Chapter 58 You Still Have Me
Regina's long-suppressed emotions surged forth like a river breaking its banks. He may not realize how much those words mean to her. Regina wasn't a pessimistic person, but at that moment of losing Tasha, her only family member, she felt utterly abandoned. Yet, Douglas said to her, "You still have me."
Regina quickly lowered her gaze, tears falling into her soup. She wiped her eyes, pretending nothing had happened.
"Thank you, Mr. Semona."
After dinner, Regina sat on the sofa, lost in thought.
"Mrs. Semona, if there's anything you need, please let me know."
Regina snapped back, "Alright."
Watching him head to the study, she realized that during these days, from Tasha's illness to her passing, Douglas had set aside a lot of work to be with her. Time was precious to him, but he sacrificed much for Regina.
Molly seemed to sense Regina's low spirits, bringing a small ball of fur to her feet and wagging its tail. Regina took the ball from Molly's mouth, patting her head, but her heart grew sadder. Because she couldn't help but think of her Golden Retriever, which she had raised for twelve years.
The dog was a gift from her grandmother on her sixth birthday. Before that, Regina rarely celebrated her birthday. She was probably around three when she began to sense her parents' strained relationship. They would argue behind closed doors, sometimes even resorting to physical conflict, leaving the house in a mess.
Sandra was only one year old, and she would cry all night whenever they fought. A one-year-old was perhaps the age that needed the most love, and Melissa felt deeply guilty for Sandra. After all, when she became pregnant, her feelings for Fred had already cooled.
She always felt guilty for bringing Sandra into this world, knowing she would suffer. Although Melissa apologized to Regina many times, Regina knew that Melissa always believed she had let Sandra down the most.
Later, Fred stopped coming home for his mistress, leaving Melissa to take care of the two children alone, which was a heavy burden for her. So, she entrusted Regina to Tasha's care, while she focused on looking after Sandra.
To what extent?
Every year, on Regina's birthday, Melissa would always have various reasons related to Sandra for not showing up.
Sometimes, Melissa would come early to bring her a cake and take her to buy a pretty dress.
Sometimes, she would forget due to being busy, but she would make up for it later by giving gifts.
But she seemed to forget to ask Regina what she really wanted until Regina's fifth birthday. By then, she was able to express her wishes clearly, and she told Melissa that she wanted a puppy, but her hope was dashed.
Melissa patted her head and shook it. "Regina, we can't have a dog in our house. Can Mommy buy you a toy dog?" Because Sandra was allergic to animal fur, they couldn't have a dog.
However, to make up for this, Regina received a toy dog from Melissa on her sixth birthday—not just one, but five—big and small, all kinds of breeds. A six-year-old child doesn't know how to hide her emotions well. She looked at those toy dogs and cried.
Tasha got angry and burned all the toy dogs, then took Regina's hand and left. She comforted Regina, saying, "Grandma will take you to the pet store. You can buy whatever kind of puppy you want, as many as you want. They don't care what they say, anyway, they hardly ever go home."
At that time, only Regina and Tasha lived in the house in Bayview Heights. Later, another dog was added to the house. That Golden Retriever accompanied them for twelve years.
Though she promised herself not to cry anymore, the memories stirred up Regina's emotions, and tears began to flow again.
Molly, wagging its tail at her feet, still didn't know it was the "culprit," making Regina cry. It continued to roam around, bringing Regina many toys, even some strange things. There were her slippers, a carrot from the kitchen, magazines, the remote control...
And finally, it even "brought" Douglas.
Douglas had been working in the study, but when Molly came over and bit his pants cuff, it seemed to want to drag him outside. So, Douglas stood up and followed it out.
But as soon as they reached the living room, he saw Regina sitting on the sofa, secretly wiping away her tears. He walked over, lifted Regina's face, and gently wiped her tears away with his warm fingertips.
"You crybaby." His tone carried a playful feel, lightening the heavy atmosphere.
Regina quickly stopped her tears, not wanting to disturb him. "I'm fine. You can go back to work."
But with her like this, how could he possibly focus on work? He casually kicked away the things Molly had brought, then sat down next to her on the sofa.
"Want to watch TV?"
As he said this, he remembered that Regina didn't really like watching TV. The last time they watched an episode together in the living room, she quickly grew tired of it. He knew she enjoyed listening to radio dramas. But Douglas thought, 'Since I am with Regina now, does she really need to listen to the radio drama on her phone?'
As he pondered this question, Molly once again bit his pants cuff. Molly was excitedly whimpering beside them, causing both of them to look down instinctively. They saw Molly bring something again, but this time, it was actually a red hairband!
Douglas was surprised and then almost laughed at this absurd scene. 'Where did it find it?' They instinctively reached out for the red hairband in Molly's mouth. Each of them grabbed one end as if they were holding onto a red thread. Molly immediately let go. For a moment, the atmosphere became strangely tense.
In the end, Douglas was the first to let go, so the hairband fell into Regina's hand. Regina remembered that Douglas had told her that the red hairband belonged to her. At that time, Regina wanted to ask him about something, but unfortunately, that day, Tasha was in critical condition, and all her thoughts were tied to Tasha. Naturally, she forgot about it.
"You told me that this red hairband is mine. So, is this something you gave me, or did you find it in the house and keep it?" Regina asked seriously.
In her bewildered gaze, Douglas's Adam's apple moved slightly.
He remained silent for a long time. The silence was so long that Regina thought she wouldn't hear Douglas's answer, but he took the red hairband from her hand. Unprepared, he used the hairband to cover her eyes.
