webnovel Chapter 507 - 506: Aunt Rhodes’s Identity
Chapter 507 - 506: Aunt Rhodes’s Identity
Aunt Rhodes hadn’t spoken yet when Bella excitedly pulled out the necklace from her neck, opened the locket photo, and asked, "As a stranger I met by chance at the amusement park, you’re very curious and concerned about my affairs. I asked if you had any biological sister who looks a lot like you, and you said no, but then you knocked over your glass and behaved strangely. Aunt Rhodes, tell me honestly, are you really her?"
All the things that felt odd during their interaction, upon reflection, made sense if Aunt Rhodes were her mother and her mother hadn’t actually died.
Bella stared at her, waiting for her answer.
Aunt Rhodes was silent for a moment, then said, "Bella, can we find the ring first before we talk?"
"Okay." Bella nodded and truly didn’t press her any further, instead bowing her head to resume searching for the ring.
The light here was dim, and light rain drizzled from the sky as Bella and Aunt Rhodes remained crouched on the ground, searching for a long while.
"Bella, is this it?" Aunt Rhodes asked, holding up the ring she had dug out from the mud.
Bella lunged forward, "Yes, that’s it. Aunt Rhodes, thank you."
The recovery of the lost ring brought some relief to Bella’s heart.
She quickly took out a tissue to clean the mud off the ring before carefully placing it into her inner pocket.
Once she saw Bella handle the ring properly, Aunt Rhodes stood up and said, "Bella, there’s a pavilion over there where we can take shelter from the rain. Let’s go sit there for a while." Some things should be faced when the time comes; we can’t keep running away forever.
"Okay." Bella nodded and stood up to follow Aunt Rhodes to the pavilion.
The two walked side by side under an umbrella, but neither spoke.
Bella actually had many questions, but she remained silent, waiting for Aunt Rhodes to speak first.
Once they reached the pavilion, Aunt Rhodes put away the umbrella, set it aside, and after another moment of silence, finally said, "Bella, I’m sorry."
This apology was enough to confirm all of Bella’s suspicions—Aunt Rhodes really was her mother.
Bella had thought she’d be very emotional, but when she really heard Aunt Rhodes admit it, she felt surprisingly calm.
"Why?" Bella asked.
Aunt Rhodes’ body stiffened, "At the time, your father had died, and I couldn’t accept the days without him any longer, so I selfishly chose to send you to an orphanage and then tried to kill myself."
"Then why are you still alive? Did you find you lacked the courage when you attempted suicide?" Bella asked, only then realizing her words carried a tone of sarcasm.
It turned out she hadn’t truly been without resentment towards her parents for sending her to an orphanage. If her parents were truly dead, she wouldn’t have had these other thoughts. But since her mother was alive and had never come to see her in twenty years,
that’s what pained Bella’s heart.
Aunt Rhodes shook her head, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly in melancholy, "I took sleeping pills to kill myself. But... but later your father’s good friend took me to the hospital, and they saved my life. Because I took too many sleeping pills, even after being rescued I still remained in a coma for two years before waking up."
"Then why didn’t you come to find me after you woke up?" Bella asked, suddenly feeling a sourness at the tip of her nose.
Suddenly, the childhood taunts of her not having parents all rushed into her mind; she was called a wild child, accused of being the jinx who made her parents abandon her...