Chapter 365 Saddened
After dinner, Benjamin offered to go on a stroll with Eleanor. However, as usual, he was rejected once again. She went out by herself, leaving her family sitting around the table. Amelia looked at her father and asked, “It has been a while, Dad. Haven’t you made it up to Mom yet?”
Benjamin’s eyes glinted darkly as he thought about that question. In the end, he replied, “You shouldn’t poke your nose in this matter, girl. It’s adult business. Go with your mother. She’s still ill, and now she wouldn’t stop overthinking everything. She needs someone to talk to her.”
Amelia smiled at her father. “So you’re implying that I’m a child, huh, Daddy? Well, then it’s past my bedtime now,” she retorted. “Now it’s up to you to talk to Mom. I’m going to my room now.” Waving at her father, she went upstairs.
Every time this conversation was brought up, it was bound to end with everyone being angry at something, at the very least. Because of that, the air was tense in the Hutton residence that night as usual.
Benjamin looked positively annoyed and frustrated.
“Don’t think too much about it, Dad. Mom’s just not feeling happy right now. Give her some time. She’ll get over it, eventually.”
“Sean, your mother has been trying to ‘get over it’ for more than twenty years. Twenty years. Not two days. All just for a missing daughter. She’s even pushing me away just because of that,” Benjamin grumbled solemnly.
Anger flared up within Sean’s eyes for a moment, but he calmed down. “She’s just stuck on something, Dad. She’ll slowly figure it out.”
The conversation came to a long pause after that. Eventually, Sean voiced, “Dad, why don’t you go out and have a talk with her? Dr. Goodman called me yesterday, and he had bad news. Mom might look fine now, but actually, her symptoms are getting worse. Why don’t we just find the girl and get this over with? After all, I still remember which family you gave her away to.”
Benjamin clenched his fists as tightly as he could. He was struggling violently with himself, and a stormy look contorted his face. However, in the end, he shook his head.
A long, long while later, he stated darkly, “That’s between me and your mother. You and Amelia are my only children. I do not have any other child, and I do not want to hear any of you bringing up a nonexistent character, you hear me?”
Staring at his father, Sean was befuddled and perplexed about that response. “But why, Dad?” How could you abandon your own kid just like that?
Benjamin growled silently, “No reason, boy. You are my son, Sean Hutton. You only have the privilege to follow my orders. Anything else is off-limits, you hear me?”
After that, Benjamin stormed off upstairs, leaving Sean standing alone in the living room. He had a dark look on his face, and he was immersed in his thoughts.
In the meantime, Eleanor was taking a stroll outside. Halfway through, she told the maid who came with her to bring a bucket of water over. The maid was perplexed by that bizarre request, but she did as her mistress instructed, anyway.
A moment later, the maid came back with a bucket of water. “This is the water you want, Mrs. Hutton.”
“Which one of the cars did Lawrence drive to pick Amelia up?”
The maid told Eleanor the car plate’s number.
“Take the water there. She drove all the way home and asked Lawrence to get a taxi instead. I’ll wash the car for her since I don’t have anything else to do.”
The maid didn’t look the least bit surprised when Eleanor said that, as it was not the first time she had done it, after all. They tried to dissuade her the first time, but all they got in return was one big slap. She even went into hysteria and screamed at everyone who tried to stop her from washing the car.
Everyone found out that Eleanor was stricken by an illness when she first screamed at them. It was not even physical either, no. It ran deeper than that. The illness stuck to her heart, mind, and even her soul.
Ever since the truth was made clear to everyone, all the maids in the Hutton family had to do as she said or risk another hysteria episode from her.
Drenching the cloth with water, Eleanor tried to open the door so she could wipe the interior, but to her slight annoyance, the door was locked.
“Lina, tell Lawrence to give you the keys, but do not let the master or Amelia know anything about this.”
“Yes, Mrs. Hutton.” The maid scurried off to get the car keys from Lawrence.
A short while later, she came back holding the keys in her hand. Then she unlocked the door and informed politely, “The doors are unlocked, Mrs. Hutton.”
Eleanor waved her down. “Stay away from me. And far, far away if you please. I shall do this on my own.”
“Yes, Mrs. Hutton.”
With that, Eleanor went into the car holding the wet cloth, but the first thing she saw was a folder on the driver’s seat. Not thinking much about it, she shook her head. Amelia must have dropped this.
Picking it up, she put it away to make it easier for her to clean the car. Eleanor was not going to snoop around in the first place, but after she was done cleaning, she glanced at the folder again. Eventually, her curiosity was piqued, and she opened the folder to see what was inside. However, she never expected that the content of the folder would give her the shock of her life.
She held the DNA test result with trembling hands, but not because she was terrified. Instead, her eyes were blazing, as if she had found that sliver of hope she had been desperately trying to locate. Getting out of the car, she stumbled her way back into the living room, ignoring the shouts of Lina, who was chasing after her.
Meanwhile, Amelia was lying on her bed, watching her favorite television show. When the annoying scenes came up, she even cursed like a common wench to express her displeasure. Whenever she was alone, Amelia was the amalgamation of elegance and depravity, a bizarre combination where nobody would find its equal.
When her mother barged into her room like a tank squashing a house flat, it made her jump up in shock. She was going to hurl some choice profanities at the intruder, but when she saw who it was, Amelia swallowed her words. “What’s wrong, Mom?” she asked.
Wobbling over to her daughter, Eleanor gripped the DNA test result in her hand. Her lips were trembling, and she took a long, long while to organize her words. Finally, she managed to ask the question she had longed to, “Amelia, I need you to tell me all about this test result. You found your sister, haven’t you?”
When Amelia saw what her mother was holding, she realized why Eleanor was looking so distraught, yet excited. After all, she dropped it in the car on purpose, for she knew her mother had a habit of cleaning her car, so she did that in hopes that Eleanor would come across it. She wanted to see how Eleanor would react upon finding the proof that her other daughter was found. Eleanor’s longing had taken a heavy toll on her, and Amelia didn’t want her to leave the land of the living with her greatest regret unfulfilled. Even so, she still didn’t want her sister to return to the family, though.
“Answer me, Amelia! What is up with this lady who shares the same name as you? Why does her DNA match your father’s and mine so much? Did you run into her? Did you? Tell me, Amelia!”
“Calm down, Mom. Calm down, okay? I’ll tell you in a moment.” Amelia went and locked her door before seating her mother on a chair. Getting to her knees, she stared up at Eleanor.
“Mom, I can’t let you waste away like this anymore. Yes, I did run into a lady who looks just like me in Saspiuburg. No, to be precise, she looks more like you, especially the eyes.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Yes, I know there are people who might look like us out there in this world, but you don’t see someone who resembles you every day. That’s why I got close to her and got both of her and you guys’ hair so I can get your DNA tested. And that’s why you’re holding that right now.”
Eleanor was starting to cry, but she stifled it in case it got too loud, then weirdly, or not weirdly enough, she started laughing. “Amelia, so you’re saying this lady is my daughter, then?”
Amelia nodded.
Seeing that, Eleanor got up and paced back and forth as she buzzed with excitement. “I shall go and see her right now,” she muttered under her breath. “It has been so many years since I last saw her. Now we can finally get reunited.” She suddenly touched her face. “Amelia, do you think I look ugly? Will I scare her? Right. Right. I should put some makeup on, then I’ll go with you.”
Amelia didn’t know what she should feel about the situation. She had never seen her mother losing her composure like this, not even once in her life. She had always been the calm, collected lady of the household, but she got so excited over the daughter she had never even seen before in over twenty years. She was starting to regret showing the result to her mother. Now she was afraid that all her mother would care about was the other Amelia. I might lose all her love.
The prospect of that nightmare happening started twisting her into a monster, and she came up with a little scheme of her own.
“Calm down, Mom. You know Dad and Sean won’t let you see her. If we want to do this, we’ll have to do it in secret. You don’t want them to find out and chase Amelia away again, right? Not after you’ve finally found her after so long.”
Eleanor finally calmed down after hearing that. Fixing her hair, she nodded. “You’re right, Amelia. Your father and brother must never know about this. I spent more than twenty years in search of my girl, and I will not allow them to ruin this moment. If they or anyone would try and stop me, I will kill myself right in front of them.”
Amelia looked at her sadly but also felt a bit frustrated. Jealous, she questioned, “Mom, does Amy really mean that much to you? I mean, you’ve never even smiled at Dad once for the last twenty-odd years.”
At that, Eleanor fell into silence.
“Mom, we’re a family, no matter what. Do you really want to make things tense between us for someone who has never even lived a day in our family?”
“Do not talk about your sister like that. I shall not allow it,” Eleanor snapped.
That warning wiped the smile off Amelia’s face.
Heaving a sigh, Eleanor added, “Sorry for snapping at you, Amelia. Don’t take it to heart. This is between me and your father, so please stay out of it. It’s not something we can explain that easily.”
“But have you ever thought about how Sean would feel about this? How would I feel about this? You and Dad are staying apart, and you guys never talk to each other. Honestly, it doesn’t sit right with us. Can’t you mend things with Dad? For Sean and my sake?”
Eleanor was silent once again.
Sighing silently, Amelia changed the topic. “Mom, Amy lost her eyesight in a car crash. I hope you won’t freak out about it too much. I can take you to her, but she might or might not take to you well. Just take it as a normal visit and don’t scare her with all your doting.”
Most of what Amelia said was nothing but rubbish for Eleanor. All she cared about was the car crash the other Amelia got involved in. “She’s blind? Is she fine? Is she hurt? How did she even get into the car crash in the first place?” Eleanor asked nervously.
Despite never even seeing the other Amelia once in more than two decades, Eleanor jumped into panic mode the moment she heard her daughter was involved in a car crash. That fact alone rubbed Amelia the wrong way, and she had a feeling the other Amelia would take her mother away from her if they were to meet.
Now she truly regretted leaving the test result in the car. I should have pretended I know nothing about this. Even that’s better than an estranged “family member” breaking this peaceful life I’ve enjoyed for the last twenty-odd years.
“Don’t worry, Mom. She’s fine. She just lost her eyesight, that’s all. And it’s temporary. The doctor is looking for a suitable retina to heal her up.” Amelia held back her overflowing jealousy to calm her mother down, “Just stop freaking out, Mom. I can take you to her, but she has a lot on her plate right now, so she might not take to you kindly. Just don’t scare her, all right?”
Eleanor looked crestfallen when Amelia told her she had to hold back when she met the other Amelia. Though she was still crying, she nodded anyway. “Very well then. I can do anything as long as I get to see my girl.”
Mom, I’m your girl too, you know. But I’ve never seen you so worried about me before.
That was what Amelia wanted to say to her mother, but she swallowed her words before she could blurt them out. It left a bad aftertaste in her mouth and an even worse flavor in her soul.
