Chapter 530 Meeting Janette
“I don’t want to talk about this now. You should know that there’s no way I can let go of the past so easily. Perhaps time might wash out my memory of getting abandoned by you. But I can be sure it won’t be now,” I frostily uttered as I looked at Alicia in her eyes.
The truth was, I had been trying my best to forgive her, but every time I did that, scenes of me getting abandoned by her would surface in my mind. Even I myself felt frustrated for being so petty-minded and unforgiving.
“I know you resent me deep down, so I won’t ask for your forgiveness either. All I want is for you to not behave so cold toward me. Watching my biological daughter do this to me pains my heart.”
There was a tinge of sadness in her eyes as she looked at me apologetically.
“I got it. I’ll watch myself in the future.”
I had a feeling I was losing my resistance at the sight of her tears. Whenever I saw her sobbing, I would feel an inexplicable weight in my chest.
“Okay. Then I shall head home first, Anna. Janette’s very unstable right now. I’m worried something might happen to her, so I can’t stay here for long.” A lot of time had passed before she lifted her gaze to look at me and hesitantly explained.
“I got it. You can go now,” I responded coolly, barely conveying any emotions.
Josephine only walked out of the kitchen after Alicia’s departure. She brought me a sandwich and looked at me amicably.
“Now’s not the time for dinner yet. The housekeeper is afraid you’ll be too hungry, so she prepared you a sandwich. Have some first.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
A smile crept onto my face at the sight of her gentle gaze.
“Anna, have you not buried the hatchet with your mom? I felt so anxious for you when I saw how awkward you were around her.” Josephine sat beside me and looked into my eyes as she calmly remarked.
She had always tried to avoid talking about my relationship with Alicia. Therefore, I was taken aback at how she took the initiative to ask me about this matter on that day.
“To be honest, I have no idea how to get along with her. I still haven’t gotten to know her for long enough. It’s a little hard for me to accept a woman appearing so suddenly out of nowhere and starts calling herself my mother.”
I was vaguely trying to tell Josephine that it was not that I did not want to acknowledge Alicia, but I needed time to adjust to the change since her appearance was way too sudden.
“Mrs. Campbell told me a lot when we were chatting earlier. She said she misses you a lot and how she has spent a long time trying to find you. As a mother, I can tell she loves you wholeheartedly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have persisted in searching for you throughout the years.” Josephine sounded earnest as she spoke.
I almost thought she was acting as a mediator for speaking up on Alicia’s behalf.
Upon learning from Josephine how she had been looking for me all these years, I somehow felt touched. That had unequivocally made the affection I had toward her a little deeper.
However, I did not know how to express my feelings. Neither did I know what I could do to make things less awkward and distant between us.
“Thanks for telling me this, Mom.”
I figured Alicia probably could not bring herself to say that to me and thus had confided in Josephine instead.
“Don’t stand on such ceremony with me. We’re a family, and I want you to live happily. I know you treasure relationships very much. You’ve never received love and care from your mother, so you’re probably yearning for some motherly love. Now that you have the chance, I hope you’ll seize it.” Josephine patted me on my back and comfortingly assured me.
Well aware that she meant well, I felt grateful toward her. I thought perhaps I should not be so stubborn about the past.
Even though Alicia had once abandoned me, she regretted her action. I thought it would suffice as long as she would treat me sincerely.
With that thought in mind, I felt much more relieved.
Over the next few days, my mind was swirling around topics I could use to bridge my relationship with Alicia. Somehow, even I found it a little uncomfortable that we were growing more cordial.
I had even made an effort to call her every other day to ask how she was doing. As much as we had reunited, I believed we needed some time to understand each other better. There was no way I could act like nothing had happened and live like we had been living together since young.
Every time she received my calls, she sounded exceptionally surprised. The first time I initiated to call her, the hints of disbelief she had between her words made my heart wrench a little.
Over the call, she told me Janette had calmed down so much that she had tried stepping out of the house by herself. Hearing that, I breathed a long sigh of relief.
Even though I was not fond of Janette, I had no desire of seeing her living in her trauma.
That particular day, Michael accompanied me to shop for clothes despite me reiterating how there was no need to buy new clothes since I had plenty.
Nevertheless, he was downright oblivious to what I said. If I had to quote his words, he wanted his woman to dress up prettily every day so that he would feel good when he looked at me.
I almost thought he was beginning to get tired of me. After all, I would usually dress fashionably, and though it was not too chic and grand, at the very least, it was simple yet elegant. I did not see the need for him to look down on my aesthetic judgment.
Then again, being vain was every woman’s nature. I was no exception either. Although I thought I had more than enough clothing at home, I ultimately could not resist the temptation and eventually followed him to the mall.
Within an afternoon, our hands were full of purchases. Since he wanted to buy me new clothing, I reckoned I should grant him his wish and spend all his money so that he would not dare ask me out to buy me clothing any more next time.
Nonetheless, no matter how much I spent and how pricey the items I picked were, he did not hesitate when it came to swiping his card to make payments. It was to the extent that I almost forgot how wealthy the man was.
If casually buying several pieces of clothing could leave him penniless, that man would not be Michael anymore.
By the time the two of us waltzed out of the shopping mall, I happened to spot Janette from a distance away.
She was all alone, without any friends accompanying her. I had wanted to ignore her, but at that moment, I saw her walking to the roadside suddenly and began vomiting.
Instantly, my brows knitted into a line. Despite not wanting to meddle in her business, I eventually walked up to her upon the thought of how she was, after all, my half-sister with whom I shared the same mother.
Squatting by the roadside and throwing up non-stop, her face seemed rather pale.
“What’s the matter, Janette? Are you feeling unwell?” I went up behind her and asked plainly.
The moment she heard my voice, she stopped vomiting and turned around. Upon realizing that it was me, her expression darkened at once.
