Chapter 364 Estranged Relationship
When a phone rang, Anthony took the phone and ran over to pounce on his mother. “It’s from Amelia, Mommy!” he informed.
Taking the phone from him, Amelia greeted, “Hey, Amelia. Are you in Saspiuburg now?”
“I’m home already, Amelia. I was talking to Mom, so I forgot to call you. Sorry about that. So how’s it going? Did you take good care of yourself while I was gone? Did Tony drive you up the wall?” Amelia blabbered happily.
“Tony has been on his best behavior. Tell Mrs. Hutton I said hi,” she said gently. “Is she feeling better now?”
“Oh, Mom’s fine. She just overthinks a lot of stuff since she has a lot of time on her hands now. Someone has to stay around and act as a distraction.”
“And that’s going to be your job. Stay with her, all right?”
“I will, Amelia. Oh, and I’ll be back in two weeks. Sorry for the delay.”
“Oh, we’re not in a hurry here. Stay with your parents. Spend more time with them. They aren’t getting any younger, so they need their children to be with them.”
“Amelia, won’t you miss me if I stay in Saspiuburg for too long?”
Amelia chuckled. “I do miss you, but it hasn’t been too long since we met, so your family takes priority here.”
“Okay, then.”
“You should be spending time with your mother now. I’ll ask Tiffany to make a feast for you once you come back.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful, Amelia. You’d better not forget about that.”
“It’s just a little feast. It’ll take more than that for me to go back on my word.”
They made some small talk and hung up a while later.
At that moment, Tiffany came over, holding two glasses of milk in her hand. She gave one to Anthony and the other to Amelia. “Babe, it’s almost nighttime. Are you still mad at me?”
Amelia held the glass, the warmth of the milk warming her hand up. “I was never mad at you, Tiff,” she answered with a smile. “I know you were just saying all that for my own good.”
Tiffany looked at her, then at Kurt, who was still working in the kitchen. Then she changed the topic. “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about this. Since you’re not interested in romance, we’ll put it aside for now. Was that Amelia just now?”
Amelia nodded in response.
“What did she say?”
“She’s at her home in Saspiuburg. We made small talk, and I told her to say hi to her parents for me.”
Tiffany nodded pensively. “Amelia, don’t you think your ‘sister’ is a bit too friendly to you? She thinks of you as her own sister and acts as though the two of you are real siblings as well. Haven’t you realized that she’s being too nice to you?”
Amelia paused for a moment to process that piece of information. She then recalled Rory telling her about Amelia plucking her hair once.
Most people would only do that because they want to perform a DNA test. Amelia can’t really be my sister, right?
The moment that thought popped up, Amelia laughed it off.
Tiffany voiced her question out, “Amelia, do you think she actually thinks that you’re related to her?”
“That is impossible, Tiffany.”
“But what if it’s true?”
“Even if it is true, what do you want us to do? Tell the truth and be a happy family?”
“Well, that’s not a bad idea if you’re actually her real sister.”
“Tiff, I’m already thirty years old. I’ve been married, divorced, and have a kid. I don’t need any more family on my side, not to mention the Huttons might not be so keen on adding another person to their roster. It’s too unpredictable for me to jump in, and I don’t want to ruin my quiet life. Please don’t bring this up ever again,” Amelia voiced her opinion and shook her head.
Shrugging, Tiffany didn’t keep pressuring Amelia anymore.
The Huttons lived in the most extravagant villa available in Saspiuburg. It was resplendent and beautifully decorated. There was a fake mountain, a mini waterfall, a little forest, and actual maids in maid attire.
The male servant placed a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice on the small table and uttered politely, “Enjoy the juice, Madam. Enjoy, Miss Amelia.”
Amelia waved the servant down and handed the glass of warm juice to her mother, who was resting her eyes. “Have some fruit juice, Mom.”
Fluttering her eyes open, the woman took the glass of juice to have a little sip.
On closer inspection, the woman looked slightly like Amelia Hutton, but more precisely, she shared a similar face with Amelia Winters, especially the eyes. Their eyelashes looked exactly the same, but the woman had a sickly look on her face, and she was slightly thinner than the younger one. However, she kept herself well, and not a wrinkle was seen on her face. Every movement she made radiated elegance.
Amelia looked at her mother, feeling worried about her. “Mom, you haven’t been taking care of yourself, haven’t you? You don’t look so good.”
Eleanor put the glass of juice on the table. “People my age have really shallow sleep. It’s fine,” she mumbled.
Still staring at her mother, Amelia had something in her mind, but she wondered if she should say it out loud. After some consideration, she questioned, “Are you still missing Amelia, Mom?”
Eleanor’s eyes widened in shock, and she shot a sharp look at Amelia, taking the latter by surprise. “What’s wrong, Mom? Did I say something wrong?”
“Who told you about that? Why did you bring her name up? Your father and brother hate it when her name is mentioned. Never talk about her whenever they’re around, or they’re going to yell at you.”
Hearing that, Amelia furrowed her brows. Her mother’s reaction was making her curious. “Mom, but I have a sister. Why are you so scared about bringing that up? Don’t you miss her, too?”
At that, Eleanor’s face fell, and she lectured sternly, “You’re still young. There are a lot of things you don’t understand. Either way, do not mention her when your father and brother are around. I’m tired. I’ll have to get some sleep.”
Eleanor was about to scurry off to her room, but Amelia quickly gave chase and held her. “All right, all right. I’m sorry, Mom,” she apologized humbly. “I’ll stop talking about her. Look, the juice is nice. Why don’t we share it? And you really should get some sun. You look really pale.”
Only after Amelia promised she would not bring her sister up did Eleanor go back with her.
Refilling the glass with some juice, Amelia cracked some jokes for her mother. Not even once did she bring up her sister that had been absent in their lives for more than two decades. It was as if the argument earlier had never even happened.
Amelia and Eleanor had a good time chatting and joking away in the afternoon. When the sun set beyond the horizon, a servant came to inform them that Benjamin and Sean had come home. “Dinner is served, madam, miss.” And then they went to the dining room.
“Daddy!” Amelia hugged her father when she came to the dining room. “Sean!” Then she hugged her brother as well.
The men smiled brightly at her, and Benjamin scraped her nose. “And I thought you’ve forgotten all about us. Beshya must have been fun for you, huh?”
“Yes, Daddy, but I would never forget about you. I miss you every day.” Amelia swung her father’s arm as though she was a child asking for a candy.
Benjamin smiled at her lovingly, while Eleanor pulled her shawl tighter around her. She seemed calm, apparently not in the mood to talk to anyone.
“Since you’re back, you guys must be hungry. Let’s start digging in.” After everyone had taken their seats, Benjamin looked at his wife. “So, how was your day, Eleanor?”
Eleanor answered coolly, “Not bad. You and Sean are too busy with your work to care about me, but at least Amelia’s willing to stay with poor old me.”
A look of guilt flashed across Benjamin’s eyes. “Why don’t I take two weeks off? We can go on a trip overseas.”
Shaking her head, Eleanor refused his offer, “Your work is very important. You don’t have to give it all up just for me. I am fine with how I am now.”
The sarcastic remark brought the conversation to an abrupt end, and the atmosphere turned heavy all of a sudden.
Benjamin obviously looked stumped, but he said stiffly, “Dig in, everyone. Tell me if you want to go on a trip, Eleanor. I’ll make time for it, I promise.”
Eleanor nodded, but she said nothing to him. The four of them started having their dinner, but it was a somber occasion that evening, with the dark silence hanging in the air.
Eleanor knew she had another daughter besides Amelia. However, ever since Benjamin forbade anyone from looking for that abandoned girl and prohibited his wife from even thinking about her, Eleanor had never even smiled at him once. Their relationship was straining and cracking from the pressure, but it was obvious that Benjamin still loved Eleanor, though it was a pity Eleanor had lost a huge chunk of love for him.
Eleanor had always acted cold and indifferent whenever Benjamin tried to talk to her. No matter how much he tried to cheer her up, she always refused whatever offer he made.
