CHAPTER 130: A PLAYMATE

Cecilia looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man. He was sitting at the piano, playing it while wearing sunglasses.

She walked over as he stood up and turned toward her.

Only then did she see his appearance clearly.

Pale skin, delicate features, tall stature—he radiated an aura of nobility.

Cecilia was astonished by his demeanor and appearance. She couldn’t help but think, ‘Such a beautiful face, but unfortunately, he’s blind...’

She spoke up, "Are you the owner of this shop?"

The man nodded slightly, extending his hand out to her.

"Long time no see. My name is Joe."

‘Long time no see?’

Cecilia shook her head, her eyes full of confusion.

He was seemingly able to read into her mind, taking the initiative to explain.

"When I was a child, I lived at Lady Lilian’s house for a while. Have you forgotten, Cece?"

Memories flooded back like a tidal wave, and Cecilia was momentarily lost, as if she had traveled back to the time when her mother was still alive.

Back then, Lilian had already moved out with her. Aside from some of Adrian’s occasional visits, nobody hardly disturbed the mother and daughter.

That was until one ordinary morning, when young Joe was sent over to Lilian. The person who had brought him was in tears, claiming their friend had passed away unexpectedly. Now, young Joe had nobody to take care of him for the time being, so the person requested Lilian if he could stay with her for a while.

With tears in her eyes, Lilian agreed.

Cecilia gained a playmate. Back then, she loved staring at his mixed green eyes; they were as mysterious as a forest and as vast as the galaxy, extremely beautiful.

Joe was very introverted and melancholic—he hardly spoke after he started staying over, but thanks to Cecilia’s cheerful nature, she made him feel happy again.

He followed Lilian in calling her Cece, and Cecilia called him Joe in return without even knowing his full name.

Later on, a man came and took him away. As he was leaving, he looked at Cecilia with his beautiful green eyes and said firmly, "Cece, wait for me. I’ll definitely come back to find you!"

After that, Cecilia’s family underwent drastic changes, and she lost contact with him.

With this unexpected meeting ten years later, Joe was still as beautiful, but those eyes...

"Joe? Did you open this place?!"

She was eager to ask him about what had happened over the years and about his eyes, but she knew that some people were simply born unfortunate; there was no need to reopen his old wounds.

He smiled. "Yes, I opened this restaurant when I returned to the country after growing up."

She nodded, her eyes full of admiration.

"These decorations are wonderful. Did you design them yourself?"

"Yes, I did."

Beaming, Cecilia replied, "This is great! I said last time I wanted to ask the owner if they would be willing to design the interior of my house. Knowing it’s you, I am relieved."

Joe smiled gently and responded, "Of course, but shall we chat over a meal? It’s been a long time, and I have so much to say to you."

"Certainly–"

She was just about to agree, but Steven’s voice suddenly interrupted her.

"Miss Morrison, don’t you have an appointment waiting?"

He had been waiting upstairs for a while, but when she wasn’t showing up, he came down to check. To his surprise, he saw her and the owner in a lively conversation. Despite regularly renting this place out through Zane, he wasn’t acquainted with Joe. However, he didn’t expect Cecilia to know him.

On the other hand, Cecilia was immersed in the joy of meeting an old friend; she had forgotten about her meal with Steven, only remembering it now.

"Uh..."

She felt a bit nervous.

Joe smiled and said gently, "It’s alright. You two go eat; we will have plenty of opportunities to talk."

With his mixed lineage, he had a good figure and demeanor, so he wasn’t overshadowed even when standing next to Steven.

However, he also had the noble grace of an aristocrat, while Steven exuded a domineering aura that kept people at bay.

Upon hearing these words, Steven felt a surge of unexplainable annoyance.

Cecilia apologized with a glance at Joe and said, "I actually have business today, so let’s discuss the decorations later."

Joe nodded, and she then followed Steven to the second floor.

Steven asked casually at the dining table, "You seem quite close with the owner of this place?"

Raising an eyebrow, she answered, "We knew each other when we were children."

"Anyways, let’s get straight to the point. Why do you dislike Alex’s biological mother?"

Steven frowned and fell into thought.

Four years ago, on an ordinary day, he was dealing with work at the company when Zane hurriedly ran into his office. He claimed he had received an email stating that Steven’s son had been abandoned in the wilderness at the outskirts of the city. If he didn’t want the child to die, he should pick him up.

Since he was used to getting fake emails, Steven always let Zane manage it. He assumed this was another one of them, so he told Zane to just ignore it.

But soon after, another email came with a photo.

It showed a newly-born baby boy, lying in the weeds of the wilderness.

Steven was stunned; the child resembled him by at least half from when he was a baby.

He quickly replied to the email.

[Who are you?]

The email came back.

[Doesn’t matter who I am. The kid’s mother has abandoned him here; if you want him to live, come and take him!]

Steven replied again, but he didn’t get any other responses.

He knew that before this, he had lost his memories for a day and had only woken up in a hotel.

Feeling that the least he could do was potentially save a child’s life, he still went into the wilderness.

Upon seeing it, he was certain; this was his son.

Cecilia felt her heart clench listening to this part.

"Was the child alright at the time?"

Steven shook his head, his eyes full of heartache.

At that time, Alex was blue and purple from the cold—he didn’t even have the strength to cry. It took two months in an incubator at the hospital to save his life.

The doctor said that his health always remained fragile due to this, and he also became antisocial. Fortunately, with Steven’s careful care over the years, Alex gradually improved.

Cecilia felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She didn’t expect her son to have suffered so much.

It was precisely for this reason that Steven held such a grudge against Alex’s biological mother. He thought that even if she had dropped the child off at the Lawrence family’s doorstep, it would have been much better than abandoning him in the wilderness.

That woman had absolutely no intention of letting the child live!

However, he looked at Cecilia’s red eyes as well as the image of the white, chubby Emma she had raised. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but doubt if there was some misunderstanding about that incident back then. After all, when he discovered that she was Alex’s biological mother, he instinctively felt a sense of relief.

After listening to Steven’s recount, she understood everything and was also relieved.

This misunderstanding could be cleared up.

With that thought, she looked at him and said, "The situation might not be what it seems to you!"