the building. From there, the view was magnificent. The lights. The people. All of them made it so it looked like we went back in time.
When we met up, Summer immediately started telling us about her progress. “All the prep work is done. Mr. Cress was a lot of help. Oh, and on the day of the festival, there will be ninety-nine pairs of couples holding their wedding ceremony here in Hanfu fashion to generate publicity. There will also be tours as well people live-streaming them. I’m confident that this event will rock the whole country.”
While she was talking, I could see that she was happy about the city that she had built. It was the same look that Macy had when she opened up the bar for business.
“You did great.” I walked over to her, placed my hand on her shoulder, and watched the incredible view she created with her.
Suddenly, we heard a commotion from behind us.
“Let go of her! I said let go!”
“Shaun! Save me, Shaun!”
I knew just from hearing their voices that it was Audrey and Shaun. The two somehow got their hands on some children’s Hanfu.
“Ms. Summer, these two didn’t pay for their food and even committed theft. What do I do?” the security asked while the children struggled in midair like lobsters out of water.
“I’m not a thief! I’m not!”
It was clear that Audrey asked Shaun to sneak out with her, but they ended up losing their wallets and couldn’t pay for anything.
“Mrs. Featherstone, why are you here?” Shaun was the first to notice us.
“If I weren’t, you two would be sleeping in the police station,” I said before approaching them. “These are our kids. The Featherstone Corporation will cover any damage these two caused. I’ll personally bring them over and apologize to the victims. Let them go for now.”
Audrey was finally free, but she huffed in frustration, “You’re mean, Mommy! I called you earlier, but you ignored me and let me get bullied!”
Oh? Is she mad at me?
I glanced toward Shaun as I was being falsely accused.
However, the boy’s eyes widened as he said seriously, “It’s true, Mrs. Featherstone. We saw you earlier, but you ignored us. You left your wallet and Audrey before leaving.”
“Were you guys seeing things?” I was really telling the truth because I had been brought away since I arrived. I never even had the chance to go anywhere else.
Still, Shaun insisted, “No, Mrs. Featherstone! That person looked exactly like you.”
There was a possibility if Audrey had seen it wrong since she was quite a careless person. But if Shaun was insistent on it, it had to mean that the woman really did look like me.
Even so, it didn’t mean that it was right for them to sneak out.
“Audrey, I’m only going to say this once, okay? The woman you guys saw earlier looked like me, but it wasn’t me. I would never leave my kids behind and ignore them. Don’t you trust me?” I pretended to be angry.
Children should know that being outside was different from being at home. It wasn’t somewhere they should mess around as they please. Besides, as a mother, I should not be condoning their actions.
Having heard what I said, Audrey frowned, but her anger vanished a while later. She looked aggrieved and guilty as she asked, “Was she really not you?”
I shook my head to assure her. Emery then chimed in, “Your mom was with Summer and me the whole time. We never left this place.”
Hearing that, the girl let out a deep sigh and dropped her head. “Okay. I’m sorry, Mommy. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you.”
“Yes, you were wrong,” I said, my voice sterner than before. “But your mistake isn’t mistaking someone else for me. It’s that you sneaked out without telling any of us adults. Think about it. What would you do if Summer and I weren’t here?”
Audrey fidgeted with her fingers and took a sideways glance at the security. Then, her head seemed to have drooped lower as she said, “I’d be treated like a naughty kid and be brought away by the police.”
“That wouldn’t be the end of it,” Emery said. “You might have bumped into some bad guys and gotten kidnapped. Then, you wouldn’t be able to see your mom, or Summer, or your Uncle John and Aunt Emma.”
The girl paled and burst into tears the next second. She didn’t dare to cry out loud and instead sobbed silently.
Even a hero would have their soft-hearted moments, let alone a mother like me.
The metal walls in my heart tumbled down and melted into goo the moment I saw my daughter cry.
I quickly walked up to her and swept her into my arms to console her.
At that, Audrey couldn’t hold it in anymore as she cried loudly. Her tiny arms were wrapped around my neck as she bawled, “I was wrong, Mommy! I won’t sneak out anymore. I don’t want to not be able to see you, Mommy!”
My eyes burned with tears, and I couldn’t get anything else out of my mouth besides repeating, “I’m glad you know your mistake. It’s fine now. Mommy’s here…”
She finally calmed down after a while.
With that, I used a wet tissue to clean up Audrey’s face and tidied up her clothes. Then, Emery and I brought the kids along to the restaurant they had dined and dashed to apologize and pay for the food.
Perhaps it was because Summer was present, but the owner of the restaurant was surprisingly civil. Upon finding out that the kids were her siblings, he generously decided to waive the bill and even tried to get us to have a meal before leaving. The owner continued with his offer for a long while before Summer finally got us out of the situation by telling him that she was busy.
Right when we got out of the restaurant, the owner caught up to us and handed me a wallet. “The kids left this wallet here when they were brought away by the security earlier. Keep it well.”
“Excuse me, I’d like to place another order.”
“Okay, coming!”
Before I could refuse, he rushed back into the shop to tend to his customers.
I had no plans on taking someone else’s stuff and was going to put it on one of the vacant tables. But for some reason, I pulled out the picture popping out from one of the corners.
My brows furrowed at the sight of the picture.
Audrey was right. The woman looked just like me.
Besides our fashion styles, it was no exaggeration to say that both of us looked exactly the same. I stayed stunned for a moment before noticing the other person in the picture.
It was a man. Even though only his chin showed up in the picture, I could tell that it wasn’t Anthony.
The first thing that came to mind was that I had never taken such an intimate picture with any man in my life. Both of them were standing shoulder to shoulder, with their faces touching. They looked like an affectionate couple no matter what.
Seeing that I wasn’t reacting at all, Emery leaned closer to take a look before saying, “She looks like your long-lost twin sister.”
Without giving it much thought, I replied in shock, “Really? Do I really have a twin sister?”
A look of disdain appeared on the woman’s face as she said, “Can’t you tell that I was just joking?”
Then, she took the picture from my hands and started to study it. “But I’ve got to say, both of you really do look alike. It’s at the point where I can’t even tell that this woman isn’t you. It’s no wonder the kids would go after her like that.”
I shrugged, unsure of how I should reply.
Meanwhile, Audrey had already made her way to the car and was urging us to hurry up. I quickly shoved the picture back into the wallet and put it on the counter before leaving.
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.