Chapter 147 Lost It Six Years Ago
“What’s wrong?”
Courtney did not know what had happened when she noticed Alexander’s change of expression.
Alexander took the earrings out from the jewelry box and examined them. After a while, he seemed to be sure of something. He went into the study opposite his room and came back with a black-and-white photo. The photo looked old; its corners had discolored.
There was a young woman in a cheongsam inside the photo. She looked like she was eighteen or nineteen years old, and she exuded a cold aura. She wore an inlaid gold necklace around her neck. The necklace was inlaid with two pieces of jade—one smaller and one bigger. Despite the age of the photo, one could see the smooth outline of the jade through the photo.
“This is…?” Courtney was puzzled.
Alexander compared the earrings with the necklace before he put the photo down.
“This is my grandmother. The necklace she was wearing was her family heirloom. There were two pieces of jade inlaid in the necklace. One was small, and another one was big. They were a matching pair of circular jades. When the country was in total chaos, the Duncans’ ancestral home was occupied by soldiers. The Duncan Family became poor, and she had to sell the smaller one to support the family.”
“The smaller one?” Courtney’s gaze fixated on the earrings in her hand, and she noticed that the jade was indeed similar to the one in the photo. “Is this the one?”
Alexander nodded.
Who would have thought that this jade would go overseas and land in Jennifer’s hands?
In the end, it came all the way back to Courtney again.
“How about the other one?” asked Courtney.
Alexander frowned at her inquiry.
“Grandpa gave the remaining one to me, and I made it into a necklace. Unfortunately, I lost it six years ago.”
Courtney was puzzled upon hearing that. She couldn’t help but clench her fists; her expression became nervous.
Could it be that the necklace he’s talking about is the one I snapped off his neck back then?
“What’s wrong? What’s on your mind now?”
His voice snapped her back to reality. A little absent-minded, she said, “Nothing. I’m just surprised to hear that. I didn’t know these earrings would have something to do with the Duncan Family.”
“It’s probably fate.” There was warmth in his eyes. This was the first time he had ever mentioned ‘fate’—it was a trivial concept he had never considered before.
However, Courtney had mixed feelings. When she greeted Scott and left the house with the children, her mind was still occupied by that necklace.
What an ill twist of fate. The existence of that necklace was like a reminder about what happened six years ago. It reminded her about the identity she was still hiding from Alexander. It was originally a clue to search for her son, but now it became a hot potato that she did not want to touch.
When Courtney moved, she locked the earrings and the necklace in a safe. Once the safe was locked—as if her past had been locked inside there—she felt relieved.
“We’re going to live here in the future. Do you guys like it?”
After spending an afternoon tidying up the house, Courtney brought the children back from Cameron’s place.
Tina was extremely excited as she checked out every room in the house. “Wow! This is so pretty. It’s much bigger than Aunt Cameron’s house. I love my room.”
“Great-Aunt Alicia decorated it for you.”
Courtney followed behind her. Staring at the dolls that were carefully placed inside the room, her heart was full of warmth.
Alicia told her that the house had been vacant and no one was taking care of it. Yet, when she stopped by, the house was fully furnished and was beautifully decorated. She had even prepared the daily necessities for her. Tina’s room had been painted pink, there were dozens of children’s toys piled up, and there were new clothes in her wardrobe.
“Jordan, this is your room.”
She pushed open another door and waved at him. “Come and take a look.”
Jordan nodded obediently and walked toward her. Standing in front of the room, he observed. He was just like his dad, and Courtney could not tell whether he liked it or not.
“Do you like it?” Courtney could only take the initiative and asked. “The decoration is simple probably because Great-Aunt Alicia didn’t know that you’re staying over here too. I’ll redecorate your room later. You can tell me if there’s something that you like.”
Jordan ran back to the sofa and picked up his small drawing board. Lowering his head, he wrote something on it and held it up: ‘I like being with you and Tina.’
The moment Courtney saw the writing, her heart ached. Squatting down, she pulled him into her embrace.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
The sound of the doorbell was followed by someone’s loud voice. “Hurry up and open the door, Courtney. My wrist is almost broken. I brought hotpot.”
Tina poked her head out from her room and cheered, “Godmom!” She darted to the entrance.
Cameron came into the house with bags of food. With a weird tone, she said, “Wow! This place is good. No wonder you moved out from my little house in such a hurry.”
In response, Courtney raised her brows. “Why don’t we switch places? After all, I’m used to your house. Since what’s yours is mine, what’s mine is yours too.”
Finally, Cameron flashed her a smile of satisfaction.
“Since you said that, I’m going to cook tonight. Consider it a housewarming gift from me.”
If one were to look forward to Cameron’s cooking, their lowest expectation was that she would not burn down the kitchen. Fortunately, Cameron knew her limits, so she brought hotpot. However, there was still another problem.
“I don’t have a pot for the hotpot.”
Courtney shrugged helplessly.
“That’s not a problem at all. Wait here.” Cameron turned on her phone and dialed a number as she twitched her brows at Courtney.
The call was quickly connected.
“Courtney just moved to a new house, and she wants me to ask if you’re free to come and have dinner tonight.”
“Okay. Come quickly, then. Buy some things that we might need for the hotpot while you’re on the way here.”
“Nothing so troublesome. We have everything here. I bought all the food we need.” As soon as she said that, she raised her voice. “Courtney, is there anything that you need?”
Courtney’s name was suddenly mentioned and reflexively, she responded, “A pot.”
“Okay. You heard that, right? Courtney said we don’t have a pot. The kind we use for hotpot.”
After Cameron hung up the phone, she sank herself into the sofa. “Done.”
Courtney’s lips twitched.
“Why do I feel like you’ve dragged me into your evil plan to torture glorified souls?”
“Glorified souls?” Cameron pouted. “Gale has the word ‘scumbag’ written from the tip of his hair to his toenails. He is far from a glorified soul.”
“True.”
Courtney nodded approvingly. The negligible feeling of shame in her heart vanished into the air. She then asked Cameron to call Gale again to bring Oliver along with him.
Half an hour later, Gale came with a pot along with Oliver.
As soon as Oliver came, Courtney handed the kitchen and the dining table to him. Even Gale had been instructed to help out in the kitchen. The two women lay on the sofa as they chatted and snacked on sunflower seeds.
When Cameron recalled Oliver’s elegant but ruthless attitude from earlier, she spat out the husk of the sunflower seed.
“Why do I feel like Oliver has changed into someone else? Wasn’t he a fool when he first woke up in the hospital?”
“Did he?” Courtney was ignorant when it came to reading people. Therefore, she did not notice anything wrong with Oliver. “Perhaps, he has something on his mind? Why? Do you think there’s something wrong with him?”
Cameron raised her brows and looked toward the kitchen with a thoughtful expression. “No. What I’m saying is that he looks much more handsome than before. How old is he? Is he twenty yet?”
“Don’t tell me you’re in love with him.”
Courtney stared at her warily.
