"I... I seem to have caused you trouble again..." Pauline Briggs whispered, her expression like that of a child who had done sothing wrong.
Sienna Johnson looked at her, unsure what to say.
On the way back, she had already thought it through. No matter how much she resented Pauline or how unwilling she was to be her daughter, they were mother and daughter. That was an unchangeable fact.
Since it couldn’t be changed, she could only try to accept it with a positive outlook.
"Mom, we’re mother and daughter. Talk of trouble is unnecessary between us."
Mom?
Pauline looked at her daughter in shock, stuttering, "What... what did you just call ?"
"Mom!" Sienna repeated, looking at the sowhat dazed Pauline.
Pauline suddenly burst into tears. "Sienna, you haven’t called Mom for years... BOO HOO..."
Ever since Sienna had returned after her disappearance and they’d had a huge fight, she had stopped treating Pauline as her mother, calling her "Madam Johnson" instead. Each ti, it was a fresh stab to Pauline’s heart.
"I was young and immature back then; please don’t hold it against . We’re family. Samara is still young, Dad is gone... You have to take care of yourself from now on and stop thinking about suicide."
Pauline was silent.
"If I do anything wrong, just tell , and I’ll change."
Sienna’s complete 180-degree change in attitude stunned not only Pauline but the entire Briggs family as well.
The Briggs family watched Sienna with searching eyes, wondering what this woman was really up to.
"Sienna, it’s not your fault; it’s all mine. It’s because I’m foolish, I’m stupid, I’m useless—always causing you trouble!"
Sienna pulled out a tissue and wiped the tears from Pauline’s face. Realizing sothing, Pauline abruptly stopped crying. "I’m sorry, I won’t cry anymore. Please don’t be angry with ."
Pauline rembered that Sienna disliked her crying; whenever she cried, Sienna would look at her with annoyance.
"Can you promise you won’t try to commit suicide again?" Sienna asked.
Pauline nodded vigorously. "I’ll listen to you. Whatever you say, goes."
Grandma Briggs was left speechless.
"Good. No more suicide attempts in the future!"
"Okay. Then you mustn’t lie to ."
"I won’t lie to you. I keep my word."
The Briggs family looked at Pauline, completely dumbfounded. They had rushed over imdiately upon hearing about her suicide attempt, with many words of comfort prepared. They hadn’t expected that a few simple words from Sienna would convince Pauline to abandon the idea of suicide.
The Briggs family couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at Sienna. Between the mother and daughter, Sienna seed more like the parent, while Pauline resembled a naive child.
"You frightened Grandma just now. You should go and comfort her. I’ll go find the doctor and ask about your condition... If you’re alright, we’ll go ho. A hospital is never as comfortable as ho."
"I’m fine now! Let’s go now."
Sienna was speechless.
"Don’t be hasty. I’ll ask the doctor first, then we’ll decide," Sienna said with a smile, chatting briefly with her maternal grandparents before turning to leave.
The mont she stepped out of the hospital room, Adrian Desmond saw the smile vanish from Sienna’s face, replaced by a gloom that resembled the sky before a storm.
"You just asked the doctor about Madam Johnson’s condition. Where are we going now? To ask again?"
Sienna’s excuse for leaving had been to find the doctor, but they had already spoken with him.
"Where’s Samara?"
Seeing Brett Jacobs, Sienna thought of her sister, Samara. Hadn’t she asked Brett Jacobs to follow Samara? If Brett was here, then where was Samara?
Brett Jacobs replied, "Aaron Faber is with her."
Adrian Desmond and Brett Jacobs exchanged a knowing glance; a silent understanding passed between them.
Adrian knew about Aaron’s interest in Samara and was also aware of his character. Aaron wasn’t a playboy; he was loyal in his affections, unlike Aiden Howard, whose relationships with won were chaotic. In Amwan, the Faber family also had a good standing, his only drawback being that he was a bit older.
"Ask Aaron Faber where my sister is. Tell him to take her ho," Sienna commanded.
"Yes, Madam."
"Where are we going now?" Adrian asked.
Sienna walked on without stopping, her head held high. "Ho! As a filial daughter, it’s only natural that I personally cook for Madam Johnson to show my devotion."
"You’re pregnant. I should do it."
"Of course, you’ll do it. You don’t expect , a pregnant woman, to cook, do you?" Sienna retorted irritably.
Adrian was speechless.
***
By the riverbank, Samara was squatting on the ground, her head buried between her knees, weeping. Aaron Faber, completely inexperienced in comforting won, could only stand by and watch her helplessly.
Samara’s crying made Aaron feel like he was about to cry too.
"Please stop crying. You’ve been crying for an hour already..."
Won’t she get dehydrated crying this much?
"Leave alone! I don’t need you to bother with !"
"Your brother-in-law called. He was worried sothing might happen to you, so he asked to keep an eye on you. How could I dare to leave? If anything happened to you, how would I explain it to him?" Aaron, having finally gotten a chance to be with the girl he liked, had no intention of leaving.
Samara didn’t reply.
"Please don’t cry, I’m begging you. Your mom is fine now. What are you still crying about?"
Samara still didn’t answer, just kept crying.
"Good heavens, child, what will it take to make you stop crying?"
"What’s wrong with you? I’m upset, so I want to cry! What business is it of yours? If you find annoying, then just leave!"
She glared at Aaron, her eyes red and swollen. Looking at her beautiful but puffy eyes, Aaron’s heart ached.
"Your eyes are swollen. Wait here, I’ll go buy so ice to put on them."
He got up to leave but hesitated after a few steps. Turning back, he squatted beside Samara and urged, "Don’t wander off. I’ll be right back."
Samara’s only response was the sound of her crying. Aaron sighed and ran off to buy ice for her.
He found a cafe, where a server asked, "Sir, what kind of coffee would you like?"
"I need ice cubes!"
The server was stunned. It was the first ti she’d seen anyone co to the cafe asking for ice cubes instead of coffee. She couldn’t help but look at Aaron strangely. Is this guy out of his mind? she wondered.
"I’m sorry, sir, we don’t sell ice cubes here. However, if you buy a coffee, we can add ice for you."
"Fine. I’ll buy a coffee; you give a cup of ice cubes."
The server was speechless.
The server glanced at Aaron. Adhering to the ’custor is always right’ principle, even if the custor’s request was a bit strange, it was tolerable. She gave him a cup of ice cubes.
"Do you have a clean towel here?"
"Sir, we don’t have towels here. But there’s a convenience store across the street that sells them. If you need a towel, you can buy one there."
The ice cubes should be wrapped in a towel, Aaron thought. Looking at the cup of ice, he decided to go to the convenience store across the street to buy one first.
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