Furthermore, Olivia was only a kid no more than 13 years old, so it was undeniable that Myra felt somewhat sorry for her.
As he ignored the look of annoyance in Sebastian’s eyes, Tony took Myra into his arms and kissed her forehead. He then comforted her and said, “My Myra is very kind-hearted. Olivia is a good kid, so you’ll come to like this younger sister.”
In truth, Tony also thought that Myra was severely lacking in familial affection. He wouldn’t expect that father of hers to show her a bit of familial affection, whereas both her mother and grandfather had passed away; besides, none of her mother’s relatives had ever come to her. Even though she looked tough on the outside, she was very vulnerable on the inside. She also longed for familial affection and her family’s company.
“Well, I could tell that she’s nice.” Myra paused for a moment. “Did you bring her mother to Bradfort City?”
“Yeah, I did.” Tony nodded. At the mention of this, his expression was slightly grave. “Her mother’s illness must be treated immediately; we can only reduce the risk greatly by having the operation in Bradfort City.”
“I…” Myra looked up. “Let’s find some time so that I… can visit her mother.”
“Okay, I’ll arrange for that as soon as possible.”
…
Meanwhile, Cameron was released from the police station by Monday. The police did a scrupulous investigation on him and found that he was involved in the Walton Family’s money-laundering activities. However, they couldn’t prosecute him for the time being because they weren’t able to find any evidence of him colluding with the Waltons. Soon after his release, Cameron managed to locate Alicia and Olivia’s whereabouts. When he arrived at the hospital with a scowl on his face, he saw Alicia—who was being protected by several bodyguards—as well as Myra, who was sitting in Alicia’s ward while having a pleasant chat with Olivia, his youngest daughter.
His expression changed instantly, and so did the expressions of the three people inside when they saw him.
“Alicia, Olivia…” Cameron was the first to soften his expression as he looked at the three women in the ward with a benign expression. He had spent more than a year looking for the mother-daughter duo, but the fact that they had come into contact with Myra caught him by surprise. Not only that, the three of them seemed to be on good terms. This reminded him of something, and his heart sank as he forced a smile. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re staying in the hospital? Do you know how anxious I was when I learned about your hospitalization? Also, Olivia…” He turned his gaze to his youngest daughter, who was sitting on the side of the sickbed. “Olivia, don’t you miss your father after not seeing him for more than a year?”
Both Alicia and Olivia looked at Myra with guilt and shame in their eyes, but Myra smiled faintly and said to them, “It’s all right. The three of you probably have something to talk about, so I’ll go out for a while. I’ll come in and visit you again later, Mrs. Parks.”
Alicia nodded softly to her. “Thank you, Myra. You’re a good kid.”
Olivia nervously took a look at Cameron before turning to look at her mother. Then, she looked at Myra and gritted her teeth. “I’ll go out with you, Myra. Mom will talk to… him.”
Myra nodded, upon which Olivia followed her out of the ward. When Olivia walked past Cameron, she seemingly wanted to say something, but she said nothing in the end.
On the other hand, a fierce glint flashed across Cameron’s eyes when he saw Olivia leaving the ward with Myra. When he and Alicia were the only ones left in the ward, he gave a sigh and—looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant—stared at Alicia tenderly and affectionately. “Why did you leave me, Alicia? Why didn’t you tell me anything about that? You know that there are reasons behind what I did. I swear that I love no one else but you and Olivia; you two are the only ones that I regard as my real family.”
“Oh, is that so?” Alicia was initially flustered about having to stay alone with Cameron. After all, she loved this man and had been together with him for so many years—they even had a daughter together. She didn’t wish for Cameron to be rich and powerful; instead, she just wanted her family to stay and live together with peace of mind. However, the moment she learned of his real identity, Alicia—who had been honest and well-behaved for many years—was furious for the first time. This was the first time she hated a man so much! She looked at the man before her. He had a legal wife at first, yet he kept a hidden mistress outside, who later replaced the legal wife and became his wife. So what about me? What am I? Am I the third mistress? She laughed at the thought of this, but her mockery was written all over her face. However, her gentle disposition made it seem that she was slightly colder than usual even when she was feeling ironic. “Perhaps I owe you a word, Cameron—you and I are through. Olivia will stay with me. Don’t you have Kris by your side? She’s your daughter too.”
Cameron was stunned. His face darkened instantly, but his voice remained steady. “Do you know what you’re talking about, Alicia?”
“How could I not know what I’m talking about?” Alicia’s eyes were calm. “Cameron, you think that we’re leading a happy life, but our life isn’t happy at all! Olivia and I are a joke, for you ruined our lives! No, you ruined my life, but Olivia can still be saved! You and I aren’t legally married in the first place, and we’ll no longer be related from now on; put that in your pipe and smoke it! Olivia and I will never go back!”
“Alicia!” Cameron called Alicia’s name in anger, his chest heaving up and down slightly as he tried hard to keep his composure. He then continued, “I know what you care about. I have asked Rachel for a divorce, so it won’t take long before I can marry you legally. I’ll even have Olivia—our daughter—legitimized.”
“Legitimized…” Alicia couldn’t help but sneer when she heard this. “Oh, right—you reminded me that you pulled some tricks back in the Civil Affairs Bureau, didn’t you? I can’t possibly get married to you, so our marriage license is fake!” She became increasingly emotional as she spoke. “I really hate myself for misjudging your character and falling in love with you back then! It’s not too late to regret it now, though. I don’t want to say anything else to you, Cameron. Just get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving!” Cameron’s chest heaved up and down. “Now that everything is beginning to progress in a good direction, why won’t you be together with me? Did Myra say something to you? Are you believing her instead of me?!”
“So what if I believe her instead of you?” Alicia couldn’t stand such a side of Cameron. “I have enough judgment to know who I should believe. Besides, I don’t have to believe anyone. What threat will it pose to you even if I believe Myra?!”
“Threat? Have you forgotten what I gave you five years ago before you left?!” Veins stood out slightly on Cameron’s forehead. “That’s the greatest threat to me!”
Alicia looked at the man in front of her with a mirthless half-smile. “You’ve said this at last…”
Even though she had despaired of the man in front of her a long time ago, she had loved him deeply; she wanted to know what he truly cared about at last. She had some shares in the Stark Group in the first place, and Cameron’s words proved that he had always loved his interests more than anything else, not to mention that she and his first wife looked so alike!
Cameron noticed how frosty Alicia looked after he barked out that sentence. Realizing that he had said something he shouldn’t at the wrong time, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. “Listen to me, Alicia. Myra is a crazy woman; not only does she refuse to help her own father, she even teamed up with Tony to set me up! Don’t let her deceive you, for all she wants is the Stark Group—the company that I want to leave to you and Olivia. Trust me; I’ll be nicer to you and our daughter.”
“That’s enough!” Alicia looked at him with a stony expression. “If you want the Stark Group’s shares that you gave me, I’m sorry about that. I have already left the shares at Myra’s disposal.”
“What did you say?!”
