Anna could only shake her head because she didn’t understand what was happening right now. Her forehead creased deeper as she looked at the little girl who clutched her hand at her mother’s dress. It was clear the little girl looked anxious.
Trying to look at the girl better, Anna bent her head forward. She was curious and upset about what had happened just now. “Hmm ….”
“What are you thinking?” Leonardo asked. His arms crossed over his chest now as he was upset with the situation.
“The little girl, she may be six or seven. Lydia was gone eight years ago. If the girl is seven, she can be Gabriel’s.”
Leonardo shook his head. “I’m sure she isn’t Gabe’s. Look at her!”
Rosalind approached Lynnette and whispered, “Can you help me, please? Accompany Jane, Lydia’s daughter for a few minutes, please? I’ll be back as soon as I have finished talking with some of our guests.”Lynnette nodded and walked to where Jane stood. The little girl grasped her dress and bit her lower lip, as she was scared. It was the first time she went to the church, and she knew no one.Taking a deep breath, Rosalind forced a smile on her face and approached people who were still sitting. One by one, she greeted them, thanked them for coming to the wedding ceremony, and shook hands, hugged, or kissed cheeks with the guests. After talking with Rosalind, the guests left the church.She faced Harold, his wife (Nina), and their son (Peter). “Thank you so much for coming. I&
“You made me feel again. Axel also liked you.” Maxwell smiled a little. “It was the first time he approved of a woman and wanted to help me.” After saying nothing for a while, he added, “I know it’s rare, so I must know for sure if I have any chance. If you give me a chance, I’m sure you won’t regret it. I’ll marry you right away and treat you right.”She shook her head. “I’m in love with Gabriel. I’ll be his wife soon.”“Not if he returns to the mother of his daughter.” He touched the back of her upper arm with his thumb. It was a light touch, just a test to see her reaction. Since she was too stunning with what he said, she didn’t react to his feathery touch.Rosalind took a deep breath. “Maxwell, I&rs
Rosalind observed Jane’s reaction for a while. When she reached out her hands to tidy Jane’s hair, the little girl flinched by raising both of her hands as if she tried to cover her head and trembled badly.“I-I’m sorry …. I don’t want a hotdog.” Jane’s face was fearful. “I promise I’ll be a good girl.”“Jane? Sweety?”Rosalind then bent her body and hugged Jane’s skinny body. “Sweety, you can eat whatever you want. I won’t be mad at you just because you want a bigger hotdog.” Later, she talked to the hotdog seller. “Three jumbo hotdogs please. Please pack one for take away. We will eat the rest here.”“Yes, ma’am.”
Gabriel clenched his fist, but he said nothing. He already decided to hear everything first before considering what he would do.“It’s one of the happiest and saddest moments at the same time. I was happy because I would have a baby, but also sad since the man I loved couldn’t be with me.” She wiped her tears. “I didn’t want you to see me in the most miserable time of my life. So I left you. I …” Lydia took a deep breath, “disappeared since I didn’t want you to hate me. I knew it would be easy for you to find my replacement.”“You were wrong. I was almost crazy when I lost you …. I tried to search for you, but I couldn’t find you.”Lydia nodded. “I knew. I didn’t want you to find me. That’s why I disappeared
Jane hugged herself while still bending her head down. “I … I hope you won’t hate me. When Mommy wanted to come here, I didn’t want to come, but she was angry ….” Glancing at Rosalind, the little girl’s eyes were teary. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone ….” Her lips trembled. “I swear!”It squeezed Rosalind’s heart to see how sad and hurt Jane was. “I know you are a good girl, sweetheart,” she said, trying to soothe the little girl.“C-can you adopt me?”Rosalind’s eyes widened to hear the plea. “Adopt you? But what about your mommy? Don’t you want to stay with her?”The little girl’s legs nudged. “I …. I want to stay with Mommy, but she doesn’t want me ….”“I’m sure it’s not true, Jane.”
When they were in their room, Gabriel helped Rosalind remove her dress and take her hairpins out of her hair. She also helped him unclothes. After changing clothes to casual ones, they lay on the bed.Rosalind took a deep breath as she had mixed feelings about what happened today. Gabriel hugged her waist with a hand and touched her cheek with another hand.“Baby, we need to reschedule our wedding ceremony. I’m sorry. You should have become Mrs. Da Costa right now.”She smiled and kissed his hand on her cheek. “It’s not your fault.” Then she stared at Gabriel. “Are you sure you still want to marry me?”“Of course! Why did you ask?”Lowering her eyes so she didn’t look into his eyes, Rosalind sighed as she didn’t w
After taking a nap for a half hour, they made love again. Later, feeling sated after the lovemaking, they lay side by side, trying to breathe and slow their heart rate after another passionate session they had.Rosalind took Gabriel’s hand and kissed it, then she leaned her cheek on his hand. “I just remembered something,” she said.“Hmm?”“When I told you I wanted to go to the bathroom before we left the church, actually it was only an excuse.”Gabriel raised his eyebrow. He turned her body so they could stare into each other’s eyes. “Why did you do that?”“I was concerned about Jane. When I was with her, I found she had a scar on her upper arm. Jane denied it was a scar, but I knew what I saw.” Rosalind sighed. “Also,
Gabriel gazed at Rosalind for a while. “I’ll consider it, but if she’s not my daughter, of course we should plan it carefully. The law is on Lydia’s side. No matter how much you want Jane to be yours, you can’t take her away just like that.”“Even after Lydia abused her?” Rosalind protested. Her hand clenched as she was upset. “I’m sure Lydia abused Jane, physically and verbally. We must protect her, Gabe. Please!” She pleaded with him.“I’ll contact my lawyer to see if we can build a case. If the evidence is strong enough, maybe we can have Jane as our adoptive daughter.”“Promise?” she pleaded with him again.“I can’t promise you anything.” Her face was gloomy to hear that, but he later added, “But I will do anything I can to protect the little girl.”