Chapter 13
“Jeannette has a daughter?”
Blanche stood up from the massage chair, her curiosity piqued.
Seeing Blanche’s interest, Lauren leaned over the coffee table, carefully piecing the torn photograph back together. She spoke in a low voice, “I was packing up Jeannette’s things today and found a photo album. It’s full of pictures of this little girl growing up.”
“The girl’s hair is so short, I almost thought she was a little boy at first.” Lauren gave an awkward, sheepish laugh, which only made the pallor on Blanche’s face stand out even more. Blanche placed her hand gently over Lauren’s. “Bring me that album.”
Just then, Eddy’s voice came from outside the bedroom door. “Honey, what are you looking for?” Blanche slowly turned to face him.
Bathed in the warm glow of the lamp, Eddy’s silk loungewear softened the edges of his usually stern features, making him seem more approachable. Earlier, he had told the housekeeper–right in front of her–to throw his business suit straight into the trash.
Even so, Blanche had no desire to exchange words with him. “Nothing important,” she replied flatly.
She swept the scattered photos off the table, preparing to go downstairs to find the album herself.
Before she could leave, Eddy produced a photo album from behind his back and offered it to her. “Is this the one you wanted?”
He began flipping through the album, giving Lauren a look. Lauren immediately gathered the photo fragments and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.
Eddy held the album open, showing Blanche picture after picture of the same child growing up. “The head of the orphanage recommended we consider adopting her,” he explained. “The album just arrived a few days ago.”
“Don’t you think she looks a bit like our Healy?” Eddy’s eyes crinkled into a gentle smile, a rare warmth softening his usual demeanor. “Healy just told me she made a new friend–it’s this little girl.”
“The kids from the orphanage visited KT Park the other day, too.”
Blanche took the album from him, her heart unexpectedly softening.
Jeannette herself was slender, with no sign she’d ever had a child. Besides, Jeannette’s messages had never once mentioned a daughter.
I was just being paranoid, Blanche thought to herself.
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And this orphanage had belonged to her mother before she passed away. The director would never deceive her. The place was now managed by a charitable foundation, and Eddy knew nothing about the details.
Eddy watched as Blanche’s guarded expression finally eased into a faint smile. He pulled her close, wrapping an arm gently around her shoulders. “If you like her, let’s adopt this child,” he said quietly. “She could grow up alongside Healy.”
The little girl did resemble Healy in some ways, and fate had brought them together as friends. It felt like destiny.
But as Blanche remembered she’d soon be leaving this place, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t think I want to adopt anymore,” she said softly.
“You’ve changed your mind?” Eddy grew tense, cupping Blanche’s face in his large hands, searching her features with anxious eyes, as if she were something fragile and precious. “What’s wrong?”
“You always said you wanted another daughter. Why the sudden change of heart?”
He was so close–his handsome face filling her vision, those dark, perceptive eyes seeming to see right through her.
“Honey, are you hiding something from me?”
After ten years together, Eddy knew her inside out–her routines, her likes and dislikes, her quirks, her weaknesses. Sometimes, Blanche felt he understood her better than she understood herself.
She remembered how he’d found her so easily at the cemetery. She couldn’t let him sense anything was wrong–not before the Director–General’s people arrived.
“Healy is already such a handful,” Blanche murmured, looking down to avoid his gaze. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to take care of another child.”
She thought of the photo Healy had hidden away–the three of them, close together–and her heart ached.
Eddy’s eyes dimmed, his voice dropping even lower. “I’m sorry, love. I never should have agreed to let Mom bring Jeannette here, or left you to handle raising Healy on your own.”
“That won’t happen again.”
“I know how much you wanted another daughter. Let’s just meet her first, all right? If you don’t feel right about it, we can make other arrangements. Deal?”
Blanche ran her fingers over a photo of the little girl, a fresh ache twisting inside her. She nodded, barely audible.
Eddy gathered her into a tight embrace, his hand tenderly stroking her long hair.
“Promise me you won’t sneak off to see doctors or take medicine behind my back anymore.”
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At that, Blanche’s throat tightened. Tears welled up and spilled over, unstoppable.
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