I could hear Rebecca’s voice coming faintly from behind, “Ash, I’m surprised that Scarlett is acquainted with Mr. Stovall from Animus. No wonder Cameron told me that the guests tonight are all big names and prominent people.”
Animus Corporation?
Rather than a birthday banquet, it would be better to describe the party as a gathering of the societal elites. That night, Cameron was garbed in a black velvet gown that had golden flowers embroidered onto it and a pair of exquisite aquamarine-adorned high heels.
The woman was almost fifty years old, yet she looked young for her age, and seemingly free from the ravages of time. For others, beauty and youth would pass with time, but for her, time seemed to have added a certain charm to her, and she was still in her prime.
She caught sight of John from afar. Excusing herself from the few guests she was entertaining, she sauntered over to John with a glass of champagne.
“Mr. Stovall, thank you so much for coming!” Smiling and holding her champagne, her eyes then fell onto me. Cocking her head at John, she asked, “And who might this be?”
Without waiting for John, I spoke first, “Ms. Anderson, you are looking absolutely gorgeous today!”
She froze for a moment before she regained her composure and smiled, “Ah, it’s Ms. Stovall! You’re so dazzling tonight that I failed to recognize you at first. Do forgive me!”
Grinning politely, I said, “Ms. Anderson flatters me too much. I’m just a bit sloppy usually. It’s only natural that some simple tidying and touching up would make me look different. It’s not Ms. Anderson’s fault for not recognizing me in the first place.”
She looked at me intently for a while before noticing that John was holding my hand. Taken aback for just a slight moment, she mumbled faintly, “Do the two of you know one another?” before looking at John with doubts in her eyes.
John smiled, “Of course! We’ve known each other for more than a decade!”
Cameron obviously had more questions to ask. However, she suddenly fell silent upon noticing that many guests had directed their gazes outside the hall.
Instinctively, I turned my head to look as well. What greeted my sight was a middle-aged man dressed in a lavish coat with a suave temperament striding in from outside the hall, escorted by four men in black.
The appearance of the middle-aged man drew the attention of many people who rushed over to greet him. Right then, his gaze fell straight upon Cameron and he approached her promptly.
“Ah, it’s the great Mr. Zachary Moore of D City. Be it in J City or D City, the moment he makes his entrance, the nobles and the rich alike would tremble in fear,” John whispered with a straight face.
I observed both Cameron and Zachary discreetly and noticed that the level of intimacy exuded from both of them was different from that of ordinary people, and the curious side of me could not help but wonder.
“What’s up with them?”
John raised his eyebrows and looked at me mysteriously, “They’re a pair of lovebirds who are destined to be apart.”
I could not quite catch the meaning of his words. “Didn’t Ms. Anderson got married once before this? I heard it was to some ordinary guy. After that, she got remarried to Nick’s father and gave birth to Nick. So…”
So where did this Zachary guy fit in the picture? Seems like they have quite a messy relationship.
John sneered and whispered, “I guess the stories she cooked up for the outside world are too realistic.”
Just then, I saw Ashton leading Rebecca to greet both Cameron and Zachary, I also noticed that Cameron had whispered something in Zachary’s ear.
As Zachary examined Rebecca, his facial expression seemed to change a little. His initially determined look had a flash of surprise which he managed to recover from. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s gaze was that of pure adoration.
I could not figure out what had transpired between them. John, who was observing me the whole time, was amused and whispered to me, “Rebecca is the daughter that Cameron been searching for the past twenty-plus years. By the way, she’s also Zachary’s daughter. Do you get it now?”
I gawped at him in shock at the sensational revelation. Rebecca is their daughter?
How in the world is there no rumor about this at all?
After Cameron and Zachary finished their conversation, they stole a glance at John and me. The moment Zachary saw me, he cocked his brows in surprise.
Cameron seemed to know what he was thinking, so she whispered a few words back in his ear that made Zachary regained his composure.
John released my hand and stepped forward to greet Zachary.
Now that I had regained my freedom, my eyes darted around to search for Ashton. The last I saw of him was when he was greeting Zachary. However, he was now nowhere to be found.
After looking around, I heard a familiar voice coming from the corner of the hall. I walked over and found Nick there.
He was surprised to see me but managed to utter his greeting, “Good evening.”
Seeing that he was not looking too good, I could not help but ask, “It’s your mother’s birthday. What’s with the haggard look? I just heard someone said that your mother has found her long-lost daughter. Why don’t you go over and check it out?”
“What’s there to see?” he said with a lonely look in his eyes, “Her mind and heart had always been filled with nothing but her daughter. As for me, I’m merely an accidental offspring.”
Hearing the sorrow in his words, I grabbed a plate of cheese and tried to offer him some, “Every child is a treasure in the hearts of their parents. Besides, she lost her for more than twenty years. Now that she has found her, let her savor her joy to make up for the lost time. After this, I’m sure everything will be back to normal.”
He sneered bitterly as his eyes fell upon the cheese I was offering him. In a thoughtless manner, he quipped, “I have hoped that the daughter they’ve found is you instead of Rebecca. That girl is too much of a schemer, and will only cause trouble if she is to stay in Pear Garden in the future.”
Confused by his outburst, I could not help but smiled, “You sounded as if it is so easy to become a daughter of your family.”
He peered at me with a condescending look as if he were looking at an idiot, “Really? You seriously think that my mother is so free that she would purposely look for you just to have a casual chat?”
