What does he mean by that? Is he referring to the matter the other day?
Having no idea what he was implying, I asked, “What do you mean by that?” It was true that Cameron had asked me some strange questions that day and although I was puzzled, I did not think those questions would amount to anything.
Now that Nick had brought it up, doubt started to grow within me.
“Hmph!” With a tinge of derision in his voice, he prodded, “You are lucky to be able to marry Ashton with that little IQ of yours. I reminded you before that you possess similar features to my mother, just as Rebecca. Are you so naive to the point where you’ll believe that people would actually resemble one another for no apparent reason in this world?”
I furrowed my eyebrows deeper and demanded, “What do you mean?”
Rolling his eye at me, he revealed, “It simply means that my mother has already taken your DNA as well as Rebecca’s DNA for a paternity test.”
Having said that, he seemed a little confused as he continued, “I thought you were the one at first. I never expected Rebecca to be the one confirmed by the paternity test.”
My mind was filled with a thousand unanswered questions by then. Surveying the hall, I decided that it was unwise to interrogate Nick here, hence I dragged him into the lounge next to the corridor.
Glaring at him, I questioned in a serious tone, “So the lot of you stole my DNA for a paternity test just because I bear some teeny resemblance to Ms. Anderson?”
He pursed his lips and replied, “Of course not. My mother has been searching for more than twenty years. She would not persist for so long without a clue to lead her on. Since many of your experiences are consistently similar to Rebecca’s, my mother wasn’t sure who was the genuine daughter. She plotted with Ashton to meet you and Rebecca separately. Only after that she went and did the paternity test for both of you.”
I was not interested to know what similarities I shared with Rebecca. Rather, I was more interested to know whether my initial meeting with Cameron was the result of Ashton wanting to save Macy, or him merely returning Cameron a favor.
I couldn’t believe that I was kept in the dark and completely clueless about everything the whole time.
“Does Rebecca know about these things at first?” I asked, feeling uneasy.
He nodded, “I think that Ashton must have told her in advance. That’s why she has kept herself close to my mother after that. It surely doesn’t look to me like she doesn’t know anything.”
I felt like laughing out loud. Throughout the whole thing, I was the only ignoramus all along.
“Hah!” I wanted to chuckle, but my chortle was stuck halfway in my throat. I had been made a complete moron and an oblivious fool to such a degree that I would not have realized even if I were to be sold off.
Seeing that I was upset, Nick paused. Perhaps he had realized his tactlessness, he tamped down his sarcasm and started talking to me in an emphatic manner. “Don’t think too much about this. No one told you about this matter because they were worried that you might get the wrong idea about the whole thing. Since no one was sure of the outcome, so…”
“So, you decided for yourself that I should be kept in the dark, like a fool?” I burst out, baring the discontent that had filled my heart.
Frowning, he defended himself, “Scarlett, you know full well I don’t mean that.”
“I don’t know! I never knew!” I rushed out of the lounge. I had naively thought that as long as I was kind and trusting toward others, I would not suffer too much hurt. However, it seemed that I was too gullible, and life always had a way to even out everyone’s share of sufferings.
In the main hall, droves of people had arrived. All of them were high-ranking officials. In the midst of the crowd, Rebecca was the center of attention. As Cameron and Zachary greeted the guests, they also introduced her to everyone. Such a beautiful and heartwarming scene.
It’s true, some people have been blessed with good luck since birth.
Getting my emotions under control, I proceeded to circle around the food area. No matter how pitiful my life is, I can’t neglect myself. I need to get some food in me. After all, The little one in my tummy still needed to grow up.
Feeling distracted, I accidentally walked into someone. The cake that I had just put onto my plate rolled a few times before it splattered onto someone’s suit.
“I’m so…” Panicked, I looked up only to see Joe’s stern and sneering face.
I immediately regained my composure. I even retracted my apology. I knew that in this situation, an apology would not make an ounce of difference. Instead, it would only lead to more unnecessary arguments.
I wanted to avoid any confrontation. But apparently, Joe had decided not to let me off that easily. Glaring at me, he sneered, “Scarlett, tell me, are you feeling bitter now? Are you jealous? With Rebecca being Cameron’s daughter, her whole life is going to go through a drastic change for the better. Meanwhile, a woman who grew up in the slums like you will never be worthy of someone as noble as Ashton no matter how hard you work.”
I put down my plateful of food and directed my scowl at him, “Since I am not worthy of him, do you consider yourself worthy then?”
“You…” His anger shot up his face as he prepared for a retort.
Before he could do that, I interrupted, “I have married Ashton. We even have a child together. Seeing how much you loved to mock me, can I surmise that this is due to you not feeling qualified enough to be with Rebecca? Is your inferiority complex bubbling inside you so much that you’re coming to me to vent it all out?”
“Nonsense!” Flushed with anger, he took off his stained suit and threw it at me before he demanded, “Get it cleaned.”
There were times when I thought that Joe could be quite endearing. Every time he tried to annoy me or get in my way, he would always be the one who ended up getting flustered, just like right now.
Even though he had never beaten me once, he still kept trying. And that in itself made him adorable.
Glancing at his suit in my hand, I remarked coolly to Joe, “I would advise you not to let me handle your suit. Who knows, you might end up wearing a wet suit in this grand party here and that would definitely not score you any appearance points in Rebecca’s book.”
