Chapter 096
Amelia's POV
"Who had a child?" I asked walking down the hallway.
"Hey Amelia, you're back?" Father asked.
"Yes, the shooting ended faster."
"Welcome," Father said
"Thanks," I smiled at him.
"Hey Aunty, here have some coffee." Roe's soft voice came up, and my eyes snapped to him, before giving him a wide smile, walking toward him, I ruffled his hair.
"Thanks, what have you been up to?" I said sitting beside him, I have grown to love him like my own son, even though he is not from me, I think my sanity was still intact all these years because of this little boy that my brother left behind when he died in that car accident, I wasn't a good sister, nor a good daughter but I think I am a good mother, if not to my daughter but to my son from my brother.
Maybe, I would have gone completely insane when I returned to the mansion if this little boy was not here and I am sure Father would have kicked me out if he didn't require someone to take care of Roe. Not just anyone but family.
So I would say, Roe was my knight in shining armor, my light in my darkest moment and my happiness in my sad times.
It was him that gave me strength to keep living.
"I went to the auction, to retrieve the family heirloom," my eyes bulge I didn't know about that.
"Did you get it?" I asked as hope flashed in my heart and mind hoping that getting the necklace would link me to my daughter. Roe shakes his head.
"I wasn't able to get it because it was retrieved from the auction just when I was about to get it back."
"What the fuck?" I curse, and my father looks at me, it was never my thing to curse. It's just that I was frustrated.
"Amelia," Father's voice came up again, I moved my gaze to Father, "Is there something you want to tell me?" I looked at my Father, my heart skipped a bit, but I kept my expression neutral. I know this day will come, the day when Father will ask me how I lost the necklace and where I was for a year plus before I return, I have been planning this for the longest time but it didn’t make the moment any easier. The fear of what could follow if I spill the beans bites at the edges of my mind. I forced myself to look up at Father, offering a small, tight-lipped smile.
"What do you mean, Dad?" I asked, my tone light but controllable. "I told you I lost the necklace and I am doing everything to get it back, I know this is important to my late mother, and how she told you to pass it to every female in the family, I lost it but I will find it. I promise I will find it, just give me time."
I look at Father, watching his every expression, father was a man of few words, but when he did speak, it was terror. His silver-gray hair, cut short and neat, framed his face.
"Your nephew and I were at the park a few days ago," he started, his eyes never leaving mine, my brows furrowed, "We saw a girl, she should be around seventeen or eighteen. I bumped into her while visiting the playground and I mistook her for you,"
My grip on the mug tightened, my knuckles turning red. I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady. "A girl? I don’t understand what you’re getting at."
Father leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. "She looked like you when you were around that age, Amelia. And not just a little. She had your eyes, your nose, even that same way you used to bite your nails when you were deep in thought, and your hair, it's the same as hers." His voice softened slightly, almost as if he didn’t want to push too hard still he wanted to give every detail about the girl. "...she reminded me so much of you. But it wasn’t just that, I mistook her for you, I feel connected to her."
I could feel my pulse racing now, my mind working overtime to maintain my composure. At this point, I knew I had to lie convincingly, but the knots in my stomach made it harder with every word.
"I still don't get you Father, are you saying you think I have a child?" I asked, maintaining a steady voice and a poker face. I let out a strained laugh, hoping it would mask the panic rising inside me. "Dad, I don’t know what you’re suggesting, but I don’t have a baby. You know that."
Father narrowed his eyes, staring at me for some time before his voice broke the silence. "I’m not accusing you of anything, Amelia. I’m just trying to understand. That girl..." he paused, letting the words hang in the air. "She had our eyes, our jawlines."
I felt the world shift beneath my feet, a cold chill running down my spine. I parted my lips to speak but no words came out. It wasn't impossible, I knew the truth. I have a daughter somewhere, my Nadine is the proof of my mistake but I just can't tell my family about her when I heard no idea where she nor her father had been all these times.
"I…I don’t know what you’re talking about," I stammered, my voice trembling, my heart prickled me, that I was still not talking about her to anyone in my family except to the little two years Roe, who had been my partner for the longest time and had no idea what I was saying, he was just looking at me when I cried and pour out my pain.
"Amelia..."
"Father please, maybe it’s just a coincidence. Lots of people look alike, you know that word doppelganger?"
My father’s gaze softened, but there was a sadness in his eyes now, as though he already knew the answer and was waiting for me to confirm it but I was stubborn, I didn't want to accept it. "Amelia, I am not a child anymore, I am getting older each day. I know what family looks like. When I saw that girl, it was like looking at you all over again. And your nephew Roe felt the same. He couldn’t stop talking about it on the way home. Go on son tell her,"
My throat tightened, my mind scrambling for a way out, for any lie that might hold. But every excuse I had prepared seemed flimsy, weak in the face of my father. I wanted to find my daughter but not me claiming just any girl that looks like me.
"Dad," I whispered, my voice barely audible, "I’m telling you the truth. I don’t have a child. You must be mistaken."
"Did you know what happened at the auction today?" he continued, his voice rough with emotion, my eyes moved to Roe.
"Aunty, she was at the auction, she wanted the necklace and she was making CEO Casper of the Adams group bid for it."
My chest tightened painfully, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. "Did you say the girl is Casper's girlfriend?" I asked suddenly interested in the girl not in the heirloom.
"I don't know but I think the CEO is smitten with her, bidding that amount of money for jewelry because of a girl it only means that she is important to him?"
"Did she say the reason she wanted the necklace and did you know the family that donated the necklace? And the necklace why did they retrieve it? Who organizes the auction?" My voice came out in rolls.
"Amelia," My father said gently, standing from his chair and walking towards me his hand on my shoulder, "it’s okay, Amelia Hart, I am not going to be disappointed in you, I am not judging you if you have a daughter, those times you left and you gave her away, I am not going to judge you for that. You don’t have to hide this from us. If Akira Is your..."
"Akira? Her name is not Akira but Nadine."
"So you have a daughter?"
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